Book 39 - Kindred in Death

It's no secret I'm a J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) fan.

I've been reading the In Death series for so many years I've lost track of which ones I haven't read and which of the more-than-30 I've read more than once. There's a certain level of writing quality and story I've come to expect from this series - and as expected, Kindred in Death didn't disappoint.

When the daughter of a decorated high-ranking police officer is brutally murdered and raped in her own home, the grieving father asks Eve Dallas to lead the investigation. The case is high profile - but for Eve, who still relives the memories of her horrible past - it's also personal. She must not only solve the mystery fast to provide some peace for the family (and get the media off her back), she must also learn to push aide the demons from her youth and keep focussed on the present.

To do this, she pulls together a team of regulars, including Peabody and Feeney, Truebody, Dr. Mira, and of course, her handsome husband, Roarke. (In my head, he's very handsome, though when I considered him for Muse Avatar Monday I had no idea what "celebrity" might play his role. Ideas, anyone?)

As always, Kindred in Death is a fast-paced thriller with snappy dialogue and plenty of plot twists. Nora is wonderful with scene setting, and something I noticed with this book is how easily she navigates transition moments. Like how to take characters from point A to point B without breaking the scene or awkward "and then" phrasing. I've always felt this to be a bit of a weakness in my own writing and as a fix, I tend to shorten my chapters. Not a terrible tactic, but I could learn a lot from Nora on alternatives.

Of course, I've been saying that for as long as I've been reading her.

I'm fascinated with mysteries, even though I don't have any desire to write a traditional one - thriller's more my genre. Still, it's inspiring to see how neatly the crisis is righted, and how the ending is flipped to take you away from the gore and into some kind of teary-eyed finale. I cried. Hey, don't judge me, I've always said Nora is the Queen of Emotion.

I'd absolutely recommend this book - but with the usual caveat: Read at least the first five in the series before you get out of order. At least then you have a good sense of the characters who will star in almost every book, and you'll understand how Eve and Roarke could definitely qualify for "Greatest Love of All Time" status.

Although I'm rarely bored in an In Death book, I admit to racing through the end of Kindred. My TBR pile is already groaning and I have a book from my BF that's burning a hole in my shelf, but last night, Handsome Hubby bought me Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. It's a young adult supernatural-ish story (faeries, not vampires or werewolves!) and I foolishly read the prologue and first chapter. I didn't want to stop.

In fact, if I didn't have dance tonight (Dance Hall, gulp) then I would actually plant myself on the deck and read until I couldn't keep my eyes open. Can't wait!