Immortal In Death (In Death, #3)

by J D Robb

[nitzan_schwarz]

This review has also been published on my blog, Afterwords

When I finished reading Glory in Death, the second book in the series, I was so hungry for more that I just had to read the next book immediately. Ultimately, I think this was not the right choice - because I feel fairly certain that I would've liked this book a lot more if I took a short break between the two books.

Why? Two reasons.

The first, I feel like I was kind of too in-sync with Robb and that helped me identify the killer the moment I met him. That made me feel like it was too obvious (or Robb is just very talented at radiating underlying evil-ness from her characters) and frustrated that no one figured it out sooner.

The second is the pacing, which was much slower compared to Glory in Death. While I loved the homey bits between parts of the case, I wasn't the biggest fan of how the investigation dragged. Not that the pace wasn't realistic, but still.

Speaking of which, the homey parts are the best. We previously left Eve and Roarke on a cliffhanger in the form of a marriage proposal. Immortal in Death opens up with the most adorable and funny exchange between the love birds about the upcoming wedding, ensuring that Eve accepted and that I am a happy, grinning, camper.

But nothing is ever simple for Eve Dallas. On top of wedding preparations--of which she is scared stiff--she's got to deal with a couple of murders, clear her best friend from said murders, and deal with her murky and abusive childhood.

But don't let that scare you - while these books always deal with harsh subjects, J.D. Robb is a master at balancing the ugly with the good, the cute and the heartwarming, through quirky dialogues, colorful and lovable characters and swoon-worthy romances, and she does it in a way that puts a smile on your face.

Speaking of the characters... Eve is, as usual, amazingly likable and kickass. I won't delve into too many general details about her 'cause I did that in my review of Glory in Death, but I will say that I love seeing her loyal side and deal with her emotions over her horrific father.

Roarke, her soulmate, is as yummy as always. This time we got to see another side of him, the side of him that can get upset with Eve. And if anything, it just added to their relationship.

A thing that kind of retracted from their relationship, or at the very least from some of the things that happened with it was how Robb squeezed in a worry Eve had over the wedding and their feelings in the last chapter. That was just so sudden and sprang put of nowhere. There was no need to add this one, especially not in the last chapter, and then solve it so easily.

An interesting character we got to know better in Immortal in Death is Eve's bestie, Mavis. I've always loved Mavis, with her ridiculous and over the top personality, but she somehow ended up being "just another character" in the book for me. She felt somewhat flat, as opposed to Peabody who positively shone!

I'm getting ahead of myself. Peobody is a young, ambitious cop who looks up to Eve. We met her before, but we got to see a whole lot more of her in Immortal in Death as Eve attaches her to the case. What we find is a witty, strong and smart woman who has a funny comeback to everything, but takes her job very seriously. She added much needed humor to the dry parts, but she was never just that. She was an integral and important part of the plot--not just comic relief.

J.D. Robb brings interesting, engaging, believable and likable characters to life in a complex web of mystery and intrigue, with no lack of sexy or heartbreaking times. This series is rapidly becoming one of my favorites!

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Old Version
You can read this review full in my blog Drugs Called Books as well as find more fun stuff! Please pop by!

3.5 stars
After finished Glory in Death, I just had to read the next one. I’m thinking I might’ve enjoyed it better if I gave the series a break, but all in all I really liked it.

The Plot
We left Eve and Roarke with a marriage proposal in Glory in Death. And, luckily enough, Immortal in Death begins with the most adorable and funny exchange between Eve and Roarke about their upcoming wedding. Aside for making me grin like mad (though luckily no one was in the room to question my sanity), it also confirmed that Eve has accepted.
But nothing is ever simple for Eve Dallas. On top of wedding preparations—of which she is scared stiff, I might add—she’s got to deal with a couple or more murders, clear Mavis, her best friend, of said murders, and deal with the one thing she has always ran away from: the memories from her childhood, the eight blank years of her life.
This book might talk of murder and some of the harder things in life such as child rape, abuse, drugs and all that (which is also the reason I won’t recommend it for the weak hearted) but I don’t think I ever grinned so widely. JD Robb really knows how to balance the ugly with the little parts in between the investigation, quirky dialogues and absolutely loveable characters, and she does it in a way that pins a smirk on your face, heavy subjects or not.

The Characters
Eve Dallas: as usual, a very likable and kickass character. I won’t go into too many details as you can see it more in my review of Glory in Death.
I liked seeing her loyal side and seeing her deal with her emotions over her father, who was a complete bastard, I might add. We also got to see more of what she’s been through, which was nice and horrifying at the same time.
Roarke: One yummy man, as always. He got a little more upset with Eve, but only because he loves her so fiercely and someone needs to make her see she’d be completely lost without him :>
Mavis: we get to see more of Mavis this book. Not sure I liked that, though :/ Mavis was always an intriguing character, and I was looking forward to seeing more of her, but she ended up being just “another character” in the book for me. One that felt a little flat to me. It was Peabody who shone in this book, I think.
Peabody: she’s a young, ambitious and good cop, who looks up to Eve. We met her in Glory in Death, but here Eve requests she’ll be attached to her throughout the entire case, and we’re given option to see her. We got to see a witty, strong and smart woman who also had self confidence issues and a funny comeback to everything, but who took her job very seriously.
My favorite parts in this book either included Eve and Roarke, or Eve with Peabody. Peabody added much needed humor to the dry and serious parts of the investigation, but she wasn’t just that. She was a good cop, and helped the plot – not just a comic relief. Some of her dialogues with Eve cracked me up.
I fear seeing her in the next book, because I'm not sure how her response to everything that went down in the end will be. She was sleeping with the guy, for god's sake. I very much fear she's going to lose all self confidence and beat herself up on it, and have to have Eve snap her out of self pity...]


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