Connections in Death by J.D. Robb (2019)

Eve Dallas is back in her latest adventure as she prowls the mean streets of New York in the 2060’s. This time Eve is tasked with finding the killer of Lyle Pickering, a recovering drug addict who had turned his life around until he was discovered dead with a needle sticking out of his arm. Although, superficially, the crime scene screamed accidental OD, Eve knows better. She is convinced that Lyle was murdered but has not figured out why. Yet.

Lyle’s sister, Rochelle, is a child psychologist and Eve’s Husband has his eye on her. No, not like that you sex-mad lunatics. Roarke would never cheat on his beloved wife, if only because he knows she’d cut his tackle off and put the bits and pieces on his pillow to find when he wakes from a troubled sleep. No, Roarke has a children’s centre, a refuge for street kids and those from dangerous environments, and wants Rochelle to head it up. He is really pissed that his soon-to-be employee’s brother has been done in.

Eve manages to track Lyle’s history back to an extremely violent street gang that he was once a member of before he changed his ways. It appears that the gang decided that he couldn’t walk out on them and resolved to settle his hash in the most final way. As Eve and her partner, Peabody, investigate, they peel back the sordid layers of criminality that cover the gang.

Soon, yet more corpses turn up. A girl suspected of setting Lyle up is found gang-raped, beaten and dead in disputed territory between two rival gangs. This ups the ante considerably as Eve desperately tries to avoid all-out gang warfare. She finds that all is not what it at first seems within the suspected murder gang. Yes, they are bad, dangerous and capable of murder, and likely have carrried out many, but Eve begins to believe that their leader did not want Lyle dead. So who did?

Rebel Voice is a big fan of the Eve Dallas series. It’s amazing that Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb) is able to continually weave fresh story-lines that attract and hold firm the reader’s attention. The repeating characters are always consistent, in Roarke’s case consistently squelchy, and are mostly believable (referring to Roarke again). There is action, intrigue and romance with a healthy dollop of sex as Eve and Roarke find new ways to pound the backsides off one another.

As the case breaks (and we don’t want to spoil your fun) new players emerge in the murder case. The denouement in Connections in Death is extended as Eve works her interview magic to get the suspects, of which there are many, to incriminate themselves. There are rarely loose ends in a J.D. Robb novel. Forget the Scooby Gang pulling the mask off the old man who would have gotten away with it if not for those pesky kids; in the Eve Dallas series, we are always emotionally sated with a complete tie-up of all bad guys. You want total justice? Eve’s your gal.

In this episode, it must be said that Roarke is not quite as squelchy as usual. Aye, he still does the whole ‘Darling Eve’ thing which no Irishman ever, in the history of Irishmen, has ever done. But he’s strong, supportive, enjoys the ride (… is very good at giving Eve multiple orgasms) and his heart’s in the right place, so Nora (who is Irish-American) has at least got some things right (says the modest Irish reviewer without bias (wink wink)).

As stated before in reviews of this series, Eve Dallas lives in the future, one with all sorts of gadgetry and technology. There are machines for making your dinner, cars that fly and equipment that forensic specialists today could only dream of. The clothing is also out there with some fairly freaky fashions. But the greatest thing about the series is that the futurism remains in the background and the plot is king.

Sult scale rating: 8 out of 10. If you enjoy thrillers and murder-mysteries, then this book will be a treat. J.D Robb is consistently brilliant in her plotting, depictions, characters and dialogue. As always, Rebel Voice recommends this series.

Here’s another review in the Eve Dallas series:

https://rebelvoice.blog/2019/05/31/leverage-in-death-j-d-robb-thriller/

(218)

Enjoyed this? Why not share?