Customer Reviews

Imitation in Death (In Death Series)

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

and disagree with the gals who didn't.. isn't life great that we are all different in our views. I thought the character development of Eve still proceeds at its usual rate. She learns more about her mother in this one. Peabody is developed more in this story. The interaction between Roarke and Eve is solid and sexy as usual. As with another reviewer, I like that Eve's compassion for the living is highlighted with the victim as well as her compassion for the dead. I liked the scene between Eve and the coroner. Where is there "lack of character development"? I enjoy the small nuances as well as the deep ones. This book is full of those wonderful small nuances... loved the family BBQ at Mira's. Other Death books are more exciting, but I look forward to seeing how all the characters keep growing in Ms. Roberts' books.

I rushed down to the store to get this yesterday, and unlike the last one [Portrait], which left me feeling a bit hurried and miffed, this one had a lot of the best things about this series. Eve Dallas has some very good moments in this book - the mystery makes sense (the murderer is actually one of the main suspects this time), still managing to keep the reader guessing. It plays out well, and the murders manage to impress upon the reader the appropriate sense of disgust intended.

The main characters mostly have some good points in this book, although I was a bit weirded out by Roberts' description of Morris (he is suddenly described with the adjective 'exotic' on two consecutive pages). Peabody is taking the detective exam, McNab is being lovey-dovey with the aforementioned, and Roarke is getting through the loss discovered in Portrait. There's a lack of Feeney in this book, as well as Nadine, but it plays out better for it, especially since Portrait had characters experiencing Significant Moments of Life every five pages. Not that this book isn't lacking in the odd character moment here and there, but it works anyway. For Lt. Dallas herself, there is a big flashback - and a fascinating one, for it's about the person that her brandy-colored eyes are from - and no, it's not her dad.

One of my favorite aspects of this series is the Eve-Roarke dynamic, and in this book, they're awfully cute in this book, and such fun to read. I don't mean gushy cute, thank goodness, but they're a highly amusing couple. A favorite moment of mine is Eve watching, with some baffled horror, as Roarke cooks, and I don't mean with an Auto-Chef. More than ever, I think this couple has really settled into a comfortable dynamic, the way that only they can do it.

One of the reasons it's such fun to read this is because of how the characters have grown throughout the books. I feel that Roberts' other books often lost realism in the characters, with the books themselves too often ending with a tidily engaged couple and pregnant female. However, the In Death series gives her the chance to naturally grow these characters, and it's really evident in this book. Compare Imitation to Naked or Glory, and it's actually a little scary to see how these characters - especially Eve and Roarke - have changed, but they've done so together, and it's sweetly romantic.

Last word: this isn't a book for new readers. It would be completely confusing, very bizarre, and without the enjoyment of seeing how these beloved characters continue to change. There is an unusually high amount of references to other J.D. Robbs here(there was even a reference to Interlude in Death), and although it's nice for the devoted reader, it can be nothing but bizarre to a newbie. In the end, this was a very entertaining book - I think one of the best in this series - and though there were no previews, I look very forward to buying Remember When in a few weeks and Divided in Death in the new year. :>

I buy the J.D. Robb books like most people go to movies they really want to see-on the first day they're available. Then, I read it cover to cover-no matter how late, no matter what time I have to get up in the morning-I have to match wits with Eve Dallas, Roarke, and the crew to see if I can guess who the killer is. The one thing I LOVE about this series (and Nora Roberts in general) is that I'm always guessing until the last clue is in place. Not so with this particular installment of the 'In Death' series.
I don't want to spoil it for those who read this book, but there's a VERY VERY big clue that reveals the killer's identity right off the bat, and it's so obvious you almost miss it. When I realized it, I was so upset, because that's the fun for me. This is the first book I've acutally been able to put down and leave for awhile-the first that didn't fully engage me to the point that everything else is a distraction. All of the qualities that makes these books so much fun are there-Roarke and Eve's love for one another, McNabb and Peabody getting more committed, Summerset (he's back!!!); and let's not forget the witty reparte' the characters have. The book got off to a very slow start for me, and I didn't enjoy this book as much as the rest. It's saying something that it took book 17 for me to get disheartened, so lets hope that "Remember When" and the next "In Death" novel makes up for this slight misstep in an otherwise great series.

Book #19 in the In Death Series.

In this book Eve is trying to catch a killer who imitates histories most notorious serial killers. The first he imitates is Jack the ripper. The only lead is the stationary that the killer leaves at the scene.

There are some important break throughs in Eve's past. And Eve tries for some normalcy when she goes to a family picnic at Mira's house.

McNab shines as he helps Peabody study for her detective shield. And I love how they catch the killer.

It's always amusing to watch Eve twitch over the ever growing romance between mcNab and Peabody.

I almost deducted a star for Eve's ever increasing lack of sensitivity. Sometimes it is too much.

This is just another excellent installment of a fabulous series.

A killer is on the loose. The killer chooses a famous serial killer and imitates that killer each time he kills. It is up to Eve to find the killer before he kills again. The plot goes through the crime scenes and intertwines Eve's personal life with her job. Eve is all cop, but she has problems and a past that she will not let get in her way of finding justice for her victims. I enjoy her friends and co-workers as well as the infamous Rouke. It was a most enjoyable book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

The usual futuristic murder, mayhem, electronic intrigue, and psychological angst familiar to fans of Lieutenant Eve Dallas, the brainchild of Nora Roberts, a.k.a. J.D. Robb, take a back seat, again as usual, to Roberts' ever-evolving characters. Like the tough, courageous, makeup-scorning New York-loving culturally deprived but brilliantly wise Eve, the reader has difficulty selecting a favorite from Roberts' list of "suspects": the stalwart, always-hungry Officer Delia Peabody, Eve's sidekick, fretting over the detectives' exam; Peabody's main squeeze, the ultimate computer geek Detective Ian McNab, whose relationship with Peabody Eve has at last (reluctantly) accepted; Charles Monroe, the smooth-talking but heart-of-gold LC (that's high-class legal prostitute) dating Eve's doctor friend after a tense love triangle with Peabody and McNab; Mavis Freestone, Eve's pregnant but untamed friend; Dr. Charlotte Mira, the razor-sharp-within-velvet-gloves New York police (NYPSD) psychologist who horrifies Eve by inviting her to a family barbecue; Eve's mother and father, who would make Susan Smith's blood run cold, glimpsed in Eve's nightmares; and Roarke, Eve's wealthy, romantic, utterly sexy (his attempt at a private barbecue is adorably botched) husband who, like her, emerged from a rough childhood as a productive if not always law-abiding citizen.

Motherhood and family, including the extended family Eve has put together (her relationships with Peabody, Roarke and Mira in particular become richer), form the heart of this thriller, combined with the sharp police work, moral compass and hot loving sex readers have come to expect.

We continue to be astounded at the publishing pace of Nora Roberts. Despite her "regular" books under her own name, these fun NYPD homicide Lt. Eve Dallas stories, written as "JD Robb", keep coming at the rate of one or two a year. "Imitation...", the 17th entry in the "... In Death" series, is not the emotional blockbuster of the just prior two ("Purity..." and "Portrait..."), but nonetheless entertains throughout this tough-minded police procedural. When a licensed companion (that's a "hooker" in year 2059 parlance) is found brutally murdered in the style of Jack the Ripper, followed in quick succession by the killing of a popular female apartment dweller, slain Boston Strangler style, it doesn't take the two notes recovered from the bodies, on unusual stationary, to clue any of us that a vicious copycat serial killer is on the loose. When it turns out the notes are addressed to Dallas personally, it's also clear that she herself is probably on the intended hit list, providing immense worry to her billionaire but loving husband Roarke. His role in this novel, as in many of the prior tales, is one of Eve's crime-solving sidekick, along with faithful aide Officer Delia Peabody. Fortunately, the notepaper provides a small roster of immediate suspects, but Robb cleverly keeps us guessing, 'til like ten pages before the end, which of the half dozen users of the stationary might be the real sicko. While a sub-plot of sorts involves Peabody's trials and tribulations getting ready for her detective's exam, the storyline is very much ala Ellery Queen in terms of clues, follow-up, and solid police work. Eve's intuition serves her well, but her assembling and processing of the clues is flawless as she gradually zeroes in, then sucks in, the bad guy.

Eve's hardships as an abused young girl, and her husband's often "shady" background provide the usual backdrop to much of the motivation of the principals. Their marital relationship is always a subject of both display and discussion. Meanwhile, Peabody's moving in with McNab, another regular, provides a foil in "examining" the nature of adults living together. We're still big fans of the whole set, and at the point when many similar ongoing character series novels have long gone stale, find continued enjoyment in Dallas' pursuits. We think you will too!

Eve Dallas, a police lieutenant, faces the most challenging case of her career, when she has to track down a serial killer that duplicates the brutal killing styles of notorious serial killers. A prostitute (LC is the term used in the book) is killed in the style of Jack the Ripper and the next victim meets their fate a la Boston Strangler style. With each murder, a personal note is left for Eve as the killer singles her out. Roarke, Eve's husband, is not the least bit amused with this last fact.

Robb, a.k.a. Nora Roberts, offers a splendid blend of mystery, thriller action, internal friction amongst the principle characters and poignant intimacy spiced with a dash of sex to make this a very interesting read. I recommend this book.

Personal notes attached to the victims draw Eve Dallas into a case where she trails a murderer imitating historical serial killers. Peabody is worried about her detective's exam and moving in with McNab. Unfortunately, that pretty much sums up this book. The other 'In Death' murder mysteries were usually gripping and new readers could enjoy those stories, even if they were unfamiliar with the series' characters. I don't believe that is the case with this book. I found the murder mystery to be recycled and predictable and thought the story just dragged. All the regular chararacters were stagnant. Mavis, Nadine, Feeney, Morris, Trueheart and even Summerset were thrown into the story as afterthoughts. Some of the scenes with Eve and Roarke were cute but there was no additional evolution of their relationship.

I have followed the 'In Death' series from the first book, but this is my least favorite. Like the other fans of the series, I'm hooked and will buy the future 'In Death' novels as soon as they come out, but I definitely do not recommend this book for a new reader. If this was a reader's first book in the series, they would never pick up another and that would be a shame because most are really good stories.

I have read every "In Death" book in the entire series, and each time I finish an entry like "Imitation in Death," I am chafing at the bit for the next one.

"Imitation in Death" is one of the better books in the series, because it so adeptly weaves together the ongoing stories of the main characters with the very well-drawn plot at hand: A serial killer is showing off for Eve, modeling each of his horrendous murders after a "classic" killer, from Jack the Ripper to the Boston Strangler to a fictional perpetrator who supposedly plied his trade in the 2020s.

Now, in the 2050s, Eve must stop him before he runs completely amok--and her main suspects include some very famous people. Meanwhile, down on the home front, Eve and Roarke's relationship is better than ever (this is one of the main draws of the series, to my mind) as Eve savors the last days without her hated adversary Summerset, the major domo (butler!) of Roarke's estate, who was sent on vacation in the last book.

Peabody and McNab have made a "mag" and major decision, which has Peabody in a tizzy as she studies for her detective's exam. Will she make it? And Mavis and Leonardo are busy garbing Mavis in outrageous maternity clothes that only she could wear--and only he could design.

Absolutely a winner. I was sad when I finished the last page. Note to Nora (J.D. Robb): Hurry up with the next one! PLEASE!