To celebrate the upcoming release of J.D. Robb's 44th Eve Dallas mystery, Echoes in Death, we're taking a look back at every single book in the In Death series. Today, Ardi Alspach reviews #2, Glory in Death.
Eve Dallas is back in Glory in Death—the thrilling follow up to Naked In Death and the second book in J.D. Robb’s In Death series—and this time, things get personal.
She’s now New York City’s most well-known detective after solving a high-profile murder case involving a senator and some major sex scandals, and she’s discovering that being in the spotlight is not all it’s cracked up to be. Her relationship with Roarke continues to be rocky, as the two of them try to reconcile their feelings while battling trust issues and shadows from their pasts. Eve is called to work on another high-profile case, this time involving the city’s star prosecutor.
She blocked it out. What choice did she have? The job came first. Had to come first. If she wasn’t a good cop, she was nothing. She was as empty and helpless as the child she had been, lying broken and traumatized in a dark alley in Dallas.
She could bury herself in her work. The demands and pressures of it. When she was standing in Commander Whitney’s office, she was only a copy with murder on her hands.
Robb begins to dig a little deeper into the things that trouble Eve’s past, and I particularly enjoyed how much the events of the past are shaping who Eve is now. The injustice she suffered as a child informs her need to become a cop—and not just any cop, but a good cop. But these things that define her are also the things that make it hard for her to have a good relationship, as anyone dealing with a workaholic can attest to. She’s closed to feeling, and although she exhibits extreme empathy for victims of the crimes she’s investigating, she has a hard time showing her feelings in her personal life.
“I don’t need your fancy food or your fancy gifts or your fancy words. I see the pattern, Roarke. Say I love you at regular intervals until she learns to respond. Like a well-trained pet.”
“Like a pet,” he repeated as his fury froze to ice. “I see I’m wrong. You are stupid. You really think this is about power and control? Have it your way. I’m tired of having you toss my feelings back in my face. My mistake for allowing it, but that can be rectified.”
“I never—“
“No, you never.” He interrupted coolly. “Never once risked your pride by saying those words back to me.”
To complicate matters further, Eve discovers that Roarke, yet again, is financially entangled with the family of the murder victim—and to make it worse, another body is found. A beloved starlet, who happened to date Roarke at one time, is discovered, and the media goes into a frenzy. As Eve continues to uncover motives, family alliances are called into question and things get personal, as Eve’s Commander—who is close to the family of the first victim—can’t divorce his feelings from the case.
In addition to the exploration into relationships—through the crimes and through Eve and Roarke—Robb is beginning to insert more worldbuilding into the story. We hear more about off-planet businesses, fast global transportation, and hovercrafts. All of the things one would expect to have in the year 2058. It makes the possibilities for committing a crime all the more interesting, and I’m hoping that as the series continues, Robb uses more of this world to inform the crimes that occur throughout.
All in all, Glory in Death is a thrilling follow-up to Robb’s smashing debut. Readers new to the series will not be disappointed!
Read Ardi's review for the 1st in the series, Naked in Death!
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Ardi Alspach was born in Florida, raised in South Carolina, and now resides in New York City with her cat and an apartment full of books. By day, she's a publicist, and by night, she's a freelance writer. You can follow her on Twitter at @ardyceelaine or check out her website at ardyceelaine.wordpress.com.
Unknowingly, a man raising his gun to fire was included in the background of the snap.