BONDED IN DEATH by J D Robb

5* JD Robb is back to her best with this one. Loved that we got more of a certain character's past...

With some of the more recent Eve Dallas books, they've felt as if the author included extremely minor side characters from Eve's posse of 'friends' - using the term loosely - whether they were organic to the tale or not, just to be able to delight readers who've come to expect to hear about them. It felt copied and pasted, and a bit off-putting.and down-dumbing. Here, there was barely a mention of them, which made for a more solidly relevant tale that had surprising depth and intrigue. 

Though the death at the start is sad, it reveals a world of years past that Eve always knew Summerset was involved with, and boy, did we get to see him and his bunch of fellow retiree Urban War fighters come into their own. Not by way of the physical but by working as a team to give Eve and her team vital insight into the mind of their fellow member turned betrayer and avenger. It's a pretty deep, solid tale, one where knowing who the culprit is - the newish M.O. - is relevant and the only logical way to defeat him. It's quite a sad tale, as we learn about Alice, Summerset's late wife, her strength and courage, and how she sacrificed herself. There wasn't much on Marlena, whose death has been hinted at in several books, as that wouldn't have been relevant here, as well as maybe one too many a painful memory.

It's not, thankfully, as gruesome or deadly a tale as most, but it's a good one to reinforce collaboration, loyalty, and that being of a certain age doesn't mean being ready for the scrap heap. And no, there was no thawing of Eve's and Summerset's relationship but he said what he needed to say to her, and about her to the rest of his people (it was refreshing to see him describe her as rude and abrupt, but not in a bitchy or hate'y way, just telling people who, what and how she is and operates). I liked that he made her accept his thanks and gratitude, which she for once didn't balk at or brush off. Maybe Eve is maturing a little. She'll always be on the spectrum to a degree, but this book showed her more as a human, not just a driven cop. I really enjoyed it. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Piatkus, for my reading pleasure. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SECOND GRAVE by Jeffrey B Burton

 4* Good intro to this series, and it didn't matter that I'm late to the party. This is an engrossing and engaging tale, partly because of the dynamics of the brother-sister duo, partly because of the brother's telling of the tale, partly because of the storyline but mostly because there are dogs in it, dogs that save the day, literally, and that don't get hurt. It's easy to start and there's enough told that I didn't find myself wondering about the previous book. It's quite fast paced and Cory is unaffected and literal and his 'voice' is youthful and believable and carries the tale well. The storyline is sad at the start, but that's just a facilitator for the plot, which is a good one. A sad one for some of the people involved, and boy is it good that justice of a sort, the type I find satisfying when someone's gotten away with something for too long, got done. 'Al' definitely deserved what they got. But those involved in the dec...
Read more

ALWAYS YOU AND ME by Dani Atkins

5* Even though I don't believe in HEAs anymore, this book had me crying because of THAT ending. I'm going to try and review without spoilering, but ugh, I started the book almost in tears and ended it in actual tears, and with hope that sometimes love does last.  This book is so much more than a second chance at love. It's about loving and loved but flawed characters whose lives with each other had their time, and when that time was gone, the love continued. Like Finn and Matt by Charlie Winters, this is a book I loved but won't ever read again. A part of me can't believe the author went there with the ending, but another part of me, the romantic-but-hurt part, wants to believe in the power of everlasting love.  ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my reading pleasure. 
Read more

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY by Mike Gayle

3* A pleasant enough 15-minute deckchair read. This isn't a deep novel with a big plot, but pretty much what the blurb offers. I didn't feel much for either character but the tale ended well for both - not going to spoiler, but it wasn't what I expected and it didn't quite ring true. 
Read more