It’s a long time since I last read Nora Roberts which was when I reviewed Come Sundown here on the blog. I have never read J.D. Robb before so when I realised Naked in Death was by Nora Roberts writing as J.D. Robb I thought I’d give it a go!

Published by Little Brown imprint Piatkus, Naked in Death is available for purchase through the links here.

Naked in Death

Crime and punishment is Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s business. Murder her speciality. Named by the social worker who found her when she was a mere child roaming that city’s streets, Eve Dallas is a New York police detective who lives for her job. In over ten years on the force, she’s seen it all – and knows her survival depends on her instincts.

But she’s going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, a charismatic Irish billionaire – and a suspect in Eve’s latest murder investigation.

But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it’s up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about – except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

My Review of Naked in Death

Eve’s latest case leads to more than police investigation.

Naked in Death is completely outside my normal reading tastes, but having been unable to concentrate on a book of late I decided to give it a try. I’m so glad I did. It’s pure escapism, hugely entertaining and completely distracting.

I found Eve perfectly named. Although Eve is not her original name, it represents the kind of woman she is revealed to be in Naked in Death, as she is both strong and vulnerable, careful and methodical but occasionally rash and always strong willed. I think any reader could identify with some facet of her character, but hopefully not the more devastating experiences she has had.

Roarke is, if I’m honest, completely cliched and yet utterly attractive. He’s rich, tall and handsome and very much a James Bond character and I think I have ended Naked in Death a little bit in love with him. I thoroughly enjoyed the mounting sexual tension between him and Eve and was actually quite surprised by some of the more explicit details of their developing relationship!

In spite of my usual preferred genres, I found the futuristic setting appealed completely. I loved the sumptuous descriptions of Roake’s home and felt very much that New York was a clear and distinct location. Whilst J.D. Robb uses transport and communication in particular to create her settings, there is a perfectly familiar grounding too, especially through the themes so that Naked in Death feels relevant and fresh as well as accessible.

And those themes are universal and pertinent. Relationships, murder, identity, abuse, corruption, violence, politics and honour all reverberate in a thrilling plot that I found transported me away from my own life into another world. I thought the title incredibly apposite too. The murder victims are indeed naked as they die, but the impact on Eve uncovers her personality, her past and a potential future for her too so that she is metaphorically naked as she investigate the deaths.

Naked in Death is exactly as it should be. It’s commercial and somewhat predictable and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment reading it. Just what I needed!

About J.D. Robb

Nora Roberts published her first novel using the pseudonym J.D. Robb in 1995, introducing Eve Dallas, a New York City police lieutenant with a dark past, and billionaire Irish rogue, Roarke. Since then, the In Death series has sold over sixty-six million copies, with each new novel reaching number one on bestseller charts the world over.

You will find Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb on Facebook. J.d. Robb’s website is here and Nora Roberts’ website here.