Portrait in Death
by J. D. Robb
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Book Reviews of Portrait in Death
Book Review: Varying the Formula
Summary: 4 Stars
Roarke doesn't own the scene of the crime! I think that that may be a first for this series.Likewise, Roarke's part in the investigation is much smaller than usual, as he spends the first two-thirds of the book either tending to his major-domo/surrogate father, Summerset, after he is injured tripping on the cat on the stairs, or investigating surprise revelations about his own heritage in Dublin.
With Roarke mostly out of the way, Roberts concentrates strongly on Dallas and Peabody's investigation of the killings; other regulars like McNabb, Feeney, Nadine Furst and Dr Mira make only peripheral (though fairly important) appearances.
Just as an earlier volume (Seduction in Death) seemed to take a major part of its inspiration from the Leopold/Loeb murders that also inspired Hitchcok's "Rope", this volume is, once all is revealed, somewhat reminiscent of both "Psycho" and "Red Dragon".
What Roarke discovers in Dublin and County Clare, after revelations from a social worker at the refuge for abused women and children he is funding, may well change the future course of the series. (And, here, there is an interesting resonance with the [sadly] now defunct, often brilliant DC comic "Hitman", in which anti-hero professional killer Tommy Monaghan makes a similar journey to discover similar history... but with widely differing results.)
Someone is killing brilliant and beautiful young people, photographing them and sending the imagery to Nadine Furst at Channel 75; apparently the killer seems to believe that somehow he will, through his post-mortem photos of the victims in life-like poses, capture what he calls their "light" and, perhaps, become immortal if he can capture enough such "light".
As usual, Dallas takes these attacks on the innocent and defenseless as a personal affront, and doggedly tracks down the killer.
Also as usual, while the form of the books is police-procedural stories set in a science-fictional milieu, there are lapses in logic as the story advances by coincidence and intuition. ((This does NOT make it a bad story as such, just one in which the reader doesn't have much chance of solving it ahead of the protagonist.)) As often in this series, the identity of the killer sort of comes out of left field, though when revealed, both plausibility and consistency are there.
One thing that sometimes causes me to drop the rating of books in this series by a star or so from where i usually would rate them based on the story alone, is the background.
Dallas and Roarke and Co are operating in the New York City of 2059. The history of now till then as she Roberts has sketched it in, involving something called the "Urban Wars", is acceptably plausible (and conveniently vague); but the world that they live in bothers me.
Most specifically, in the year 2059 (which is, after all, only fifty-six years in our future), Roberts would have us believe that interstellar -- not interplanetary but interSTELLAR -- travel has become so common that there are luxury resorts on the worlds of other stars, and that faster-than-light interplanetary/interstellar communications not only exist but are apparently at about the level that long-distance phone calls were, forty or so years ago -- expensive, but not particularly so.
I don't believe it. And, while i am willing to perform that trick called "willing suspension of disbelief" up to a point, i am sometimes jarred while reading these books (and others, more overtly pitched as "science fiction", for that matter) by a necessity to hang my disbelief by the neck until dead.
But, that said, this is a worthy entry in a series that consistently delivers solid reading enjoyment, good if not particularly plausible cop action, the occasional little gruesome shiver, and plenty of enjoyable interaction between the members of a well-established and solidly-constructed cast.
And more than usual of Dallas and Summerset's running feud, and of their joint love of and concern for Roarke.
(Which reminds me, i suspect that one of the characters in this book may well become a new semi-regular in the series.)
There's no doubt that Pierce Brosnan would make a wonderful Roarke, if anyone were making a film. But i can't, for the life of me, come up with an actress to cast as Dallas...
Book Review: better than I remembered--4.5 stars
Summary: 5 Stars
I nearly didn't re-read this one. I'd started it a couple of weeks ago, then stopped when I realized I hadn't re-read Purity in Death yet. I wasn't looking forward to picking this one up again because all I remembered of it was that I didn't think the killer's plan made sense.
But I picked it up and resumed reading anyway.
I'd forgotten all the good stuff in this book. I didn't forget that it happened--I just forgot that it was in this book. The big thing is, of course, that Roarke finds out that his mother wasn't the cruel, heartless Meg Roarke who abandoned him, but rather a sweet and loving young woman who was killed by his father when she tried to leave. Roarke does not handle the information well, and locks himself in his home office (violating his edict of no locked doors from Judgment in Death), refusing to talk to either Eve or Summerset.
Before that, however, Summerset was supposed to be going on vacation, but he falls down the stairs, tripped by the cat, and breaks his leg. It's almost as rough on Roarke as it is on Summerset, because Summerset is his surrogate father. So when Roarke's emotions get in the way, it's up to Eve to smooth things over with the nurse Roarke hired so Summerset can recuperate at home. Roarke and Summerset's feelings for each other are the clearest we've seen them, even more so than in Vengeance. It's especially clear in the private conversations between Eve and Summerset.
The mystery plot starts with a young woman's body being discovered in a dumpster, and a statement sent to reporter Nadine Furst saying that he's captured her "light," with accompanying photographs. The whole gang gets called in on this one, even including Baxter and his new trainee, Trueheart. Some of the clues lead Eve to temperamental photographer Hastings, who's the source of much of the comic relief. I hope we see him again eventually.
The mystery itself was better than I'd remembered, but my attention was mostly on Roarke's revelation and its effect on him and on his relationships. His reactions were very realistic, and fit well with the character we've gotten to know over the past 18 books. This is something he can't fix, he can't buy or steal, and he can't go back in time and change anything. It made him much more human than previous books did.
The personal crisis not only changes Roarke's understanding of his past, it also prompts growth in their marriage. The realistic portrayal of marriage as a work in progress rather than as a static state or an end result is one of my favorite things about this series, and this book excels at it.
The conclusion of the mystery was tense and emotional. My only complaint was that part of the killer's motivation wasn't explained. Seems like a little thing, but it left me with an unsatisfied feeling that was the only thing I'd remembered specifically from this book, so it's worth mentioning.
Book Review: Role Reversals
Summary: 5 Stars
Hints of Spoilers (Caution)By far this has got to be one of my favorite book of the series. Nora Roberts is a wonderful writer, but as the series dragged on, there too many characters introduced and Dallas's neurotic "snits" became tedius and childish.
One of the reasons I loved this book so much was the role reversals of the characters. Summerset acts like Eve, Eve matures as a wife and acts like Roarke, and Roarke--well he's kind of locked in his own world of pain that we have never seen before.
In addition, Nora Roberts trimmed down her cast so that the story didn't bog down with all their side stories. I've been getting tired of the Peabody-McNabb, Louisa-LC, Mavis-Leonardo, Mira, and Trina side stories. This time the murder plot and Roarke dealing with the past were the central points in the book. It was great. I cried several times through the book about Roarke's situation and whenever Eve had to deal with grieving parents. The murder mystery was great too, I didn't know who the killer was until the end.
The way Nora Roberts described the turmoil and emotions in this far surpassed her previous books. She dealt with the relationship of Roarke and Eve in such a way that it feels like a real marriage of emotions, and not some 2 dimensional rich guy whose perfect and always protecting his neurotic wife. I also liked the teaming of Eve and Summerset. It was wonderful to see them mature enough to team up against something they had in common. SPOILER SPOILER: The nature of Patrick Roarke's death and Summerset's involvement was a surprise. I guess somehow subconsciously it seemed right. I'm curious about Roarke's knowledge or suspicions of this. If Eve suspected, then Roarke should have too. Eve was such a great character in this book. For once she wasn't just locked into this one mold of determination to find the killer. She was aware about her wifely duties and shuffled her work life to deal with her personal life. I also enjoyed the introduction of Hastings as well. He kind of a carbon copy of other characters that have been introduced here and there in the series, where the character is cranky and tempermental, but has a great raport with either Roarke or Eve.
I'm looking forward to seeing future interactions with Roarke's blood relations now. Roarke's first name will have to remain a mystery though. I'm assuming his mother would definetly name him on the birth certificate.
I would highly recommend this book. This ranks as my favorite book of the series, above Naked In Death and Glory In Death.
Book Review: Shocking developments regarding Roarke's past
Summary: 5 Stars
In my mind, one of the keys to keep a series going as long as J.D. Robb has is to get the readers to identify with the characters at some level. That is why the author provides us with information about the main characters' past in every book, and continues developing their stories looking forward. We have seen that a good portion of the previous novels has been devoted to the past of our heroine, Lieutenant Eve Dallas. The abuse by her father and the shock of killing him when she was a kid in order to escape are present in every installment of this series. We do know some facts about Roarke's past too, an abusive father and a mother that abandoned him, but in this novel we are faced with a truth that shakes the foundation of the billionaire.
Besides the personal stories, we are always presented with cleverly crafted mysteries, and even though in this book the case Eve is working on takes a secondary part, it fulfills its role regarding entertainment, action and suspense. Everything starts when Nadine Furst, a reporter for channel 75 and friend of Eve, receives an anonymous message that leads her to believe someone is dead. She calls Eve and the lieutenant quickly finds the body of a young girl inside a recycle bin. Nadine not only received a message, but also photos of the victim before and after being killed, with the latter one being staged. The victim was taking a course in imaging, so Eve and her aide Delia Peabody start going after the killer with this consideration in mind. As Robb has done in some of her previous books, we get to "read into the killer mind" in some of the passages and find out that this person believes that the victims will live forever through the images.
This one is one of the best installments in the series so far because the developments in Roarke's personal story create an unparalleled eagerness on the reader. I know it did in my case, since I read this one in a single sitting. There are also other developments, like the relationship between Peabody and McNabb moving forward with them thinking about living together, and the fact that Mavis is pregnant. As the series progresses, I have found that it is harder and harder for the author to inform the reader of everything that has occurred in the past of this set of characters, so you will be missing important points if you have not read the previous books. For those that have been following Eve's adventures, I hope that you agree with me in that this book is without a doubt among the best by Robb.
Book Review: The Best So Far!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again another great addition to the In Death Series. I have to disagree with a reviewer, I found this book truly outstanding. I really did, I think it is the best in the series thus far. The entire book was very surprising, excellent scenario! Normally you figure it out toward the end the "who dune it" but this time round I didn't have a clue.
More of Roarke and Dallas's personal stories were revealed, but this time the shoe was on the other foot. There is a secret Roarke discovered. You learned a new side to him as he also learned this side. You also saw a side to Eve as she put her work case second and her husband first. I can't tell you what it is this would spoil it but to do all this learning the end up in Ireland.
Then a bright young college student is murdered and thrown in a recycler like so much trash, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is, determined to stand for the dead and find the killer. But perhaps most disturbing about this particular case, is that prior to the discovery of the body, a package of photos of the murdered girl were sent to Eve's friend, Nadine Furst, a well-known TV reporter. It's clear that the killer photographed the victim for some time before the death, without her knowledge, and it's also clear that in the picture, the girl is already dead. The killer wants Nadine's help in showing his work. Then the second victim in found and once again it revolves around their picture the killer had taken. Portrait in Death blasted off with a bold and imaginative concept on an obsession of immortality, and light, but its depth grew when Robb emphasized on the action and characters. The storyline was so compelling, it really made this a page turning thriller.
All the characters who are loved were also back in this entry. There is still humor between Eve and Peabody's dialog. Still humor in Eve and Sumorset, even more in this story as he had a fall and delayed his holiday. One talent Robb has is the building of characters.
This is a must read for all the In Death readers out there. If you are new to the series, start at the beginning with Naked in death and just go down the line. It will not take long either and they get addicting. I know I can't wait for the new one to come out in fall. I really do enjoy this series and I really do feel this was the best of them so far.