and join the fun!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 enter in the Mr. Linky below along with your name 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:
In Death series, Book 20
Published 2005
Survivor In Death is one of the most intense and terrifying installment in the series thus far. In this book, nine year old Nixie Swisher is the sole survivor in death after her mother, father, brother, her best friend and the family domesticate are murdered in their beds while they sleep, practically right before her eyes. The only reason Nixie was spared is because she snuck out of bed in the middle of night for a soda and then hid when she figured out there were intruders in her home. The murders are carried out swiftly and silently with military precision and speed, leaving no evidence behind as they attempted to erase this loving family. Lieutenant Eve Dallas spares nothing at keeping Nixie safe, knowing whoever is responsible for these horrendous murders isn't going to stop until Nixie is found and killed. Nixie is clearly left quite traumatized not only by her incredible grief and loss, but also by the horrific scene of blood and gruesome deaths right before her eyes. Although the circumstances are a bit different, Eve and Roarke are reminded of their own childhood traumas through what Nixie is experiencing now. So while Eve and her team do whatever it takes to hunt these murderers down, she and Roarke are also doing whatever it takes to help Nixie and each other as they revisit their own childhoods that still haunt them.
Survivor In Death starts out with an intense murder scene and doesn't let go of that intensity until the very end. The sadness and grief, and consequently the compassion between characters, are as intense as the suspense and terror in this book, making it one of the most exceptional books in this series so far. The murderers are cold, calculating and brutal in the abuse, terror and death they inflict on their victims. While the crimes in this story are horrific, and the grief and confusion of this poor child are heart wrenching, the amount of sensitivity, love and compassion that is shared among the characters are what hold this story--and the survivors-- together.
SERIES DISCUSSION TOPIC:
Eve and Roarke do a lot of personal reflection in this book as they watch over Nixie. They see themselves in her as they reflect on their own childhood losses and all the blood, the death, the abandonment and loneliness they felt as children and what they still deal with as adults. They reflect on the love, comfort and closeness that makes up a healthy, loving family and they wonder in their own ways if that's something they could or would ever experience.
My discussion question is whether you think Eve and Roarke will ever start a family of their own and have a baby.
Readers of this series have told me that they have heard that Nora Roberts has said [talk about here say!] that the day Eve is pregnant or has a baby the series is over. I don't know about you, but if this series ever comes to an end--and it has to some day, right?-- I couldn't think of a better way to end it than with Eve and Roarke having a baby of their own. Yeah, yeah, Eve flips out over anything having to do with pregnant women, babies or children, but I could totally see Eve and Roarke figuring out parenthood together.
CHALLENGE GIVEAWAY WINNER!
Looks like I completely forgot to draw a winner for last month's challenge giveaway. Any participants who kept up with the challenge and read four books from April 1 through August 31, 2011 were eligible for my little prize giveaway. Picking the winner was a total no-brainer this time because there was only ONE person eligible.
Congrats, ELENEA! You're the lucky winner!
Contact me at my email address in my blog profile and let me know your prize of choice. US $5 gift card to Starbucks, dunkin donuts, amazon, B&N or another online bookstore that allows electronic gift cards.
Since participation has been kind of low lately for the challenge, I'm going to discontinue the giveaways. But keep reading those In Death books! Last one to catch up with Nora is a rotten egg! Haha! j/k
LOL! I did it! I did it!!
ReplyDeleteI love this challenge - even without the gifts. But congrats to Elena anyway.
Catch up with Nora??? She just doesn't stop! I'm on a roll though. I'm hoping to finish 6 more by the end of the year. Don't laugh - I said hoping.
I agree, I think they'd be great parents. This is my favorite book maybe because it's so intense & real.
I think it's a good decision by Ms Roberts. Sure, it'd be fun to read about Eve's pregnancy and the two of them dealing with a baby... but realistically? I think it'd be the end of Eve as we know her. No matter what you say, motherhood does change people.
ReplyDeletePersonally, while it'd be really cool for Roarke and Eve to get their own baby... I see more the two of them taking in a kid. Sure, they had a lot of chances of doing it so far (Kevin and Nixie)... but they were not ready. The day they are though... Roarke and Eve know that blood is not everything... so yeah, I see them more taking in a toddler or a young child. That's my take though.
First of all, I love the new look for your blog! Isn't it fun to change it now and then??
ReplyDeleteSurvivor In Death wasn't my favorite book in this series but it was intense. I've heard that Robb's latest book ties up a lot of loose ends with the series. Maybe she is getting ready to end this series. Who knows though?? I will keep reading if she keeps writing :)
Yay, Gina! You're back in the groove with these books. It seems that once you get to the middle of the series, it helps now and then to take a break for a couple of months. Otherwise they get too similar, I think.
ReplyDeleteNora is unbelievably productive! I meant just catch up with Nora with this particular series--not all of her books. I'd need a lifetime for that, but do expect to eventually catch up and be waiting on Nora for the next In Death book. ha!
I think you're right about this book. It did feel so real. And maybe particularly so for moms?
nath, I think you're right about Eve and Roarke adopting a child at some point. That same thought crossed my mind when I wrote that discussion topic. I wrote and rewrote it a couple of times trying to have it be open ended to starting a family as opposed to just getting pregnant. But I guess I like the idea of Eve being pregnant. I think when the time is right.... she'll flip out, but at the same time REALLY want it all.
ReplyDeleteThanks, samantha. I like the new look on my blog, too. I might change the background at some point, but I like the cleaner, simpler feel and look of the layout.
ReplyDeleteI just read something along those same lines about the latest book-- New York to Dallas, on goodreads today, too. It would be interesting to see how Robb ties it up. It would be nice to be all caught up before the last book comes out so I can anticipate it fervor along with all the other fans.
Congrats to Elenea!
ReplyDeleteI started the next ID story, a novella (Ritual in Death), but didn't finish it.
I'd definitely like Eve and Roarke to have a child. Probably one would be enough for them :) I can just imagine Eve being all scared and helpless, but with Roarke's help she would find a perfect balance between her "new" family and work.
Maija, the thing is that Eve would have to do something else for work if she got pregnant or had a baby. I don't think she would put her baby's welfare in jeopardy by continuing her job as Lieutenant and be out on the streets like she does now. I can't see her being a professional mom... maybe she'd finally go for captain? Should be interesting to see how Robb ends this series.
ReplyDeleteChristine, you are right. But I would just love to read about their life after the baby. I wouldn't want the series to end. At least one book when the baby is in the picture... :)
ReplyDeleteI know, I think everyone would like to see Eve pregnant... but realistically, it's not really her.
ReplyDeleteRealistically, nath... sometimes people get pregnant even if it's not in their plans. In this case, it just has to be in Nora's. LOL.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, though... I understand where you're coming from. But I do think in the end, Eve will discover she wants to experience the love of a family that she never had and find that she and Roarke deserve the chance to give that to a child. Whether the child is their birth child or not really doesn't matter 100% to me.
I actually had this vision of Eve getting pregnant unintentionally [maybe she forgets to take her anti-fertility drug or whatever it is they do in 2060] and she and Roarke struggling with the whole idea, but just as she begins to embrace it... she ends up miscarrying. I know that sounds tragic--and IT IS. But it's also a very common fact of life. I think it would almost add fuel to the fire so to speak and give Eve a lot to think about regarding her own capability to love her own child. I think she'd want to experience that with Roarke, in the end.