In Death Series Reading Challenge: October 2012

Interested in joining the Challenge? Anyone is welcome to join in at any time of the year at wherever in the series you currently are. See the sign up post HERE and join the fun!

Did you read any In Death series books this month?

It's been several months since I read an In Death book so I'm particularly happy that I finally managed one this month. I had a couple of false starts with Salvation in Death, having started it in August, but once I read passed the first 50 pages, I became more invested in the story and I was able to stick with it. I'm so glad I did--I feel a renewed interest in the series again! Let's see if I can catch up to Nora over the next couple of months. I think I might be gaining on her!

CHALLENGE PARTICIPANTS: Link up any In Death posts you made this month here. If you made a post on your blog, whether it be a review or commentary, please grab the link to your post and leave it in the comment section below so we can find each other's latest In Death posts easily. You can also just use the link to your goodreads or other virtual bookshelf as well.

BOOK REVIEW: 

Salvation In Death by J.D. Robb
Book #27

I thought this story had a slow start, but maybe that's just me. There's not a lot of action in this one, but there's definitely a lot of details to work out in order to get to the bottom of this crime. Eve is called to St. Cristobal's Catholic Church in Spanish Harlem when the well-loved Father Miguel Flores collapses and dies in the middle of conducting a funeral mass for one of the community's most prominent families and business owners. It's quickly deduced that Father Flores was poisoned, but why would a priest be the target of murder? The victim has very few possessions, but upon searching his room, a religious medal is found hidden in his room with an unusual inscription on the back and to complicate things more, the autopsy reveals that Father Flores had a gang tattoo removed from his arm a few years ago. Eve and Peabody try learn more about this priest and his past in hopes that it would help them identify his killer, but all it does is complicate things even more.

The murder of Father Flores ends up being a really interesting case with many layers of people and secret pasts. I enjoyed watching Eve and her team unravel the mysteries in this one, more so than I expected given I thought the first 50-100 pages were pretty slow. It's always fun watching Eve stumble through situations in which she's not comfortable, and in this case it was her knowledge of and comfort level with religion and religious figures. Likewise with Roarke! There was a second murder investigation mixed in with that of Father Flores that I wasn't very interesting and frankly didn't add anything to the story, but perhaps Robb needed to bump up her page count. Overall, another great installment to this series.

I give Salvation in Death 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

GRADE: B 

"Ritual in Death" by J.D. Robb
Book #27.5

This novella can be found in the Suite 606 anthology. The last short story I read was a disappointment for me, but I really enjoyed this one. Readers who skip this story don't miss anything vital to the series arc or the character development, but it was a fun one, nonetheless.

Eve and Roarke are at a formal party in a hotel ballroom when a naked, bloody and delirious man stumbles into the party with a knife in his hand. Eve disarms him and once the situation is secure, she follows the bloody trail back to Suite 606 where a woman is found murdered in what looks like a Satanic ritual sacrifice. Unfortunately the only suspect is one who is severely overdosed on a deadly mix of drugs and he can't even remember his own name. There's evidence at the scene of the crime that indicates additional suspects, but Eve and her team have to be very clever, persistent and perhaps rely on psychological instincts, so to speak, to pinpoint the killer or killers.

This police procedural rolled at a quick pace and unfolded pretty logically. I liked the way Eve had to rely a little on the undeniable psychological power she felt pouring off one particular suspect. It's good to see her put a little faith into things that can't be seen or touched.

I give Ritual in Death 4 out of 5 stars on goodreads.

GRADE: B


SERIES DISCUSSION:
One of the things I admire most about Eve is that she steadfastly stands up for the dead even when the victim is a far cry from being a model citizen or even has a crime sheet of their own. She acknowledges her role in solving the crimes and bringing in the perpetrators so that the system metes out justice. This isn't always easy on her conscience, but she's nothing if not consistent in her role as homicide detective. Part of her role as homicide detective is questioning suspects and sometimes Eve resorts to some pretty bad ass tactics to "break" her suspects into confessing. It's pretty entertaining to the reader when Eve gets her prime suspect into interrogation, but sometimes she can be excessively harsh.

What do you think of Eve's interrogation tactics? Do you ever think she goes overboard and is perhaps out of line?