Calculated in Death
Calculated in Death (In Death, #36)by J. D. Robb
On Manhattan's Upper East Side a woman lies dead at the bottom of the stairs, stripped of all her valuables. Most cops might call it a mugging gone wrong, but Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows better.A well-off accountant and a beloved wife and mother, Marta Dickenson doesn't seem the type to be on anyone's hit list. But when Eve and her partner, Peabody, find blood inside the building, the lieutenant knows Marta's murder was the work of a killer who's trained, but not professional or smart enough to remove all the evidence.But when someone steals the files out of Marta's office, Eve must immerse herself in her billionaire husband Roarke's world of big business to figure out who's cruel and callous enough to hire a hit on an innocent woman. And as the killer's violent streak begins to escalate, Eve knows she has to draw him out, even if it means using herself as bait. . . (goodreads.com)
Because I wait for the mass market release of the In Death books I'm always slightly behind the rest of the world. I could technically get these on my eReader now, but there's just something about reading a new J. D. Robb book in paperback that makes the entire experience much more fun for me. I didn't rush out to pick this one up because I have been trying to not buy books these days, but since I was in the bookstore I thought, why not? Maybe a Comfort Food Book is exactly what I need right now.Sadly, this particular Eve Dallas novel didn't do much for me. I was gripped and creeped out by the last story, Delusion in Death but in this case, I really didn't give a hoot about financial accounting crimes. Yawn.Of course I loved the character interaction as I always do and there were some great scenes between Eve and Peabody that made me giggle. I love those two together. Makes me want to go back and re-read the earlier books just to relive their bonding and friendship. That also means I need to go out and BUY the earlier books since I believe I borrowed the first 15 or so when I started the series. (Must make a mental note to look for these when I happen upon a used bookstore. Never think of it!)I don't know if it's because of the mood I'm in lately, but for some reason that fact that everyone loooooves Eve and she's the best in the world and is SO PRETTY but she doesn't know it... really bothered me in this book. I rolled my eyes a few times and then I sat back and thought, "Why does almost every one of these books always end with her having to set herself up as bait?" It seems like they all end that way now and I'm getting tired of it. She's a great cop, I get it. But can we please stop with how she's the Ultimate Mag Cop and every single killer in the universe has her as their ultimate goal to kill? Because I would like a story that's just catching a serial killer that doesn't care to go after her and try to kill her, too. And that's how the story will end. I understand that these books are formulaic. I understand that, I LIKE that about them and I enjoy the books immensely, but we need to move on from Everyone Wanting Eve Dallas and trying to kill her. We need to move on from that. Because it's getting boring.And don't forget the inevitable fight that will break out between Roarke and Dallas about how she's putting herself out there as bait and he wants to kill the guy for her and doesn't want her to be bait and she's all, this is my job, yo! and he's all, you are my woman, *growl* and she's all, it's who I am, yo. These are my murder victims. I speak for them now and the killer wants ME because I am just TOO GOOD at this job and I will set them up and come out alive. And he's all, Like hell you will! *Irish**Irish* and in the end.. she gets through it alive and they kiss and get all mushy about how they are each other's worlds and... yawn.Progress your relationship a little more, please. Get knocked up or something because right now it's way too static and each book is pretty much the exact same formula with their relationship. Something's gotta give and soon.I won't stop reading them because I'm not always as irritated as I feel right now. I'm just wondering if there could be a little more character development now that we're at book 36. Part of the reason I loved this series was because of the character development. The last bunch of books... it just stopped. No one is moving forward. They need to move forward. Once Mavis had her baby....everyone seems to be a holding pattern. Something needs to happen character-wise.Please.Then once I was almost done the book and I was muttering to myself about Dallas setting herself up as bait again, I thought, wouldn't be an awesome way to end the series if she was killed off in one of these stupid plots of hers? Not that I want it to end, or for her to die (because I rather like her) but I think it would be a hell of a conclusion to this series (if it ever happens) to have her killed at the end rather than have everything tied up in a perfect bow.I'm obviously in a mood. I don't normally fantasize about killing off characters that I like. But you have to admit, it would certainly make an interesting decision. ;)In Death Series
- Naked in Death
- Glory in Death
- Immortal in Death
- Rapture in Death
- Ceremony in Death
- Vengeance in Death
- Holiday in Death
- Conspiracy in Death
- Loyalty in Death
- Witness in Death
- Judgement in Death
- Betrayal in Death
- Seduction in Death
- Reunion in Death
- Purity in Death
- Portrait in Death
- Imitation in Death *
- Divided in Death
- Visions in Death
- Survivor in Death
- Origin in Death *
- Memory in Death *
- Born in Death *
- Innocent in Death
- Creation in Death
- Strangers in Death *
- Salvation in Death *
- Promises in Death *
- Kindred in Death *
- Fantasy in Death*
- Indulgence in Death*
- Treachery in Death*
- New York to Dallas *
- Celebrity in Death *
- Delusion in Death *
- Calculated in Death *
- Thankless in Death - hard cover Sept 2013
- Concealed in Death - hard cover 2014
(mass market editions, unless otherwise noted)* book I own