Innocent in DeathIn Death, Book # 24
By J.D. Robb
ISBN# 9780399154010
Author’s Website: http://www.jdrobb.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
*Beware of Spoilers*
Wow!! What can I say?? I went into this book thinking that I wasn’t going to like it based on the synopsis. I figured it would be dull and that I’d get mad at Roarke over the old flame and something stupid he would do or say. But instead I’m sitting here a couple hours after I finished reading this novel and I’m still in shock and sitting in a good book hangover. I hope that this review is coherent as I’m still struggling to string words together….yeah it was that good!
It’s February 2060 and Eve just got called onto a case. A history teacher, Craig Foster, was just found dead in his classroom at a private school, Sarah’s Child. Most people think he just had an allergic reaction to something he ate, but Eve has a suspicion that it was much more sinister than that. And, it turns out she’s right. The hot chocolate that his new wife makes him every day was laced with poison. Did his wife slip him a toxic drink or did somebody else add in a special ingredient?
Eve thinks she’s onto the killer and has fellow faculty member, Reed Williams, in her sights. He’s as sleazy as they come and has been known to have sex on school property and harass anything in a skirt. But then he turns up dead and Eve is back to square one.
Meanwhile, one of Roarke’s old flames has showed up in town and doesn’t plan to leave any time soon. Magdelana Percell used to run cons with Roarke when they were younger until she ran off with one of their marks twelve years ago figuring she’d make more by marrying the man than stealing from him. Two divorces later (both after the prenups expired) and she’s back and wants to rekindle things with Roarke. There is just one problem standing in her way; his wife.
“She stepped forward as if to pick up the fur she’d tossed over a chair. Smoothly, she turned to hand it to him. And with perfect timing, flung herself into his arms.
The sable fell as he took her shoulders to shove her back.
Eve stepped to the doorway to see Magdelana with her arms locked around Roarke’s neck, his hands on her bare shoulders–one of the ivory straps sliding to her elbow.
“Son of a bitch,” she said.
On cue, Magdelana spun around, her face full of passion and shock. “Oh, God. Oh…it’s not what it looks like.”
“Bet.” Eve strode in.
Actually, Roarke thought, it was more of a swagger. He had a moment to admire it, before Eve rammed her fist in his face.
“Fuck me.” His head snapped back, and he tasted blood.
Magdelana cried out, but even the deaf would have caught the suppressed laughter in the sound. “Roarke! Oh, my God, you’re bleeding. Please, let me just–“
“Don’t look now,” Eve said cheerfully. “But he’s not the only one.” She decked Magdelana with a straight-armed jab. “Bitch,” Eve added as Magdelana’s eyes rolled back and she fell, unconscious, to the floor.
Roarke looked down. “Well, now, fuck us all.”
I don’t even know where to begin this book was so good!! I think what speaks out to me the most is the emotion that is within these pages. You have all the fear, betrayal, insecurities, and hurt feelings between Roarke and Eve at the hands of his manipulative ex. The arguments between Roarke and Eve were written so well that I could feel Eve’s pain and thought I was going to tear up along with her! You know Magdelana is bad news when Eve and Summerset actually agree on something!!
“She would be a sparkling accent on his arm. She speaks flawless French and Italian, and has a limitless supply of charm when she wishes to dispense it. And’d she’ll use him. She’ll take, take more. If it was necessary, or if she simply had the whim, she’d toss him to the wolves to see who’d win.”
He finished the whiskey. “You, Lieutenant, are often crude, you are certainly rude, and have very little sense of how to be the wife–in public–of a man in Roarke’s position. And you would do anything, no matter what the personal risk, to keep him from harm. She will never love him. You will never do anything but.”
I think the shake-up that Maggie caused was really good for this book. It made everything so interesting for example when Eve walked out of the house after telling Roarke that she worries that he regrets being with her, I just couldn’t wait for his reaction and we didn’t get it for a couple chapters so I had to fly through them to get to it…and it was worth it! And, make-up sex is always good! Roberts/Robb did such a splendid job writing this it truly made me want to punch Magdelana in the face for being a home-wrecking gold-digger and it made me want to punch Roarke for being so oblivious. So I’m glad that Eve got to clock them both! And I’m happy to know that Roarke didn’t even consider doing anything with Maggie and that Eve and Roarke were able to get their footing once again… just in time for Valentine’s Day!!
“And you’re not going to tell me she didn’t make a move on you. At least test the waters.”
“The waters,” he said, “were not receptive.”
“If they had been, I’d have drowned her in them already.”
It shows what an awesome couple the two of them truly are and that they can overcome anything.
*Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to know who the killer is*
Then, you have all the sadness surrounding little Trevor’s death. With me being a mom of three (2 of which are under the age of five) this one really hit home. I couldn’t imagine losing one of my kids so tragically and then to find out it was at the hands of one of my other children. I’m not sure how anybody could ever come back from that. Rayleen is just pure evil.
This series has had some highs and lows for me, but this book blew my freaking socks off and is by far my favorite so far in this series! I just couldn’t force myself to put it down!
