Indulgence in Death (In Death, Book 31) by JD Robb

 

Indulgence in Death runs a very close parallel to an earlier plot in this series, and it will lose a point for that.

Another problem here is that JD Robb's book listing page shows that Indulgence comes after Possession in Death, when it should be the other way around. That messed the continuity up for me, and it told me exactly who the killers were, before I read this book. It spoiled it for me in at least two ways.

With that being said, I enjoyed the beginning of the book, with Eve and Roarke on vacation. Eve is trying hard to learn the "marriage rules", and she does a good job of showing Roarke just how important he is to her, and just how much she understands him.

It is starting to bother me that Roarke is so involved with every one of her cases. For him to have his hand in all of the industries he does, plus spend the time he does on Eve's cases... sorry, but it's just not possible. It's taking the superman thing just a tad too far, for me.

Here's the blurb:

First it was a limo driver shot through the neck with a crossbow. Then it was a high-priced escort found stabbed through the heart with a bayonet.

Random hits, thrill kills, murderers with a taste for the finer things in life-and death-are making NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas angry. And an angry Eve can be just as an efficient and dangerous predator as the killer.

As time runs out on another innocent victim's life, Eve's investigation will take her into the rarefied circle that her husband, Roarke, travels in-and into the perverted heart of madness...

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was recycled.
• Pacing had issues .
• Prose and dialogue were excellent, though I had a few issues of not knowing whether Eve or Roarke was speaking.
• Character development was nicely done.
• World-building was consistent with previous books.

Indulgence in Death will get a 7 of 10 for me, for the reasons already stated.

• Book Rating: Indulgence in Death: 7 of 10
• Series Rating: 10 of 10

1. Naked in Death
2. Glory in Death
3. Immortal in Death
4. Rapture in Death
5. Ceremony in Death
6. Vengeance in Death
7. Holiday in Death
7.5  Midnight in Death
8. Conspiracy in Death
9. Loyalty in Death
10.Witness in Death
11. Judgment in Death
12. Betrayal in Death
12.5 Interlude In Death
13. Seduction in Death
14. Reunion in Death
15. Purity in Death
16. Portrait in Death
17. Imitation In Death
17.5 Remember When
18. Divided in Death
19. Visions in Death
20. Survivor In Death
21. Origin In Death
21.5 Haunted in Death
22. Memory in Death
23. Born in Death
24. Innocent In Death
24.5 Eternity in Death
25. Creation in Death
26. Strangers in Death
26.5 Ritual in Death
27. Salvation in Death
28. Promises in Death
29. Kindred in Death
29.5 Missing in Death

30. Fantasy in Death
31. Indulgence in Death
31.5  Possession in Death
32. Treachery in Death
33. New York to Dallas
 

Holiday in Death (In Death, Book 7) by JD Robb

 

Holiday in Death is another creepy psychological thriller. One that once again hits a bit too close to home for Eve. She goes back to work sooner than she should (of course) and then gets hit with a rape/murder serial killer case. On top of that, some of her suspects have an (adult) incestual relationship... which means a whole lot of Eve's buttons are being pushed.

Here's the blurb:

No one likes to be alone during the holidays. For New York’s most posh dating service, Personally Yours, it is the season to bring lonely hearts together. But Lieutenant Eve Dallas, on the trail of a ritualistic serial killer, has made a disturbing discovery: all of the victims have been traced to Personally Yours.

It was a good story, but I don't believe I enjoyed it as much as some of the others. Also, I figured that the author would need to change things up a bit for the finale, and accurately guessed pretty much how the finale was going to play out very early on in the book. I didn't know who the bad guy was, but I knew how the finale would happen.

As for the writing elements:

• The plot was a good one.
• Pacing was mostly okay.
• Prose and dialogue are always good with this author.
• Character development was a bit same-old same-old this time around.
• World-building was consistent with previous books in the series.

I'm giving Holiday in Death a 7 of 10, but I'll leave the series at a 9 of 10.

• Book Rating: Holiday in Death: 7 of 10
• Series Rating: 9 of 10

1. Naked in Death
2. Glory in Death
3. Immortal in Death
4. Rapture in Death
5. Ceremony in Death
6. Vengeance in Death
7. Holiday in Death
7.5  Midnight in Death
8. Conspiracy in Death
9. Loyalty in Death
10. Witness in Death
11. Judgment in Death
12. Betrayal in Death
13. Seduction in Death
14. Reunion in Death
15. Purity in Death
16. Portrait in Death
17. Imitation in Death
18. Divided in Death
19. Visions in Death
20. Survivor in Death
21. Origin in Death
22. Memory in Death
23. Born in Death
24. Innocent in Death
25. Creation in Death
26. Strangers in Death
27. Salvation in Death
28. Promises in Death
29. Kindred in Death
30. Fantasy in Death
31. Indulgence in Death
32. Treachery in Death
33. New York to Dallas 

Silver Zombie (Delilah Street Bk 4) by Carole Nelson Davis

 

Silver Zombie is the fourth Delilah Street book. The first book introduced us to a Delilah who was a reporter at her local TV station, reporting on paranormal news items. She moved to Vegas before the first book really got going, and became a paranormal investigator. As we begin the fourth book we learn that everything that has happened in the first three books happened in about two months' time. It felt like at least a year. A lot has happened since she moved to Vegas.

In Silver Zombie Delilah and Ric are headed back to Kansas to learn a little bit about why Delilah has some of her... hang-ups. We see many of the people from earlier books - Delilah, Ric, and Quicksilver, of course. Also Ric's foster mother Helena Troy Burnside, and of course Snow/Christophe has to make an appearance. Cameo's are made by Hector Nightwine, Shez, Grizelle, and Sansouci at the beginning of the book - but they aren't part of any plot in this book and we really could have done without the filler, in my opinion. If the scenes at the beginning of the book were a set up for the next book then they should have been at the end, and could have been a lot less wordy. Too many things happen in the beginning of the book that aren't necessary to the plot of this book... and that made the first half of the book a task instead of an enjoyable read.

Here's the blurb:

Zombies and Witches and Vamps . . . Oh, My!

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas—at least that’s Delilah Street’s hope. With Sin City’s vampire and werewolf mobs wanting to cash in her chips once and for all, she’s retreating with her partner Ric Montoya and half-wolfhound Quicksilver to her Kansas birthplace. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding trouble, there’s no place like home. . . .

It doesn’t take long before Delilah realizes she’s not in Vegas anymore. Zombie cowboys and spectral cattle drives are kicking up dust, the local weather girls are total witches who forecast perfect storms, and some Hollywood fanatic is recasting zombies as the greatest stars of the silver screen. And speaking of silver, Delilah’s special affinity for the all-purpose monster-repellent leads her posse straight down a silver brick road—and into a notso- fun house of mirrors—putting her face-to-face with her dicey past and a mystery woman named Lilith, who’s a real dead ringer for Delilah. The key word being dead.

My biggest problem with this story? Pacing. And there were very serious pacing issues. The story rambles and starts and stops and reminisces and doesn't do much of anything for more than half of the book. Once the story gets started it gets better, and the final 20% of the book doesn't lack for action at all. But the first half of the book could have used some serious help.

As for the rest of the writing elements -- the action oriented plot was most excellent once the author actually delved into it. It's really too bad we didn't know more about the main plot until the last ten or fifteen percent of the book - it could have added a lot of interest earlier on. We do know more about the personal-to-Delilah part of the plot earlier, and it's rough, but it explains a good bit about her history. Not enough, but still a decent amount.

The prose and dialogue were mostly okay - this author tends to ramble and be a bit too flowery and retrospective and introspective for me. And considering I usually like those things... right. I liked the story once I reached the end, but the telling of the story occasionally hurt my eyes. Character developmeng is well done, and world building is stellar. I'll also say that the author's use of symbolism is a large part of what makes this series as interesting as it is.

• Book Rating: Silver Zombie:7 of 10
• Series Rating:7 of 10

I went back and forth with myself on these ratings. I started out with a six of ten for both book and series, but talked myself up to a seven of ten. The various plots, the characters, the symbolism, the worldbuilding - those things deserve a nine... but the storytelling and the pacing issues scream for a four or five.  Averaged together I came up with a seven.

Delilah Street: Paranormal Investigator series:

1. Dancing with Werewolves
2. Brimstone Kiss
3. Vampire Sunrise
4. Silver Zombie
5. Virtual Virgin (2011)

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No Mercy (Dark-Hunters, Book 19) by Sherrilyn Kenyon

 

No Mercy is the nineteenth book in the Dark-Hunter series, and there are now three series that are placed in this world - Dark Hunters, Dream Hunters, and the Chronicles of Nick. Three I'm aware of, there could be more.

What I'm trying to say is that this is a complex world, and I think I've lost too many details from too many books. I have only read some of the Dream-Hunter stories, and I tried to read the first Chronicle of Nick book but I just couldn't handle it... too much teenage angst and attitude (I generally try to stay away from young adult for just that reason). But, I've read every
Dark-Hunter book, so it's not that I haven't read them, it's that I can't remember enough details from books I read years ago to tell me why this person has these powers, or why this couple is indebted to that person. I remember the gist of it, but not the specifics. And that was a problem for me when reading No Mercy.

I'm not really sure what to do about that - the options are to re-read the series (which I do not want to do), to give up and stop reading the series (don't really want to do that just yet, either), or to just keep plugging along and hope the author keeps giving enough hints in the prose to help us try to remember who these people are and why they are acting in the manner they are acting. For now I guess it's the third option.

As for the specifics of No Mercy -- we've met Dev before, he's one of the Bears at Sanctuary. If we've met Samia I don't remember it.  I liked both characters, and the various plots running along side the romance are all a continuation of the general overall story arcs that are happening. There is this huge tangled weave of love and hate and revenge and drama and... I have no idea how the author is ever going to straighten all of the tangles out.

The good parts - we get enough of Acheron to let us see how he's doing, and we get to see Aimee and Fang together some as well. We see a little of Savitar, and a little more of Thorn.

The bad parts... while it's not completely "same thing different book", it is just a little bit. How many ways can you have a Dark Hunter fall in love and take the risk of getting their soul back so they can be with their one true love? Ms. Kenyon has done a good job of keeping things fresh for the most part, but this is the 19th book in the series, after all.

Here is the blurb:

Live fast, fight hard and if you have to die then take as many of your enemies with you as you can. That is the Amazon credo and it was one Samia lived and died by. Now in contemporary New Orleans, the immortal Amazon warrior is about to learn that there’s a worse evil coming to slaughter mankind than she’s ever faced before.



Shapeshifter Dev Peltier has stood guard at the front of Sanctuary for almost two hundred years and in that time, he’s seen it all. Or so he thought. Now their enemies have discovered a new source of power- one that makes a mockery of anything faced to date.



The war is on and Dev and Sam are guarding ground zero. But in order to win, they will have to break the most cardinal of all rules and pray it doesn’t unravel the universe as we know it.

I finished reading No Mercy about ten or fifteen minutes ago, so this one is fresh on my mind. I have no idea what the last paragraph means.... the most "cardinal of rules"? I don't recall them doing anything that could unravel the universe as we know it. I remember Sam finding out that something couldn't be undone without unraveling the Universe, but there was never any chance of either Sam or Dev doing it. The most cardinal rule they broke was in falling in love with each other, as Sam isn't supposed to do that since she's a Dark Hunter - but that won't unravel the universe. Does anyone else know what that sentence means?

As for the writing elements: the romance portion of the plot was okay, nothing spectacular. The continuing plots are still headed towards some sort of resolution but at this point if it takes another dozen books to get there I'm not sure I'll last that long. It's time to wrap some of the long term stuff up, I think. The pacing had some serious issues for me, the prose and dialogue were fine, and character development was sufficient.

I'm going to give No Mercy a 7 of 10, and I'll leave the series at an 8 of 10.

• Book Rating: No Mercy: 7 of 10
• Series Rating: 8 of 10

1. Fantasy Lover (Julian & Grace)
1.5 Dragonswan
2. Night Pleasures (Talon & Sunshine)
3. Night Embrace
4. Dance with the Devil (Zarek & Astrid)
5. Kiss of the Night (Wulf & Cassandra)
6. Night Play (Vane & Bride)
7. Seize the Night (Valerius & Tabitha)
8. Sins of the Night (Alexion & Danger)
9. Unleash the Night (Wren & Maggie)
10. Dark Side of the Moon (Ravyn & Susan)
11. The Dream-Hunter (Arik & Geary)
12. Upon the Midnight Clear (Aidan & Leta)
13. Devil May Cry (Sin & Kat)
14. Dream Chaser (Xypher & Simone)
15. Acheron (Ash & Tory)
16. One Silent Night (Stryker & Zephyra)
17. Dream Warrior (Jericho & Delphine)
18. Bad Moon Rising (Fang & Aimee)
19. No Mercy (Dev & Sam)
20. Redemption (Sundown and Abigail)

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