Crime

PORTRAIT IN DEATH, book 16 in J. D. Robb's In Death series, continues the story of Eve Dallas and her homicide cases. This time, the murderer immortalizes their victims through photography, focusing on the young and innocent. It is a sad story, more so than usual, and made even more solemn by a big reveal about Roarke's past.

With the previous novels, I have been able to hazard an educated guess as to the murderer with a modicum of success. This is not the case with PORTRAIT IN DEATH. Every time I thought I had the killer, Eve would uncover something else that would prove me wrong. While I never judge a mystery based on my ability to solve it, I do love that after so many novels in the series, Ms. Robb still has the power to keep me guessing.

While every book in the In Death series is about loss in one form or another, PORTRAIT IN DEATH has loss at its core. Everything from the murderer's rationale for the killings to their frame of mind to the secrets of Roarke's past coming to light for the first time deals directly with loss, familial loss in particular. The only sections of the story not dealing with loss are the scenes between Eve and Somerset, always a delight, and which bring with them a much-needed sense of levity to the proceedings.

PORTRAIT IN DEATH is another strong story in a series of strong stories. Not only does Eve solve yet another tricky murder mystery, but we also get a rare glimpse into Roarke's past and an even rarer look at his softer side. While novels that make up the In Death series are always good, those that help Eve and Roarke lose one more layer of their tough outer shells are particularly special. Such is the case of PORTRAIT IN DEATH. ( )

My Review:

Love it!! Eve and her merry band of misfits otherwise known as her team have to track down a serial killer who photographs his victims. This after Somerset has an incident that dampens Eve cheerful mood straight off. This is the 16th book in the series and I'm trying my best to work my way through them only on audio.

Book Blurb:

After a tip from a reporter, Eve Dallas finds the body of a young woman in a Delancey street dumpster. Just hours before, the news station had mysteriously received a portfolio of professional portraits of the woman. The photos seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary for any pretty young woman starting a modeling career. Except that she wasn't a model. And that these photos were taken after she had been murdered. Now Dallas is on the trail of a killer who's a perfectionist and an artist. He carefully observes and records his victim's every move. And he has a mission: to own every beautiful young woman's innocence, to capture her youth and vitality—in one fateful shot... ( )

Portrait in Death
3.5 Stars

Following a tip, Eve Dallas discovers the body of a young woman in a dumpster and begins investigating a series of murders in which the victims are all students whose bodies have been staged and photographed. At the same time, Eve must deal with an injured Summerset as well as Roarke, who has become troubled and distant.

The murder investigation is one of the weakest in the series. It progresses slowly and there it too much rehashing of evidence. It is also relatively easy to identify the killer by process of elimination. Nevertheless, the race toward the climax and resolution is very exciting and there are a couple of edge-of-your-seat moments.

In contrast, the character development is excellent, especially for Roarke as he struggles to reconcile his feelings after discovering some disturbing information about his past. Roarke has always seemed to be the perfect man, so it was intriguing to see him so lost and … well… human, which only enhances his appeal.

As always, the interactions between Eve and Summerset are a highlight and it is particularly gratifying to see how much they have in common both in terms of the lengths they will go to for Roarke, but also in their reactions to hospitals and Trina's torture sessions.

In sum, not the best mystery, but worth it for more of Roarke's backstory and insight into his character. ( )

Fifteenth in the In Death series. Eve's case has to do with the deaths of young students. These kids were just nice, bright kids with no enemies. Their killer communicates with Nadine at Channel 75. Eve and her team are busy trying to figure out who the killer is and why he has chosen those kids. She wants to stop him before he completes whatever his plan might be. Trueheart is almost the killer's last victim.

Roarke is facing issues of his ow when an new employee at Dochas indicates she know his mother who wasn't the person Roarke has thought was his mother which sends him to Ireland to investigate and meet the family he didn't know he had. ( )