It’s only fair that I begin my book discussions that I’ve been promising for awhile with one of my favorite authors. I have many favorites, but this one is certainly in the top five!

The “In Death” series began in 1995,  written under the pen name of J.D. Robb, who is actually Nora Roberts, a popular romance novelist.

Why did she decide to write under a different name? I have no idea, but I can only assume she wanted to differentiate this series from her popular romance genre. Makes sense to me.

And she certainly did! Avid reader that I am, I had no idea when I picked up the first book of the series, “Naked in Death,” that it was written by one of the authors I’d just started reading and thoroughly enjoying.

Her series so far has a collection of 54 published books, with #55, “Desperation in Death” due out in September, and #56 due out in the spring of 2023.

And yes, that book will be in my hands on the publication date. Or should I say, in my Kindle, thanks to Amazon and my ability to pre-order it so that it downloads as soon as it’s available.

For those of you who haven’t heard of or read this series, where have you been hiding?! You’re missing a fabulous reading experience that will take you on adventures you could never dream up yourself!

And a note to my husband: No, you don’t want to wait for the movie because I don’t think that’s coming, and even if it were, in my opinion there’s no way the characters could adequately be portrayed. The nuances of reading about them, how they think, what they’re feeling, just can’t be portrayed in a movie.

For those of you who don’t know about this great crime series, let me give you an abbreviated background. 

The series is set in a futuristic New York City, mid-21st century. There are some amazing new inventions and vehicles described for not only police work, but for everyday household use. And there are also the “off planet” travels that are described as if they’re really no big deal. What an imagination Nora has!

The main character, Eve Dallas, is a homicide detective with amazing crime soling skills in her job. Each victim becomes special to her, and as she says, they become hers, and it’s her job to give them justice. Which of course she does, but not always without a few scrapes and bruises along the way.

Even the origin of her name has a story, which I won’t go into here (you’ll have to read it), but I will say that her childhood history is what has shaped her life to become a fiercely devoted woman, not only to her job, but to her colorful coworkers and friends, whose individual stories are just as exciting and well developed as Eve’s, and each book reveals more of the characters’ individual personalities. And for someone [Eve] who never expected to be close to anyone, that says so much!

Of course there’s a love interest, and from a totally unexpected meeting. It’s not every day that a “murder cop”, as she calls herself, is somewhat attracted to the main suspect in an important case.

But then Roarke, a handsome Irish former street thief from Dublin turned mega billionaire New York tycoon, isn’t your usual murder suspect. 

And Eve Dallas isn’t your typical homicide detective.

Neither is her sidekick, the alter-ego opposite of Eve. A “free ager” earth mother type, Delia Peabody is the perfect opposite to Eve, and together they’re an unstoppable team!

And Roarke, well he’s just the (delicious) icing on the cake, and the most perfect sounding man imaginable. Trust me, once you start this series, you’ll see what I mean!

There are so many more colorful characters in the series, and I can almost guarantee you’ll not only regard them as new friends, but people you’d like to go on vacations with as well as have them living in your neighborhood!

If you’re not already hooked on the series, start reading! I can guarantee you won’t be sorry. The books don’t necessarily have to be read in order, but I would suggest reading “Naked in Death” first because that introduction to this cast of characters is really important. And you don’t want to miss a single sentence about Roarke!

And now, I think I’ll go grab that book and re-read it myself!