Innocent in Death

The phenomenal series set in a future New York City returns as NYPSD Lt. Eve Dallas hunts for the killer of a seemingly ordinary history teacher--and uncovers some extraordinary surprises. Craig Foster's death devastated his young wife, who'd sent him to work that day with a lovingly packed lunch. It shocked his colleagues at the private school, too, and as for the ten-year-old girls who found him in his classroom in a pool of bodily fluids--they may have been traumatized for life. Eve soon determines that Foster's homemade lunch was tainted with deadly ricin, and that Mr. Foster's colleagues have some startling secrets of their own. It's Eve's job to sort it out--and discover why someone would have done this to a man who seemed so inoffensive, so pleasant . . . so innocent. Now Magdalena Percell . . . there's someone Eve can picture as a murder victim. Possibly at Eve's own hands. The slinky blonde--an old flame of her billionaire husband, Roarke--has arrived in New York, and she's anything but innocent. Roarke seems blind to Magdalena's manipulation, and he insists that the occasional lunch or business meeting with her is nothing to worry about . . . and none of Eve's business. Eve's so unnerved by the situation that she finds it hard to focus on her case. Still, she'll have to put aside her feelings, for a while at least--because another man has just turned up dead. Eve knows all too well that innocence can be a facade. Keeping that in mind may help her solve this case at last. But it may also tear apart her marriage.

It’s been two years since I picked up a book in the In Death series, and I held off reading Innocent in Death because the synopsis actually deterred me away from reading it. I decided it was time to go back to reading this series and get over my issues with the synopsis of this book. I had faith in the characters that things would not take a dark turn for my favorite couple. 

Yes, Eve and Roarke are one of my favorite married couples in a long-running series. I love the characters individually, too. Eve with her kick-butt detective ways, and Roarke with his love, devotion, and protective ways when it came to his wife. What I’m not a fan of is when someone comes from Roarke’s past trying to wreak havoc on Eve and his marriage. This is exactly what happened in this book and let’s just say I had to drink a glass of wine or two while reading this book because Roarke was ticking me off. I even had to set the book down and look at it to make sure I was reading certain things right.

Roarke’s choices, in the beginning, drove me batty, and Eve had every right to be upset. I felt for her, especially when she was trying to solve a history teacher’s murder. She had to juggle the case while also dealing with her personal issue with Roarke. I loved how she handled the issue with Roarke and the other woman, though, especially towards the end of the book. I will say this: I’ll never doubt Roarke when it involves Eve and his love for her. He redeemed himself and started making better choices, especially when he realized what the other woman was trying to do. 

The case that Eve and Peabody had to solve was a tough one in this book. This case was one that I was in shock to find out who was behind the murder of the history teacher, plus other people who ended up murdered along the way. I thought I had it figured out because of what Eve and Peabody were discovering with a couple of the people who worked at the school, but no, it took a turn that I wasn’t expecting. Eve had figured out who was behind it before everyone else, and they started questioning her judgment, but in the long run, Eve was right. 

This was another amazing installment in the In Death series that was full of mystery, suspense, and drama that gave me heart palpitations at times. I give it five stars and look forward to continuing my In Death ReadALong Challenge. 

Audiobook Review: Susan Ericksen is one of my favorite narrators, and I love how she brings the story and characters to life for this series. I love that she switches accents for characters, especially for my favorite Irish former criminal, Roarke, something AI will never be able to do. If you enjoy listening to your books, then I highly recommend this series in audiobook. 

Why hasn’t this book series been picked up for a TV series? Get with it, Hollywood, and make it happen because this is something that would be amazing on TV.  

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About J.D. Robb

J.D. Robb is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling In Death series and the pseudonym for #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts. The futuristic suspense series stars Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past. Initially conceived as a trilogy, readers clamored for more of Eve and the mysterious Roarke. Shadows in Death(St. Martin's Press, September 2020) is the 51st entry in the series.

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FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)

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