I don’t generally like romantic suspense or mysteries, but the one exception has been the J.D. Robb books. They combine the police procedural (one of my TV favorites) and a strong romance theme. But the last few books in the series have fallen flat for me – one of the things I loved about the early books was Eve’s passion for her work and her strong desire to find justice for her victims, and that has been lacking. I almost gave up on the series, but reviews of this book made me think this one might have the old flair.
Promises in Death by J.D. Robb
(2009, Futuristic Suspense) 3/4/09
Grade: 3.5
When Amaryllis Coltraine is murdered, Eve takes it personally – she was medical examiner Morris’s girlfriend, as well as a police officer. But when secrets from her past intersect with Eve and Roarke’s past history, Eve has to question what kind of person she really was.
An improvement over the last couple of books in the series. I think the books work best when Eve has a connection to the victim, and she did here, not just because of the connection with Morris, but also because she was a police officer. Her life gave Eve a chance to reflect on her devotion to the job, which has been a little missing in the last couple of books. Having the case intersect with Eve and Roarke’s past was a bit much, and the mystery got a little convoluted near the end, but overall, a good read.
One reason I keep reading these books is that I can get them easily from the library, unlike most romances. The one advantage of going into hardcover. (And the library orders lots of copies.)
Karen Wheless
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