Festive in Death (In Death, #39)

by J D Robb

The kitchen knife jammed into his cold heart pinned a cardboard sign to his well-toned chest. It read: Santa Says You've Been Bad!!! Ho, Ho, Ho!

It's Christmas, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in no mood to celebrate. While her charismatic husband Roarke plans a huge, glittering party, Eve has murder on her mind.

The victim - personal trainer Trey Ziegler - was trouble in life and is causing even more problems in death. Vain, unfaithful and vindictive, Trey had cultivated a lot of enemies. Which means Eve has a lot of potential suspects. And when she and Detective Peabody uncover Trey's sinister secret, the case takes a deadly turn.

Christmas may be a festival of light, but Eve and Roarke will be forced once more down a very dark path in their hunt for the truth.

• ISBN10: 1101617276
• ISBN13: 9781101617274
• Publish Date: 9 September 2014 (first published 1 September 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Penguin Group USA, Inc
• Format: eBook
• Language: English

Reviews

[Berls]

This was good - I particularly enjoyed the holiday stuff. It's always fun to see Eve having to do holiday shopping and also seeing how she's gone from being solitary to having this big group surround her. Not even close to solitary anymore!

They mystery was ok - I suspected the right person almost from the start. But I hated the dead guy (as did Eve) and unlike Eve, I didn't care as much about her figuring it out as a result. I know, not right. But I'm not a cop :)

On this binge, I have a feeling I might now stop unt I get current with the series...

[nitzan_schwarz]

hmmm... I'm a little conflicted on this one.

On the one hand, it seemed shorter than the previous books, as there really wasn't all that much to the investigation. On the other, it dragged. I just wanted this case to be over with already. It was just so disgusting, and quite straight forward.

I loved all the homey, personal Christmas bits, about would have enjoyed this book ten times more if it didn't involve the icky case and all those icky people. I feel like I need an entire novel of Eve and Roarke just being adorable to clean myself from all the filth *shudders*

So, really, this book wasn't my fave in the series. Eve and Roarke always are, but this case man...

[wyvernfriend]

Oh man the dead guy was SCUM.
Summerset bribes Eve into participating in the orgainising of the Christmas party at her house while she investigates and Eve discovers the joy of giving to friend (while hating the entire shopping experience.)

It's a fun visit with two people I like reading about with some murder attached, plus their extended family.

[mitabird]

3.5 stars

[EBookObsessed]

This year Eve and Roarke are celebrating the holidays as they do each year with a party, good friends and murder.

Trina and her friend Sima are going to play a prank on Sima’s ex. The dirty bastard used her to pay his rent and his bills for months before he tossed her out for a new bimbo. But they’re just a little too late. Someone has already given Trey Zeigler his Christmas present early, a knife to the chest and a “Ho, Ho, Ho!” Trey Zeigler was an award-winning personal trainer. He was also a user, a blackmailer and a rapist. Eve would rather have put Trey in a cage, but since he’s on his way to the morgue, it is up to Eve to figure out who killed him. Unfortunately, the list of suspects includes his award competition for this year, all the woman Trey used or raped and their respective boyfriends and/or husbands.

With barely any time to holiday shop between interviews, Eve makes a deal with the devil, or some people call him Summerset. If he wraps her presents, she’ll help with the party preparation. Maybe she’ll get lucky and catch her killer and be too busy with interviews to help. It’s a long shot, but a cop can hope.

In between sifting through the life of the dirtbag known as Trey, and avoiding getting vomited on by Drunk Santa, Eve is trying to make time for just her and Roarke to enjoy the holidays and the life that they have created for each other.

THOUGHTS:
I can’t rate an In Death book at less the 5 stars. Even a bad In Death book is better than most books out there. I love the characters that she has developed and how they have grown and bonded over the years.

This story had nice balance between the investigation and the personal. As we know, after 39 books, there are some stories more focused on either the murder or Eve’s personal life. I generally enjoy the personal in these stories more than the investigation and this was no exception. We have the big holiday party which brings together people who we haven’t seen in a while like Louise and Charles. We also have a few touching moments with Peabody and even Summerset. The relationship between Eve and Roarke continues to expand and bond them closer.

The murder of Trey Zeigler wasn’t the most exciting story she has written, but with so many suspects it did keep you guessing throughout the entire story.

I am looking forward to Book #40 which comes out in February. It sounds like she is going all out for the next chapter as we step into 2061.

Received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.