REUNION IN DEATH by J.D. Robb is the fourteenth in the series. As with the previous thirteen books, it provides another opportunity to see Eve Dallas face her fears and embrace her emotions. And, while the idea of one of Eve's former collars coming back to exact revenge may sound familiar, her response to the threat this time is quite different.

One of the best parts about REUNION IN DEATH is that it occurs around Eve and Roarke's first anniversary. Despite an ongoing murder investigation, Ms. Robb takes the time to show her heroes taking the night off to celebrate and reflect. It is a beautiful scene. More importantly, it shows how much they've grown over the past year.

Another scene of note in REUNION IN DEATH is Eve's trip back to Dallas. Here, Ms. Robb is delicate, showing Eve confronting her past and remembering hidden memories without delving into specifics. We feel Eve's emotional state more than we get the details of what happened to her. It is one of the most difficult scenes to read but one that is very necessary for Eve's well-being.

Julie Dockport, as Eve's nemesis in REUNION IN DEATH, is a great foil. Her toxic femininity is downright scary. Even better, however, is how well it showcases the idea that our past does not have to define us. Given her past, Eve could have gone down a very different path than the one she chose, and the same holds true for Julie.

As always, Susan Erickson is a delight to listen to. As I've said before, by this time, she is Eve Dallas for all intents and purposes. I don't think I could watch a movie or TV show of the In Death series (should they ever choose to make one) simply because her voices are the characters. No actor will ever be able to match Ms. Erickson's performance.

I know I say this in every review, but I feel that REUNION IN DEATH is the best book in the series to this point. Between the trip to Dallas, their anniversary, and some of the smaller but still vital scenes between Eve and Roarke as they maneuver their way through another dangerous confrontation with Eve's foe, I suspect REUNION IN DEATH contains some of the most important events in Eve's growing humanity. ( )

Just in time for Eve and Roarke's first wedding anniversary, an old enemy comes from Eve's past determined to take away the one thing she loves most - Roarke. This woman has made a career of meeting, marrying, and killing older men. She is an accomplished liar and very adept at presenting whatever image she needs. It is harder to track her down for this new set of killings because she has changed her pattern. She is still killing rich older men but she isn't forming a relationship with them first. The pieces of the story we get from her point of view show a thrill killer who is angry that she didn't get the respect she thought Eve owed her when she caught her the first time.

Even while her Free Ager parents are visiting and charming everyone around them, Peabody gets her first cold case to investigate and amply shows that Eve's training is developing her into an excellent police officer. She even stands up to Eve once or twice which shows that their relationship is growing more to friendship and a relationship of equals. On another relationship front, LC Charles relationship is growing closer to Dr. Louise Dimatto. Louise has a bigger role in this one as she is called in to patch Eve up after various dangerous encounters. It is also at one of her fundraisers for her clinics in poor areas of town that the book's events come to a climax.

Eve is also starting to be willing to look into the past that has mostly haunted her nightmares since she was a child. When the case takes them to Dallas, Eve is forced to relive the time when she killed her father and escaped with a broken arm in the city. They find the hotel where she killed him and are surprised to find that it has undergone gentrification. The scenes where Eve and Roarke retrace Eve's steps are some of the most emotionally intense scenes I have ever read.

This episode also sees Mira becoming more of a confident than just a colleague as Eve goes to talk to her and urges her to talk to Roarke too.

This series has chilling villains and intriguing plots, but the best part for me is watching the relationships. I think watching Eve and Roarke build a strong marriage and relationship is the core of the series for me. This is, however, one of those series that has to be read in order. Yes, there are lots of books. But I recommend beginning this series and getting to know Eve and Roarke. ( )

Reunion in Death
4 Stars

In her latest case, Lieutenant Eve Dallas investigates the poisoning of a wealthy business man. After ruling out the obvious suspects, Eve realizes that the victim was targeted by a newly paroled prisoner - a killer that Eve was responsible for incarcerating. With vengeance in mind, the killer has set her sights on Eve and is determined to fulfill her deadly agenda.

The mystery in this installment is interesting, mainly due to the sociopathic nature of the villain who always seems to be one step ahead of our intrepid heroine. Nevertheless, much of the book actually focuses on the continuing character development and growth as Eve confronts some of her personal demons, Roarke accepts some difficult truths, and Peabody is put to the test when she is given responsibility for investigating a cold case and interrogating a suspect.

The dramatic scenes in which Eve and Roarke travel to Dallas highlight the emotional and psychological depths of Robb's writing as Eve takes the first steps in dealing with the horrific events of her past, and Roarke fully comprehends the enormity of what happened to her.

In addition to this trip down memory lane, the story also includes a visit from Peabody's New-Ager parents. While Sam Peabody is another father figure in the same vein as Feeney, Whitney, Mr. Mira and even Summerset, his wife is another matter. Phoebe Peabody has that protective mother vibe, but she is also somewhat creepy and perhaps even a lot scary. She's not someone you would want to mess with.

All in all, another action packed book in the series, but also one with some intense introspection on the part of the characters. Looking forward to the next one. ( )

It is the summer of 2059 as Reunion in Death by J.D. Robb begins and Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department is returning to work after a sumptuous two weeks of vacation. Roarke and Dallas have just spent a week in Mexico at a villa and a week on a private island. The food, sun, and surf, as well as time with each other was exactly what she needed. Especially after various serious events in recent books.

Things are quiet on her first day back. Thanks to her assistant, Peabody, who has caught up all the paperwork, Dallas has time to go through multiple unsolved cases. One of which is the case regarding Marsha Stibbs who was found dead in her tub at home by her husband, Boyd Stibbs, when he returned from an out-of-town trip. In addition to the fact that she had a fracture skull, she had not drowned as there was no water in her lungs.
After an initial reinterview of the husband, who is now remarried and has a young child, and some thinking about it, Dallas assigns Peabody the case and tells her to run with it. It is time, since Peabody knows Dallas’s methods by now, that she gives her a case of her own to work. She will work it on her down time when she isn’t working their new case with Dallas.

The new case is the murder of the very wealthy sixty-year-old man, Walter C. Pettibone who died during his own birthday party. Hos wealth did nothing for him after he drank alcohol laced with cyanide. The drink was handed to him by a young woman who was dressed as one of the catering staff. She wasn’t.

Who she is slowly becomes clear to Dallas and her team. The woman is young, attractive, and very much a cold-blooded killer. She has done this before. She is back and killing again and will continue to do so unless Eve Dallas and her team can stop her. They better as she wants to kill Roarke too.

Fourteen books in and Roarke is once again a major target. He is also around to again do some off the book stuff as well as throw money and influence where it is needed. Proving again that the wealthy are far different from you and I in so many ways.

All the usual caveats apply in terms of graphic and detailed sexual situations, head hopping shifts of point of view, and all the rest of it. As always, this series is not one to take too seriously. These books are a fun way to cleanse the mind and Reunion in Death is another example.

My reading copy came from the Dallas Public Library System through the Overdrive/Libby app.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2022 ( )

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