Mysteries in Series

There’s something comforting about diving into a book where you know the main characters, their habits, speech patterns, and even their passions. That's why people read books in series. 

I'm a fan of starting at the beginning, seeing how the characters evolve, and joining them as they find their way around the world their author created. Of course the danger in starting at the beginning of a series is the author is just honing his or her craft, figuring out how the main characters will interact with one another. I find this is true with book series where I've become hooked on the TV series first and want to read how the author conceived of the characters and their world. 

In the case of J.D.Robb and her In Death series, the characters come alive on the page not on the screen. Each character has evolved from the very first book in the series Naked in Death (1995) to the most recent Dark in Death, released on January 30, 2018. While the books stand alone, they are part of the continuum of the series and the deadly, sparkling world of New York City in the 2060s.

Dark in Death, the 46^th book in the series, is a book within a book, where the serial killer is re-enacting crimes in mystery / thrillers by an author. The killer is rewriting the murder scenes, placing herself in the role of the killer doing the killing, making the stories come to life. Lt. Dallas, Roarke, and Det. Peabody are hot on the trail of this killer, reading the mysteries, following the written and real life clues, and racing to get a head of the murderer.

Robb’s writing leaves the reader breathless, waiting for the next clue to drop, the next murder to happen, while hoping against hope that the trio will head off the murderer, the serial killer before the story plays out. Most of all, readers will want to read the imaginary mysteries created by the talented, ever creative mystery writer.

If you are just joining the series, it’s okay, you’ll figure out who’s who and then want to start at the very beginning with Naked in Death. No matter which of Robb’s mysteries you read, you’ll finish each will a sigh and a tremor, thankful it’s fiction yet yearning for another installment of the In Death series.