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ellory1's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Fifty-fourth in the In Death romantic suspense series set in our near future and revolving around a determined NYPSD detective. It’s June in 2061.
My Take
Abandoned in Death is running two cases: the kidnappings and the attempted suicide/murder, using third person global subjective point-of-view, as so many perspectives come into play.
What is it with people denigrating their children? Where do people get the idea that nobody gets to retaliate when they start to beat them? As for someone being gay . . . so what? What skin is it off anyone’s nose? How can anyone seriously believe that someone will “choose” to be gay when our society makes it so damned difficult?
It’s so cute how Peabody keeps giving Dallas social nudges. Peabody’s also great at riling Eve up, lol. Peabody and McNab’s and Mavis and Leonardo’s house is still coming along. How long is Robb gonna stretch this?? I wanna see them all move in already!
Hmm, Dallas is wishing there was a law against being a complete dick. I’m with her, Stone is a dick. On the opposite end of nasty is Dowell and Associates, which sounds like a great place to work.
Jim Mosebly’s past starts well and descends from there.
Dang, lol, it’s handy to be married to someone who can buy up anything. Gotta laugh. Roarke is a great guy. Supportive of his wife’s career. Helps her out a lot. Generous to her coworkers.
It’s gotta be terrifying for M.K. Playing a role to stay alive. Planning an escape.
Abandoned in Death feels more action-driven although the characters do play a part in creating the plot. Robb sets a fast pace and keeps her two storylines separate . . . until they come together.
The Story
A mother, driven to desperate measures, tries to "boost her baby" to heaven and suicide for herself. The only thing she really killed was her memory.
Brought to life by her rescuer, she goes on to a good life and a real family until her memory block breaks.
In trying to do the right thing, she sets her first child off, who "searches" for his mommy.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in charge of Homicide at Cop Central. She’s married to the gorgeous Roarke who runs about half the world, via Roarke Industries. Summerset is their major domo. Galahad is their pudge of a cat.
Dallas’ friends include . . .
. . . Nadine Furst, bestselling writer, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and award-winning on-air reporter for Channel 75. Quilla is Nadine’s intern (Concealed in Death, 38). Mavis, a universally acclaimed singer, is married to Leonardo, an equally famed fashion designer, and together they have baby Bella. Tina is the stylist whom Eve fears. Jamie Lingstrom, who seems to be aping McNab’s colorful style, is a brilliant college student whom Eve and Roarke first met in Ceremony in Death, 5. The boy is growing up! He’s interning for the summer with two days a week at NYPSD and three days with Roarke and then reversing in the next week. Dr Louise Dimatto (Conspiracy in Death, 8) is married to the sexy Charles Monroe (Naked in Death, 1).
New York City Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Detective Delia Peabody is Dallas’ partner. Other Homicide detectives include Baxter, Jenkinson of the way-out ties, Carmichael, Santiago, the gorgeous Troy Trueheart, and Reineke. Tibble is the chief of police. Commander Jack Whitney is in charge at Cop Central.
Captain Ryan Feeney runs the Electronic Detectives Division where the very colorful Detective Ian McNab, Peabody’s love, is a hotshot. Detective Callendar is another.
Dr Charlotte Mira is the top profiler for the NYPSD. Dick Berenski is the chief lab tech. Harvo is the Queen of Hair and Fiber. Detective Yancy is brilliant at sketching suspects. Andrew Dawber is a forensic chemist who does good work. The Dezi also works with Berenski. Cher Reo is the assistant prosecuting attorney.
Officer Steppe caught Lauren Elder’s murder. Detectives Norman and Marlboro of the 4-3 caught the missing person report. Officer Kotter responded to Kylo Grishom’s call. Officer Pinsky responds to another. Redman is with Special Victims.
Lauren Elder tended bar at Arnold’s where Buddy James Wilcox works. Her cohab is Roy Mardsten who works at Delroy, Gilby, and Associates while he pursues a degree in criminal law. Lauren’s dad is a mechanic; her mother is an artist.
The impressive Mary Kate “M.K.” Covino is an assistant marketing manager at Dowell and Associates (started in 2046), which Linny Dowell owns. Jim Mosebly is the Accounts manager and M.K.’s mentor. Who seems to be a co-owner along with Selma. Sly, Andi, Nat, Alistar, and Holly are coworkers. Mary Kate's younger sister, Tara, is a grad student at Carnegie Mellon. Carter, her brother, has just gotten engaged to Rhonda. Cleo Bette, a sous chef at Perfecto, is Mary Kate’s roommate and like another sister. Lulu is the puppy Gran and Pop, her maternal grandparents, gave her for her sixth birthday. Nonna is her paternal grandmother. Teegan Stone (he owns a bar, Stoner’s) is the boyfriend who ditched her. Margie is a neighbor. Ivy runs a flower shop; Zel is her grandson.
Jim's mother, Adalaide Mosebly, née Rowen had been a resident/patient at Suskind Home. His father, the Reverend Elijah Mosebly, had died in 2038. Elise Grommet is the director at Suskind.
Anna Hobe works at Mike’s Place, a karaoke bar owned by Mike Schotski. Bo Kurtis is a bartender there, Liza Rysman, and Bandi is a waitress. Becca Muldoon is a dancer at the Honey Pot.
DeBois is another victim. Lisa McKinney was born in Alabama in 1978. Buford and Tiffany McKinney were her parents — word is that mama was a wild one. Lisa was in a car accident in 1999 with Marshall Riggs driving. Irene Jasper, married to Phillip Jasper (he’s a photographer), is Lisa’s half-sister. Harry is Lisa’s half-brother, Irene’s full brother. Lisa’s grandpa, Big Beau Boswell, was a no-good ‘un.
The Reverend Horace Greenspan is a perve. Wayne Kyle Ribbet is the cause of Lisa’s first bring down. Dr Joseph Fletcher works ER and becomes chief resident of it. He lives in his grandparents’ two-hundred-year-old house, Sweetwater, in Sylvan, Louisiana. His and Violet’s children will be Joella Lynn, Chasen, and Edward. Joella is chief of surgery now. Chasen a successful writer. Edward is now a senator from Louisiana. Cecil had been the kids' pet hound in their childhood.
Sherry Wazinsk, a neighbor with twins, is about to walk Pugs. Brad is her husband. Gina and Jan are another set of neighbors. Londa is browsing a store aisle with her newborn, Jonah, when she encounters Peabody. Darci works at Salon Pro where Carrie is salesperson of the month. John Church went into the foster system in 2003 in Baton Rouge. The Dubliner, a pub, is one of Roarke’s and where Mora and Jack are servers. Cami and Ken Snily bought a house, via a trust, McKinney and Son. Pepper is a missing dog.
Stella is Dallas’ bitch mother, who is, thankfully, dead. Zeke is Peabody’s younger brother. Her cousin Janis doesn’t remember falling out of that tree.
The Cover and Title
The cover is shades of teal with the deep cracked background in the top half that cracks into the bottom graphic of a fog-shrouded playground and yellow crime scene tape crossing the gray sidewalk that passes by the wooden park bench. At the top is an info blurb in white. The author’s name in a green jade, outlined in black, is just below it. The title, in black, crosses the playground.
The title is about the baby, Abandoned in Death.
My Take
Abandoned in Death is running two cases: the kidnappings and the attempted suicide/murder, using third person global subjective point-of-view, as so many perspectives come into play.
What is it with people denigrating their children? Where do people get the idea that nobody gets to retaliate when they start to beat them? As for someone being gay . . . so what? What skin is it off anyone’s nose? How can anyone seriously believe that someone will “choose” to be gay when our society makes it so damned difficult?
It’s so cute how Peabody keeps giving Dallas social nudges. Peabody’s also great at riling Eve up, lol. Peabody and McNab’s and Mavis and Leonardo’s house is still coming along. How long is Robb gonna stretch this?? I wanna see them all move in already!
Hmm, Dallas is wishing there was a law against being a complete dick. I’m with her, Stone is a dick. On the opposite end of nasty is Dowell and Associates, which sounds like a great place to work.
Jim Mosebly’s past starts well and descends from there.
Dang, lol, it’s handy to be married to someone who can buy up anything. Gotta laugh. Roarke is a great guy. Supportive of his wife’s career. Helps her out a lot. Generous to her coworkers.
Then there’s Dr Joe Fletcher who sounds like he as a helluva good dad: He expected much of his kids because he loved them so much.”’You should come on ops ore often,’ Jenkinson told him.
'Yeah, he’s got nothing better to do.’"
It’s gotta be terrifying for M.K. Playing a role to stay alive. Planning an escape.
Abandoned in Death feels more action-driven although the characters do play a part in creating the plot. Robb sets a fast pace and keeps her two storylines separate . . . until they come together.
The Story
A mother, driven to desperate measures, tries to "boost her baby" to heaven and suicide for herself. The only thing she really killed was her memory.
Brought to life by her rescuer, she goes on to a good life and a real family until her memory block breaks.
In trying to do the right thing, she sets her first child off, who "searches" for his mommy.
The Characters
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is in charge of Homicide at Cop Central. She’s married to the gorgeous Roarke who runs about half the world, via Roarke Industries. Summerset is their major domo. Galahad is their pudge of a cat.
Dallas’ friends include . . .
. . . Nadine Furst, bestselling writer, Oscar-winning screenwriter, and award-winning on-air reporter for Channel 75. Quilla is Nadine’s intern (Concealed in Death, 38). Mavis, a universally acclaimed singer, is married to Leonardo, an equally famed fashion designer, and together they have baby Bella. Tina is the stylist whom Eve fears. Jamie Lingstrom, who seems to be aping McNab’s colorful style, is a brilliant college student whom Eve and Roarke first met in Ceremony in Death, 5. The boy is growing up! He’s interning for the summer with two days a week at NYPSD and three days with Roarke and then reversing in the next week. Dr Louise Dimatto (Conspiracy in Death, 8) is married to the sexy Charles Monroe (Naked in Death, 1).
New York City Police and Security Department (NYPSD)
Detective Delia Peabody is Dallas’ partner. Other Homicide detectives include Baxter, Jenkinson of the way-out ties, Carmichael, Santiago, the gorgeous Troy Trueheart, and Reineke. Tibble is the chief of police. Commander Jack Whitney is in charge at Cop Central.
Captain Ryan Feeney runs the Electronic Detectives Division where the very colorful Detective Ian McNab, Peabody’s love, is a hotshot. Detective Callendar is another.
Dr Charlotte Mira is the top profiler for the NYPSD. Dick Berenski is the chief lab tech. Harvo is the Queen of Hair and Fiber. Detective Yancy is brilliant at sketching suspects. Andrew Dawber is a forensic chemist who does good work. The Dezi also works with Berenski. Cher Reo is the assistant prosecuting attorney.
Officer Steppe caught Lauren Elder’s murder. Detectives Norman and Marlboro of the 4-3 caught the missing person report. Officer Kotter responded to Kylo Grishom’s call. Officer Pinsky responds to another. Redman is with Special Victims.
Lauren Elder tended bar at Arnold’s where Buddy James Wilcox works. Her cohab is Roy Mardsten who works at Delroy, Gilby, and Associates while he pursues a degree in criminal law. Lauren’s dad is a mechanic; her mother is an artist.
The impressive Mary Kate “M.K.” Covino is an assistant marketing manager at Dowell and Associates (started in 2046), which Linny Dowell owns. Jim Mosebly is the Accounts manager and M.K.’s mentor. Who seems to be a co-owner along with Selma. Sly, Andi, Nat, Alistar, and Holly are coworkers. Mary Kate's younger sister, Tara, is a grad student at Carnegie Mellon. Carter, her brother, has just gotten engaged to Rhonda. Cleo Bette, a sous chef at Perfecto, is Mary Kate’s roommate and like another sister. Lulu is the puppy Gran and Pop, her maternal grandparents, gave her for her sixth birthday. Nonna is her paternal grandmother. Teegan Stone (he owns a bar, Stoner’s) is the boyfriend who ditched her. Margie is a neighbor. Ivy runs a flower shop; Zel is her grandson.
Jim's mother, Adalaide Mosebly, née Rowen had been a resident/patient at Suskind Home. His father, the Reverend Elijah Mosebly, had died in 2038. Elise Grommet is the director at Suskind.
Anna Hobe works at Mike’s Place, a karaoke bar owned by Mike Schotski. Bo Kurtis is a bartender there, Liza Rysman, and Bandi is a waitress. Becca Muldoon is a dancer at the Honey Pot.
DeBois is another victim. Lisa McKinney was born in Alabama in 1978. Buford and Tiffany McKinney were her parents — word is that mama was a wild one. Lisa was in a car accident in 1999 with Marshall Riggs driving. Irene Jasper, married to Phillip Jasper (he’s a photographer), is Lisa’s half-sister. Harry is Lisa’s half-brother, Irene’s full brother. Lisa’s grandpa, Big Beau Boswell, was a no-good ‘un.
The Reverend Horace Greenspan is a perve. Wayne Kyle Ribbet is the cause of Lisa’s first bring down. Dr Joseph Fletcher works ER and becomes chief resident of it. He lives in his grandparents’ two-hundred-year-old house, Sweetwater, in Sylvan, Louisiana. His and Violet’s children will be Joella Lynn, Chasen, and Edward. Joella is chief of surgery now. Chasen a successful writer. Edward is now a senator from Louisiana. Cecil had been the kids' pet hound in their childhood.
Sherry Wazinsk, a neighbor with twins, is about to walk Pugs. Brad is her husband. Gina and Jan are another set of neighbors. Londa is browsing a store aisle with her newborn, Jonah, when she encounters Peabody. Darci works at Salon Pro where Carrie is salesperson of the month. John Church went into the foster system in 2003 in Baton Rouge. The Dubliner, a pub, is one of Roarke’s and where Mora and Jack are servers. Cami and Ken Snily bought a house, via a trust, McKinney and Son. Pepper is a missing dog.
Stella is Dallas’ bitch mother, who is, thankfully, dead. Zeke is Peabody’s younger brother. Her cousin Janis doesn’t remember falling out of that tree.
The Cover and Title
The cover is shades of teal with the deep cracked background in the top half that cracks into the bottom graphic of a fog-shrouded playground and yellow crime scene tape crossing the gray sidewalk that passes by the wooden park bench. At the top is an info blurb in white. The author’s name in a green jade, outlined in black, is just below it. The title, in black, crosses the playground.
The title is about the baby, Abandoned in Death.
lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb (pseudonym for Nora Roberts) brings murder, romance and suspense to a well-written futuristic police procedural set mainly in New York City. This novel has a slightly different format for this series in that it alternates timelines between the early part of the twenty-first century and June of 2061. What happens when the past and the present collide?
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
lynguy1's review against another edition
5.0
Abandoned in Death by J. D. Robb (pseudonym for Nora Roberts) brings murder, romance and suspense to a well-written futuristic police procedural set mainly in New York City. This novel has a slightly different format for this series in that it alternates timelines between the early part of the twenty-first century and June of 2061. What happens when the past and the present collide?
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
Our protagonist, Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYC police department, arrives at a crime scene at a playground near friends Mavis and Leonardo’s new house. Joined by her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, they find the body of a young woman with vintage make-up, hair, and clothing and a note written in crayon saying “Bad Mommy”. With clues pointing to an older antagonist and no records of crimes with a similar MO, how will Eve, Delia, and the team solve the crime? Learning that other young women have recently vanished, they know they need to solve this case quickly.
Time spent with Eve, her husband Roarke, and Eve’s colleagues is always entertaining. Eve is definitely a compelling and three-dimensional character. Her need to serve and protect comes through in every book, but the underlying impetus for this is best understood by reading this series in order. Due to the way Eve was raised, she often doesn’t understand commonly used phrases and this comes into play a few times in this book making her seem more real and less perfect. As always, the interactions between Eve and Roarke are enjoyable and bring a different facet of Eve’s personality to light. Many of the reoccurring police characters play significant roles in this book. In addition, readers also get to see a bit of their private lives. I especially enjoyed seeing the character development of intern Jamie Lingstrom. Additionally, I was delighted to see a different side of Detective Jenkinson near the end of the book. As always, Dr. Mira’s psychological profiling, Morris’ autopsy results, and Roarke’s computer skills, as well as Eve and Delia’s efforts, work against time to solve the case.
The writing is fluid and flows well. The prose is suspenseful and engrossing in this intense race against the clock. A thought-provoking, stunning, deeply involved, and tragic plot gripped this reader immediately. It is appalling in places and uplifting in others. Will you guess the identity of the killer? This one was a surprise to me. As always, the interview segment near the end of the story is compelling. Seeing Eve and Delia working it together with Dr. Mira added another dimension to it.
Robb manages to embed humor in her novels, providing some much needed levity to offset some of the more serious and grim aspects of the story. She brings strong characters, great plots, wonderful relationships, and excellent pacing to this series. Themes include murder, justice, and family dynamics, as well as standing up for the innocent and the dead.
If you enjoy engaging near-future police procedurals with some romance and humor, then I recommend this series. This is the fifty-third book in the In Death Eve Dallas series and I have read all of them up to this point. Overall, it is entertaining, and over time, it is like spending time with old friends. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and are not biased in any way. Publication date was February 8, 2022. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.
----------
Review coming soon.
larisa_reads's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
starthelostgirl's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this new Eve Dallas mystery. The ending took me by surprise, but didn’t seem completely out of left field. The killer was interesting and Mary Kate was someone to root for.
katyanaish's review against another edition
4.0
The "Bad Mommy" case was interesting - like an interesting philosophical debate. Not about the murderer - he's clearly nuts and needs to be put away - but about his mother.
A young mother, an addict, unable to get her shit together and dig her way out of her life, drowning in - quite frankly - selfishness. She attempts to kill her 4-5 year old son - she puts drugs in his soda, wanting him to just go to sleep forever - before attempting to kill herself. He doesn't die because he doesn't drink enough of it to OD, and so he's found wandering the forest. Put into the foster system, etc etc. She doesn't die because at the last second she fights to live. She does, but has (very conveniently) amnesia. Actually, it's unclear how much she can't remember versus how much she - through serious willpower - refuses to allow herself to remember.
Anyway, this chick survives her suicide attempt, with her convenient amnesia, and falls in love with her rescuer ... and this kicks off a fairytale life for her. Rich husband, beautiful home, loving family ... whole new wonderful life.
And she lives it for 50+ years, not allowing herself to think of her son, cast out to be a refugee in the world. Until her husband dies and she can't forcibly keep the memories away ... she remembers everything, and tries to make amends to the son she fucked over.
Can such a thing even be possible? Is forgiveness for that even possible, I mean?
It's a gray area, for sure, but at least in this book, I think no. Getting all these chapters from her POV as she lived her lovely life, and anytime a hint of a memory would bubble up, she'd stomp it down ... no. She can't be forgiven. Throwing money at the son she abandoned after attempting to murder him ... it only succeeded in cracking open his fragile mental state. She sends him a fucking letter explaining and giving her side of it (fucking coward, just writing a letter), before killing herself dramatically, without even letting him TALK to her. And therefore, she only succeeds in ruining his life yet again, as this revelation from dear mommy breaks whatever hold he had on his mental state and he just starts killing people who look like her.
It made this a tough book. Not his end of it - look, whatever the reasoning, if you crack and start murdering people you're a bad guy and you need to be stopped - but you've got this running line of her story through it, chapters from her POV, and it just pissed me off. Fuck this lady. Fuck her perfect life, her perfect love, her perfect home and her new perfect kids. She was so disgusting to me.
A young mother, an addict, unable to get her shit together and dig her way out of her life, drowning in - quite frankly - selfishness. She attempts to kill her 4-5 year old son - she puts drugs in his soda, wanting him to just go to sleep forever - before attempting to kill herself. He doesn't die because he doesn't drink enough of it to OD, and so he's found wandering the forest. Put into the foster system, etc etc. She doesn't die because at the last second she fights to live. She does, but has (very conveniently) amnesia. Actually, it's unclear how much she can't remember versus how much she - through serious willpower - refuses to allow herself to remember.
Anyway, this chick survives her suicide attempt, with her convenient amnesia, and falls in love with her rescuer ... and this kicks off a fairytale life for her. Rich husband, beautiful home, loving family ... whole new wonderful life.
And she lives it for 50+ years, not allowing herself to think of her son, cast out to be a refugee in the world. Until her husband dies and she can't forcibly keep the memories away ... she remembers everything, and tries to make amends to the son she fucked over.
Can such a thing even be possible? Is forgiveness for that even possible, I mean?
It's a gray area, for sure, but at least in this book, I think no. Getting all these chapters from her POV as she lived her lovely life, and anytime a hint of a memory would bubble up, she'd stomp it down ... no. She can't be forgiven. Throwing money at the son she abandoned after attempting to murder him ... it only succeeded in cracking open his fragile mental state. She sends him a fucking letter explaining and giving her side of it (fucking coward, just writing a letter), before killing herself dramatically, without even letting him TALK to her. And therefore, she only succeeds in ruining his life yet again, as this revelation from dear mommy breaks whatever hold he had on his mental state and he just starts killing people who look like her.
It made this a tough book. Not his end of it - look, whatever the reasoning, if you crack and start murdering people you're a bad guy and you need to be stopped - but you've got this running line of her story through it, chapters from her POV, and it just pissed me off. Fuck this lady. Fuck her perfect life, her perfect love, her perfect home and her new perfect kids. She was so disgusting to me.
katrinaburch's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
laneylegz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Eve & Peabody are investigating the murders of similar looking females. Delving into the case, they find disturbing evidence of a delicious psycho with a "mommy" complex. Twist and turns with a small pool of suspects has them closing in on a surprising killer. On a lighter side, Peabody and Mavis are getting closer to finishing personal space in the house while the men are working on the security system.