Review: Naked in Death by J. D. Robb

Title: Naked in Death
Author: J. D. Robb aka Nora Roberts
Genre: romantic suspence
Grade: A-

Synopsis: Police lieutenant Eve Dallas is assigned to investigate the murder of a prostitute. All evidence points to a serial killer, and Eve is determined to make sure the killer won’t strike again. As the investigation moves along, she meets Roarke, a mysterious billionaire who may or may not be involved with her case.

My Thoughts: Wow. I loved this book. Eve is the kind of female lead that makes my inner feminist do a happy dance. She’s kick ass, completely capable of taking care of herself, doesn’t actually need a man, but yet is very vulnerable. Eve’s got scars, a lot of them, and she’s not really sure how to deal with them, and my heart broke for her as some of the old wounds she’s been trying to keep closed flared open.

And, though I feel so very very shallow for saying this, I loved Roarke like the proverbial corpulent pre-adult loves dessert products made by Sarah Lee. This is one of those instances where I wish I hadn’t been reading a scanned version of the book, because I bet on audio the right narrator could make him even more toe-curlingly sexy than he already was. And, best of all, besides being sexy, he had a personality that was a bit more complicated than, “Me Roarke. You Eve. Time for the hot sexx0rz now.”

The romance between Eve and Roarke is by far the best part of the book. There are no silly misunderstandings and forced conflicts. And there’s enough of an end here that, if I weren’t going to continue with the series (are you kidding? Of course I will!) I’d have been satisfied they were going to stay together.

OK, now for the quibbles. I had the villain pegged about halfway through the book. I am not generally a mystery or suspence reader, so I figure this should probably count against the book somewhat. Although, of course, I was involved enough with the characters that at one point I was shouting at them. “Eve, you’re not looking in the right place!” were my exact words.

I also didn’t really appreciate the lush, breathless descriptions of Roarke’s lifestyle. Possibly, I just don’t happen to have the typical fantasy of being swept off my feet by a multi-gazillionaire. But I could have definitely done with a bit less of that.

That being said, this was a very nice start to the series and I will definitely still be reading.