#In Death series

[trekkele]

Theres a pretty interesting read of the In Death series where 1. low level psychic powers like empathy manipulation and communication with the dead exist and 2. Eve has some level of both but it only manifests in her dreams of her current dead and cases. Personally ive been reading it like that for a while because it changes nothing but the occasional dream sequence into something a little more horrifying

[shipcestuous]

I was the anon who asked about how to do long messages anonymously. Thank you so much for the response. I had no idea this was a thing, and I've been on Tumblr for a long time now, lol. XD I never thought using the dash view was how users can send long messages like this. Now that I can write in long texts, I want to mention a CONSENSUAL twincest (M/F) pairing to your list that appears in one of my favorite female detective novels, the In Death series by J.D. Robb. They're not a major pairing, but they appear as side characters in one of the books of the series, Holiday in Death. It's the only example of consensual incest in the entire series so far, as incest by default is treated negatively due to the fact that a lot of the examples of incest in the series is done via abuse and/or non-consensual (e.g. in another book, Born in Death, features an evil mother/son duo). The main female character herself was a victim of it and it's something she continues suffer from PTSD through the series. I recommend new readers DO NOT get into the series without having full knowledge of what to expect, because there are lot of heavy and dark scenes/topics that can be triggering. In spite of how incest is viewed/portrayed overall in the series, the twincest pairing in the book aren't treated as horrible people (they're actually pretty nice), especially after the twin sister went through a horrible ordeal. The female MC doesn't arrest them for it and made a point to say that she isn't here judge them, as she's more concerned about catching the culprit. However, she is squicked out by it when she found out, but keeps her personal opinions to herself.

I'm glad to see you taking advantage of the long ask option!

Thanks so much for your detailed recommendation of this book. I'm so glad the main character lets them be.

[theloneliestblackgirlblog]

I enjoy the In Death series a lot. It’s very fun to read but for the love of God I will pay a million kisses to whoever can get J.D Robb (Nora Roberts) to stop writing Eve interact with characters who are victims of rape and sexual assault/abuse. A lot of times those characters end up killing their abusers or are “in the way” of Eve identifying the killer. For example I recently read Brotherhood in Death and Vengeance in Death, also kinda Purity in Death.

All it does is shows the hypocrisy of Eve’s morals. She seems to have a very hard time understanding that some people’s form of Justice is having their abuser dead by their hand. That is good enough for them. It’s not that she has to agree with it or support it, she can’t cause she’s a cop. But she seems to have a hard time understanding it at all.

All we get is everyone around Eve being like “no Eve you killing your abuser is different! Those other guys who killed their abusers are in the wrong, you’re not.” Even though in the grand scheme of things one can argue her killing is exactly the same.

Also she comes across as rude, unsympathetic, and sometimes heartless. Not because she’s “standing for the victims” and often times because of her job it makes her hunt down victims and stand for the people who victimized them in the first place. However, what makes her worse in my opinion, is the fact that she doesn’t really offer any kindness or sympathy. Just “why didn’t you go to the police” or “it’s your fault you didn’t go to the police” which is ironic because 1) them killing their abusers is sometimes the only reason their crimes get brought to light and investigated and 2) with her (spoiler?) background with Homeland Security she should know that not all organizations deemed to protect and serve are trustworthy. What can be said to a victim of their abuser is powerful enough to just call up the chief of police when they get accused?

My other thing is that Roberts writes Eve as a character who comes off as so deep into the patriarchal bargain (in simple terms a ‘not like other girls girl’) that she is very misogynistic when dealing with women who step out of her schematic of what a woman should be. (This also extends to her friends). Which makes sense in terms of her job, her position but makes her unlikable when it comes to cases where women and their pain are the forefront. I suppose that’s what Peabody is for.

Eve is not my favorite character of the series, she is a good character in some regards. When I read cases like what I hope I outlined above it’s like really hard for me to brush past her (what I deem) character flaws.

This Goodreads review of Brotherhood in Death by reader “E” pretty much sums up my thoughts more eloquently.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1545230948

[lizabethstucker]

Payback in Death by J. D. Robb

5 out of 5

In Death 57

Lieutenant Eve Dallas is barely back from her vacation with Roarke when she is called to the scene of a dead body. The body is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Bureau captain. Although an attempt to indicate suicide was made, it was too sloppy. Not to mention that neither Greenleaf's protege from the department, Detective Webster, nor his wife believe he would ever commit suicide.

Narrowing down the possible suspect list will be the biggest problem, especially considering Greenleaf was a righteous and dedicated IAB investigator, dealing with black and white, not grey when it came to dirty cops. Eve has to go by the book, but her instincts are already screaming about who is involved if she can only prove it before anyone else dies.

Starting with a visit to Roarke's family in Ireland was an endearing chapter and hinted strongly at the thread of family, both blood and chosen, that wove through this story. As Dr. Mira said, family's where you make it. But unfortunately sometimes that feeling of family and/or friendship may be only one-sided.

I know this is a much repeated refrain whenever I review the books of J. D. Robb and Nora Roberts, but the characterization is the real shining star. We know these people, not just the main characters. The supporting side people, friends and coworkers, hit just the right spots, giving a familiar ambiance to everything happening. It is what keeps the reader coming back time and again.

I honestly couldn't stop reading as I got farther into the book the second day. I kept thinking that I would go just a little bit more and then put it aside to finish cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc., but I just wasn't able to. I found this a winner and look forward to the February installment.

[strongbookthoughts]

Notes on Random in Death by JD Robb

So the challenge in talking about this book for me is that I've read the 50+ books in the series that come before it. But, hey, let's give it a go. For those that don't know, the In Death series is a mystery series set in the near future. Eve Dallas is a murder cop in New York, and her sexy Irish billionaire husband is a former criminal.

I'm generally feeling that this is the best book in the series by a long shot, but it isn't the worst. There is something of a bingo card of scenes and inside jokes for every novel, and most of those felt reasonably fresh this time. It was the mystery itself that fell a little flat for me.

One of my favorite things about the series is the interpersonal relationships between all the regular cast. Eve and Roarke never stop working on their relationship and learning how to communicate with each other, and there is always growth there. Eve slowly being won over by her BFF's toddler is also always great.

This book may have had the least annoying insight dream in the entire series.

The series used to refer to money as "credits," which was a great way for me to not think about what inflation should look like for 30 years in the future. Recently, they've been saying dollars, which is a bit jarring, since money is usually mentioned in connection with clues.

The series has a variety of types of mysteries within the murder investigations. In some of them, all the reasonable suspects are introduced early on and the reader gets to solve them with cast. In this one, it was more of a needle-in-the-hay-stack hunt. It's not my favorite type, but it gave space for the interpersonal stuff to shine.

Also, it's kind of hilarious when Robb has to invent a slang for teenagers so that they can be extra young and hip and confusing to the adults.

So... final opinion? Solid within the series, but not great. And not the book I'd hand to someone curious about the series.

[astrowarr]

after watching several povs, there's something so striking about the way mumbo died.

he dies at home, first of all, which is notable in its own right because so much of his time was spent running about, usually in pursuit of kills. he dies with grian, too— to a thing grian created, no less, but it isn't actually grian's fault for once.

mumbo dies in that tall tower and when lightning strikes, from all across the server, everyone looks. their eyes land on that tower, and everyone is watching. even in grian's perspective, you can see everyone at renwood mound, lined up and staring. those at the bamlands looked on too.

they didn't see mumbo die, but they saw grian's grief. grian, who, throughout this season, has seemed cruel and untouchable to those outside of his circle due to his involvement with and knowledge of the wild cards. they watch grian immediately crumble under the weight of mumbo's death; several of them even explicitly comment, "look at grian, he's grieving, he's in mourning."

i like to think that, until that moment, grian was almost god-like in their minds; now, though, he's the quintessential concept of humanity. grief can be religious if you do it right, after all. even beyond the grian aspect though, isn't this just the most despairing omen of what's to come?

i mean, there's something about this image of a man fallen from grace, crying out as he holds the mangled corpse of his friend in the home they made together, high in the sky, on display for all the world to bear witness to. and the world did bear witness, be it with pity, horror, joy... it doesn't matter, because they saw.

the canary curse has been broken, but this was a fittingly foreboding, tone-setting image that did a stunning job filling its shoes

[shawmymy]

> Canary Resuscitator

Something about miners getting attached to the canary to the point they try to give them a fighting chance, except this time it's the miner that gets killed.

[hoshizoralone]

reflection

[nicecrumbart]

Keep thinking about that one scene in secret life

[bajaja-blast]

you dislike Luke Castellan because he disagreed with an oppressive government system and actually took action to change the abusive ways him and his peers have been forced to follow for millennia.

I dislike Luke Castellan because in the Titans Curse he manipulated Annabeth, who he raised as his little sister, into holding up the sky, the FUCKING sky, for over 20 hours and had the audacity to walk away as though he was completely apathetic towards it while she begged and pleaded with him to help her.

we are not the same.

[beatcroc]

i watched one episode of death note and this show is soooo funny for opening on skull demon guys and youre like oh shit its the evil freaks and then theyre just like chilling playing cards. and then you meet your mild mannered middle schooler boy protag and hes like i want to kill everyone forever

[palarien]

sketched this out at jury duty actually

[lizabethstucker]

Passions in Death by J. D. Robb

In Death 59

4.5 out of 5.

A hen party held at the Down and Dirty, owned by an old friend of Lt. Eve Dallas, ends with the murder of one of the brides. She's requested to take the case and agrees, although the location brings back memories of being attacked in the same room at her own bridal party years earlier. The investigation leads to a tribe of female friends and Eve's conviction that the killer was known by the victim.

The themes of friendship and how interconnected the members become runs throughout the story, Peabody comparing Eve's increasingly widening circle to that of the victim and her fiancée. Those relationships are making Eve reflective about how her life not only changed, but improved personally, not just professionally.

The reader is also provided updates on some of the personal projects that are peripherally throughout many of the previous books, such as the Off Duty bar and the Great House renovation where Mavis, Leonardo, Bella, Peabody, and McNab will be living.

The crime is, as many of these are, terribly tragic. The focus is primarily on Dallas this time, yet the others involved still have their time through her observations. One of the things that I do love about Nora Roberts' writing, whether in romance or mysteries, is how she portrays female characters and their relationships with other women. Too many times female characters are sidelined or made antagonistic towards the heroine.

I will admit that I began leaning toward the actual killer about halfway through the book, probably because I recognized the type from my own high school years. I was never part of the various cliques, instead having casual friends amongst them all and I had a habit of observing the various members of each.

Overall an enjoyable read.

[beefjumper]

creaking bigb skin so cool i couldn't resist drawing it

[afterthelambs]

This trio is aggressively y2k. Good thing they all died within the decade because I cant imagine them past the 2000s, they all have nokia fliphone face