Portrait in Death (In Death Series) (Paperback)

Besides the personal stories, we are always presented with cleverly crafted mysteries, and even though in this book the case Eve is working on takes a secondary part, it fulfills its role regarding entertainment, action and suspense. Everything starts when Nadine Furst, a reporter for channel 75 and friend of Eve, receives an anonymous message that leads her to believe someone is dead. She calls Eve and the lieutenant quickly finds the body of a young girl inside a recycle bin. Nadine not only received a message, but also photos of the victim before and after being killed, with the latter one being staged. The victim was taking a course in imaging, so Eve and her aide Delia Peabody start going after the killer with this consideration in mind. As Robb has done in some of her previous books, we get to "read into the killer mind" in some of the passages and find out that this person believes that the victims will live forever through the images.

This one is one of the best installments in the series so far because the developments in Roarke's personal story create an unparalleled eagerness on the reader. I know it did in my case, since I read this one in a single sitting. There are also other developments, like the relationship between Peabody and McNabb moving forward with them thinking about living together, and the fact that Mavis is pregnant. As the series progresses, I have found that it is harder and harder for the author to inform the reader of everything that has occurred in the past of this set of characters, so you will be missing important points if you have not read the previous books. For those that have been following Eve's adventures, I hope that you agree with me in that this book is without a doubt among the best by Robb.

I am pleased that in this book Roarke and Eve are the central focus, even more than the mystery of who is the serial killer. Eve is becoming more and more comfortable with the various connections she makes, openly admitting to being Nadine Furst's friend without any prompting! And we meet all of our old friends, some taking more pages than others (McNab, Dr Mira, Baxter & Trueheart are definitely backstage here, but still able to carry off significant roles in the action, especially the latter two).

Regular readers of the series I'm sure will enjoy the book as much as I do. Eve is developing, as is her relationships with Roarke in particular, but also with her widening circle of friends and acquaintances. Roarke grows here too, which is a different element to bring into the book. As usual the writing is superb and the vision of the not so distant future is intriguing. I find with Robb/erts that it is these little, deft touches, sprinkling world-building context into the tale with such as skilful hand that highlights what a talented writer she is.

The mystery this time around involves groups of students who are murdered and photographs are sent to the media by the killer of these students posed in death. The killer wants to absorb the radiant inner light these talented teenagers posess, but Eve is struggling with the case as her husband Roarke confronts some ghosts from his past, and seems intent on shutting her out. This provokes the couple's first real nasty fight.

The mystery itself may seem rather slight to the hard core crime fan, but this book offers a welcome change of pace to those who have followed the In Death series. I particularly enjoyed seeing the rift between Eve and Roarke as at times their too perfect marriage can come across as a wee bitty smug, so the conflict did add that edge of reality and tension that is sometimes missing. Plus there is always the joy of the 'hot jungle sex' make up scenes!

All of our favourite secondary characters are present: Mavis Eve's best friend is now pregnant, the dialogue betweeen Dallas and her stalwart aide Peabody is as sharp and funny as ever and Eve's relationship with Summerset, Roarke's curmudgeonly butler come father figure is shown with a bit more warmth as they attempt to put aside their differences for Roarke's sake.

The emphasis in this book is firmly placed on character development, which as a regular fan of the In Death series makes a welcome change. Eve is becoming a more likeable character as she learns to open up to the family of characters around her without losing any of her edge. In particular the scenes of Eve's reactions to Mavis' pregnancy and Peabody and McNab's romance are priceless! Roarke takes centre stage as he struggles with revelations from his past about his mother, which gives us a more fully rounded and at times nastier view of his character instead of the supportive sex symbal husband role he is normally allocated.

These aren't rocket science crime thrillers, but they are great escapist books if you want a romance with a little more tension and wit than normal. If you're looking for hard core crime you might be better sticking with John Connolly and the like.