Today’s the day — Abandoned in Death is on shelves and e-readers so you can dig into Eve’s next case.
Here’s the official book description:
This case opens when a woman’s body is found in the early morning, on a bench in a New York City playground. She’s clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things are very wrong—like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The clothes, decades out of date. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child.
Dr. Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler, confirms what seems obvious to Eve: They’re dealing with a killer whose childhood involved some sort of trauma—a situation with which Eve is all too familiar. Yet the clues suggest a perpetrator who’d be roughly sixty years old, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that apparently reopened such an old wound and sent someone over the edge?
When Eve discovers that other young women—who physically resemble the first victim—have vanished, the clock starts ticking louder. But to solve this case she will need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the cold depths of a shattered mind.
And now the comments are open for discussion. Did you find any of the teasers – let us know down below.
Laura
YAHOO!!!
I love what I have read so far, which is 39% of the book. This one has a lot more of Roarke and Eve together, which I feel was lacking in the previous book.
I just purchases the book and can’t wait to read it
I’m on the wait list at our library for ebook or hard back which ever gets me first into the land of ID and Eve and the gang.
Me too…I’m number ten, even after recommending the book back in October.
Waiting for Amazon to deliver it this afternoon, have done housework and ironing so will be free to read it!
The peaks of living in Europe, I already received my copy and read it.
I found all teasers, apart from the very last one.
The book was great, I especially liked the way Eve is coming to terms with her past. In this nightmare of her mother she was way more in control in my opinion. You can see how having friends, family, a support network gives her emotional stability.
I also found that in the interactions with Summerset, far more relaxed and mature somehow. But that just my feelings.
Kitchen cabinets color conversation
Ah, thanks. Yes I remember that but didn’t link it to the teaser.
Received the audio book this morning and as always I am loving it
“OCTOPUS / OEDIPUS”
🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣
Both are creepy! 🤣🤣🤣
This part made me laugh!
Ugh! I have to work today and am dying to get started.
Me too – downloaded to kindle this morning but have to work – no housework tonight I’m reading!
well, I haven’t yet received mine. a first. You can bet I’ll be checking my mailbox tonight!
I will get mine today but can’t start til Saturday. I work 2 jobs so no time during the week. But I can’t wait!
Read it, loved it! Boy did I not see that coming!
Can’t wait for the next one, lol 🙂
Just started reading it this morning, and happy to see an old friend. Thanks
It’s here! Saving it for the weekend.
Already started it💖 The benefits of living on the west coast, it shows up around 9pm the night before release date thanks to Kindle.
Thanks as always Nora/JD💞 I’m already hooked.😁
I noticed it on my iPad last night at midnight and knew better than to start reading it, I would be up all night. Will spend today reading.
I’m about 1/3 of the way too. Love it so far as well. Love little Bella and her pronunciation of Summerset’s name!!! I
I never cease to be amazed at JD’s creativity. 54 books and once again the villain has a reason for his actions which is totally different from any of the previous 53. I also love the way the stories of the secondary characters progress through the series – do I detect a possible new relationship developing?
Eve is right. She is too young for him.
Right now maybe – but in a couple or so years?
It just arrived in the mail (I pre-ordered)….I cannot wait….there goes the rest of my day.
Still waiting for my copy from Turn the Page. ☹️
Love Bell the job boss.
Absolutely loved it. Some of this series I like more than others and ALWAYS appreciate the ongoing stories of the secondary characters. However, this was a fantastic one, IMO. Also delighted to see Jamie again and appreciated seeing Jenkinson get a little flustered. I now need to go back and reread certain scenes from prior books bc I start to lose track which one of the homicide squad did what at certain points!!
Something I have come to appreciate is that at some point Eve usually manages to encounter the suspects before she finally identifies them and I STILL did not see this one coming… (obviously not always, but in many of them…) such a fabulous story…. THANK YOU!!
I loved the first scene where she goes looking for Feeney but he’s not in his office and she turns to find someone in typical EDD fashion: nuclear colored clothes. We don’t know for a sentence or two that it’s Jamie she sees and the way it’s written I thought it was Feeney wearing the clothes. My first thought was “OMG, Feeney must’ve lost a HUGE bet for him to be wearing neon purple!” and then I read on & saw it was Jamie. Very well written and really made me laugh.
I’m also used to most stories/backstories being set in Eve’s present time or just a bit in the past so I enjoyed how the novel started with just “before” and then mentioned Fanta & Skittles. I was like “Wait, shouldn’t that be orange fizzies or something?” Clever way of setting a general time frame without just typing out the year.
Excellent, excellent story! Really enjoyed trying to figure it all out. At one point I was heading “there” and then persuaded myself that couldn’t be it. Really loved it all! Well done!
Just read the section where Eve goes to meditate after a “bad dream”…followed by a virtual exercise run in Prague…L-O-V-E her meditation mantra! Got a wonderful chuckle out of it…(and I’m adopting it for my own!)
Me too! When I read the teasers, I thought it might be ” Bite me”, but this was better!
Read the book yesterday in under 10 hours – WOW for the storyline
I’m 50% through (stupid job, getting in the way of my reading). But, so far I snort laughed at the octopus convo, squealed to see Greeneville TN (I live 15 minutes away & don’t think I didn’t look to see if there really was a scandalous murder in 2005!) and loved the 42 convo. As soon as it mentioned the number I was so hoping it’d be a HHGttG reference. Good heavens, the talent that runs through you & into your words is just amazing.
Nora/J.D., I thought there would never be an IN DEATH to beat BROTHERHOOD, but this one is right up there! (I adored the scenes between Eve and Dennis Mira in B.I.D) But this story really blew me away.
The comical remarks throughout the story really added a lot to separating the work from the play parts. It gave the whole story more balance. Eve is really gaining so much maturity. Thanks to Amazon’s delivery, I received and started reading Monday afternoon, and read the last quarter on my Kobo after midnight.
Glad Laura has finally had her surgery and can now work toward 100% health. And, Nora, I have been a fan of yours since the seventy’s, and you have NEVER let me down.
Amazon is violating the date out policy. It’s not right for the rest of us having to wait on publication date, to have Amazon shipping early.
Walmart never allowed product put out early.
Amazon works with the publisher to make certain pre-orders arrive on pub date. Sometimes the delivery is early, but they are not breaking the Strict on Sale date.
Laura
Loved the book! Hope in a future book we find out if the real estate sale went through! Loved that. Thanks again for a wonderful read!
Could this story be a harbinger of things to come…is it possible Eve has some decent family members out there somewhere…I guess only Nora knows the answer to that. Loved everything about this book and as usual can’t wait for the next one!!
No. Nora does know the answer, and it’s no, Eve doesn’t.
Nora, thank you so much for that personal reply. I can now put that theory to rest and move on lol. It was a wonderful book from start to finish and I can say it is now in my top 5 as well with New York to Dallas being my NUMBER ONE.
Dang this one had me guessing right till the ned. I was on the edge of my eat the entire time trying to figure out who the bad guy was and everything.
Awesome storyline and man, now I need to read it again.
I have a question, not sure if this is allowed…right at the very beginning, after the woman is found on the park bench, it says Eve and Peabody had to talk to the witness, who didn’t have anything to add, but they are not referring to the LC who found and reported the body, as she was sent home. Who was the witness? This is right at the beginning of the first chapter. Can anyone clarify for me?
I think the witness is the LC. There is no one else mentioned.
After all Eve and Peabody drive to the Cohab afterwards, so why shouldn’t they have gone to the LC’s address first?
Earlier we learn Peabody arrived on scene first, interviewed the LC (witness) who left her contact info and was escorted home. Eve and Peabody stop by the LC’s home but since there’s no further info we don’t see that scene. Not every interview shows up on page.
Laura
Finished the first chapter and whoa could have used a trigger warning >.< it was a hard read for me. Glad that is out of the way and moving on to finish the book after work today!
Great book! Quick question – when Lt. Dallas spoke with Elise Grommet re. Adelaide Mosebly, why do you think she didn’t ask if Ms. Mosebly had any tattoo’s? Seems like she must have had a reason but as I’m not past this section yet, and I have to work until late, I won’t have time to finish this today and it is bugging me. Have I missed something?
Love Bella – Sommershit Socute and funny.
Anyone else missing a paragraph or something? Pages 283-284 when they are getting the video to discover the unsub. It goes from Roarke taking the phone to a name with nothing in between.
I think the publisher missed something.
Is this in the paper book or kindle?
Laura
The kindle version has a completed story with Roake talking with Darci.
I found the spot and nothing is missing. As Eve says just a few paragraphs later: “I looked right at him, and I thought: You’d be the type. The right age, the quiet type, perfectionist, the type who blends in so people don’t really see him.”
We don’t always see how Eve makes the connection, but she did in this case and then we have a little back fill. It was far easier to see Mary Kate’s co-worker as the villain of the piece than someone on the cops’ side.
Laura
Thanks for the explanation, Laura.
It was easy for me to not consider Mary Kate’s co-worker as the murderer early on because Mary Kate never recognized him while she was locked up (and I didn’t picture him wearing a disguise to hide his features since she noticed when he became angry/upset…not just his change in voice when switching from child to adult…and he often sat right next to her).
Thanks again, Nora; as usual, I really enjoy your writing and imagination!
If you re-read right before that, I think it clicks for Eve when Darci tells her about the sale of a similar item and wondered if there had been a mistake in brands. Eve remembers the “ computer glitch “ that delayed her getting results. That is why she says to run that person.
I came here looking for this! I read a hard copy from the library and there was definitely something missing. Page numbers were in the correct order, but the story made a leap . I even stopped to reread thinking I had missed something.
I agree, it goes from Roarke going into the hallway and next thing you know, Eve is telling Peabody to do a run on Dawber. When did he cross her radar?
It clicks early in the conversation when Darci says maybe it’s the wrong product and Eve remembered the “computer glitch” that had delayed her getting the product info. That is why she checks out Dawber. I think it’s a bit confusing because we are used to Eve talking out her theories with someone. In this case it just clicked and she acted.
Thanks, that makes sense.
I have the same problem as Erin. The story does not flow at the bottom of page 283 to the top of page 284 in the hardcover. Feels like it skipped over a whole scene.
Nothing was skipped. As I said to Erin, we don’t always see how Eve makes the connections. When she did here, we have little back fill. It was far easier to see Mary Kate’s co-worker as the villain of the piece than someone on the cops’ side.
Laura
This had a lot of good stuff! I really liked that Eve went after the wrong guy before figuring out the actual perpetrator. Nice change. Did not see the villain coming at all, which is almost unheard of for me in this series. Was very fun to catch up with some old favorite characters — Jamie & Quilla, Bella. And some nice character development for Berenski. Probably the thing that stuck out the most though was the characters backstory getting tied into our recent past. When I started reading In Death, I had everyone and their back story firmly parked in a distant future, but here we are! It’s less than 40 years away! Wow.
This was a great read – definitely had moments where I laughed out loud or that brought a smile to my face with the interactions between characters (Jamie asking Eve about Quilla, Roark should come along on ops more often, Eve listening to all the details 😊). I love how Nora/JD pulls us into the story and engages the reader. Can’t wait to go back and read it again knowing who the unsub is now – completely unexpected twist!
Laura – how are you feeling? Is your recovery going well? Sending positive thoughts for healing, gaining strength, and rest!
Wow! Just Wow!
I took my time with this book. I love it, it will be in my top 5. I love catching up with Jamie, Quilla, Louise, Charles … Before I got the notice that the book was ready I was re-reading Vengeance in death and promptly drop it to start Abandoned. I had to remind myself that the book I was reading previously was some 40 books ago. Not so easy for me to make the connection, LOL. But Jamie was fresh in my mind after just reading his story with his grandfather and sister’s death. For some reason I had a craving for re-reading all the IN DEATH books, got up to #6 before Abandoned. What a ride.
Bella the “job Boss”, she is so adorable. Mavis and Leonardo has always been a favorite couple of mine. I like Lisa/Violet, I think that she did her best with what she had to work with before she met Joe. After all the drugs and everything that she went thru she became a great person, wife and mother. “Baby Darling” is just NUTS no way of getting around that. He is who he is whether he had a good childhood or not, I believe he still would turn out to be a killer. Giving the wrong info on the fake nail kit. HAH Eve will Catch him no matter what. I have to admit I am one of those people who peek at the end of the book to see who the killer is, I can’t always guess or wait. LOL bad habit I know but I can’t seem to break it. Sometimes I’m on the edge, can’t breathe fast enough so before I passed out cold I want to know so I can keep enjoying the book.
I love the book setting with the NOW and then going in the past. When Eve went to EDD looking for Feeney and described the outfit I said to myself ‘OH MY GOD, IS HE GOING THRU A LIFE CRISIS?” that’s before I read that it was Jamie. There are so many moments in this book that I stopped and LOL. The fact that the murders were not bloody and gruesome makes a difference to me as well. Don’t get me wrong the descriptions in each book is wonderful but I tend to visualize each scene then I can’t sleep for a few days without the light on, LOL. When I finished my re-read of books 6-54 it will be a pleasure to take that ride all over again.
Nora,
Another best seller! Thank you for what you do and what you enjoy doing and sharing with us. I certainly appreciate your talent.
Laura,
Hope you heal well and soon. I caught all the teasers! Thank you for keeping us in the loop and excited about each new book.
The different timelines were a new style for In Death, but I enjoyed the development of all the characters no matter the time period, but our regulars most of all of course. I now cannot wait to see the new dynamic with the lab!
I enjoyed this so much! I avoided all of the teasers, I like to go in with no expectations so it was all new. Loved the before sections, and did not see the ending coming at all.
Not exactly related to the book, but I do want to ask you this question, some people have complained about Eve’s characteristics and mannerisms and the thing is, I openly admit that I am on the Autism Spectrum, High Functioning, and a lot of Eve’s characteristics (minus her getting old sayings wrong and making old references to old mythological references) are very similar to mine. Which leads me to the theory that Eve might have autism but has not been formally diagnosed as yet.
But since you’re the writer, maybe you can answer that for me?
No, Eve’s not on the spectrum. If that was a part of her character, I would have worked it into the books over the years.
All I can say is that the Jamie/Quilla thing, if allowed to progress, will be one of those “little things” that becomes a bigger thing to drive Eve to utter distraction. Which I find I like, as her relationships with Summerset, Dennis Mira, and the entire Brody clam also distract her in good but befuddling ways.
Totally agree! A question for Nora: did you expect these characters to have additional roles when they are introduced, or did they grow on you, like they did on us?
They have additional roles or turn into recurring characters when they story calls for it. It’s all about the story and the people who drive it.
Thank you, Nora, for another well-crafted adventure with your In Death family. Even when I try to take my time and savor the story, I can’t slow the dramatic momentum you build. Thank goodness I like to reread my books. Lovely mixture of police drama with glimpses of our favorite “regulars”. I, too, was suckered into the Feeney/Jamie clothing switch! What fun!
I saw a softer side of Eve in this book…..with the teenager who had gone out to be with his girlfriend
Peabody is really becoming a great cop…..she seemed to be ahead of Eve in many situations “already done” “did that” and checked into things on her own.
Loved this book….think after Naked in Death it is my favorite. Was happy that Violet was able to have a good life.
Nora,
When I saw that a new “In Death” book would be coming out in February I immediately put a hold on “Abandoned in Death” through my local library. It seemed like a long time before it would be released and my library would let me know my copy was available, but the notice came yesterday. When I am absolutely obsessed with a book, nothing will stop me from reading the whole thing at one time. My book marathon started around noon yesterday and didn’t end until 2:30 AM this morning. The different timelines initially confused me, but it finally dawned on me what the timelines meant. I can’t wait until your next “In Death” book is released to see what happens next with Eve, Roarke, and all the other members of their “crew”. Take care! Deb
Best book yet!!!!! I loved every second of it and did not want it to end. Thank you Thank you Thank you for continuing the story of Eve Dallas and the whole team. Your books bring me such joy!
Heidi
Great story, and the back and forth structure added to the complexities and possibilities when trying to work it all out. Really interesting take on life choices, and how financial and emotional security can make the difference between a life well lived and a life of desperation, drugs and prostitution. (For those without crackpot and violent tendencies!). Enjoyed all the interactions between Eve, Roarke and family, and felt unexpected sympathy for Dickhead – so many brilliant and different characters to appreciate.
Thank you for another excellent book. I have a question though: in previous books Baxter seemed to be lead detective with a grade 2 rating. In this book, Jenkinson is the lead detective. Have I missed something?
Looking forward to the next In Death book.
All the best,Patty
Baxter and Jenkinson are both Detective Second Grade, but Jenkinson has seniority. He’s got more years in on the job.
Thanks for the explanation, Nora. I had the same question about Baxter and Jenkinson (re: who was the lead investigator from the bullpen) in this book).
One other question, please, Nora. Why is Feeney a Captain of EDD (with no apparent Lieutenant–and he frequently still goes into the field, in addition to assigning his detectives to jobs). But, Eve is still a Lieutenant. I seem to recall your explaining in one of your books that Eve would want to remain a Lieutenant (and not become a Captain even if she were ever recommended for promotion) because she wanted to remain in the field and not get stuck behind a desk. Just curious because I would think she would have a stronger footing with Captains in other divisions if she had an equal title)–the question popped into my mind again when she had the confrontation with “Dickhead” Barenski in his lab.
Thanks.
On a similar topic: is Eve the only lieutenant in the NYPSD who doesn’t report to a captain?
What about Captain Whitney.
Whitney’s rank is Commander.
What a great read! When I read the excerpt earlier, I admit I wasn’t sure I would like it because I thought it would focus too much on the killer torturing the women. Thankfully I was wrong. It was another great police procedural with the addition of Jaime and another strong female survivor.
I got the book from the library the other day. Just finished it. I take my time reading it so I can savor the book. Unlike in the past I would zoom through it. Abandoned in Death was a good read. I don’t know how Nora does it, actually she has explained it many times so I do know. All her books are enjoyable . I don’t know if anyone thinks this , it just seems that Nora puts herself in the story as the author. Obviously I have never met Ms. Roberts , her stories seem to be a part of who she is. I feel lucky to live in a world where there is a writer that is Ms. Roberts. I feel very lucky to be able to have read this book. I had a heart attack right after Thanksgiving 2021. The second dragon book was read 3xs before I got to go home . I can wait for Ms. Roberts next 3 2022 books .
I also want to thank Laura for this website .
The beginning of this book both knocked me flat and creeped me out more than a little. The decisions his mom made!!! I was actually feeling more understanding of the killer (wow that sounds bad.) That is until he began ranting about how unfair his mother was. That turned my opinion.
The overall theme of family in all its variations was especially meaningful. Who is her family seems to send Eve reeling sometimes. It should make us all think about it.
Another excellent book and I am looking forward to reading it again. Well, listening to it again. Thank you!
I had to respond as you said listen again. Susan Ericksen’s narration has completely spoiled me. I can’t listen to any books that aren’t read by her. She is beyond brilliant. I have listened to all of the in death books 5 times.
So the conversation of Eve and Roarke’s past lives gave me a strange realization last night, and that is neither of them have taken time out to play a game of Chess. Don’t get me wrong, I get that they’re too busy for Chess, but it would be interesting to see who would capture the king.
As always, thank you Nora for another great and enjoyable book. Even more enjoyable is having Bella on the scene once again. THANKS!
Loved it! Love how things are progressing on the house. Love Bella as the crew boss. Good story – the crime, the reason, the backstory. J. D. Hit it out of the ballpark. Looking forward to all of Eve’s upcoming adventures.
I bought the mass market paperback version on December 6th and I can’t wait to receive it, unfortunately it takes a long time to arrive in Brazil. Forgotten in death I bought it on June 3rd and received it on February 22nd, but it was worth the wait of every minute
Susan Erickson isn’t narrating Desperation ID? 😭😭😭😭😭
And, a man is the replacement. A man doing Dallas and Peabody, Nadine and Reo, Mira…Mavis. Never listened to a man do a good job of narrating women’s voices. Always wind up sounding ridiculous. They often lose any nuance and instead include a petulant kind of whiny voice. The circle trilogy is a good example of that. He absolutely made Glenna whiny. He totally missed IMO.
Hoping for the best but I’m not hopeful.
This means going back to print for me.
So crushed right now. ☹️
Wow.
This is completely untrue. I reached out to my counterpart at Macmillan Audio and as far as she knows Susan Ericksen is reading. The man listed on the Audible plage is not in the Macmillan data. She will reach out to them and ask that they correct that ASAP.
Laura
Thank you!!! 🙏😊
This book was EPIC! Nora/JD has such a gift. Thank you so much!
I read it twice and will probably read it again. These are so fascinating. Love Eve’s comments about buying the rings around Saturn too funny.
I’m always eager to tuck into a Nora Roberts novel. I eagerly await each and everyone but the JD Robb books are particularly my favorite. I love the character quirks, the relationships, and especially Roark, I can hear his mild Irish lilt in my mind as Ms. Roberts has a true talent in the expression of contractions.
So I was very disappointed in this book as well as the one previous. I’m not sure what has happened but the characters were flat and unrecognizable. Eve didn’t sound like Eve, Roarke didn’t sound like Roarke, actually none of the characters sounded like themselves, the camaraderie seemed to be absent. I really struggled with this book, picking it up and putting it back down many times which I’ve never done with a Nora Roberts book. I had to go back several books and reread to get my Eve and Roarke fix.
It’s strange that all the comments here on the blog for this book are positive but the comments on Amazon are generally not with most reflecting disappointment. I image the administrator will not post my comments but I truly hope the next JD Robb book is back to normal. I love this series so much that I’ve decided if the next book isn’t back to its usual standard, I’ll need to stop buying so as not to ruin the series for me. I don’t mean to sound threatening or like I’m giving an ultimatum, I’d just like you to know how much the series means to me.
I’m one of Nora’s fans who really enjoyed this book, as I have with the majority of her books (written as Nora Roberts or JD Robb).
When I read your comment stating
“It’s strange that all the comments here on the blog for this book are positive but the comments on Amazon are generally not with most reflecting disappointment ….” I agree that most of the comments on the blog are positive; however, when I looked at Amazon’s website, it states this book has an overall rating of “4.7 out of 5.0 with 10,506 global ratings.” That is definitely “generally not (positive) with most reflecting disappointment… “–in fact, it is just the opposite with the vast majority of ratings highly positive!
Perhaps, it is a change in your reading preferences…just a thought.
Hi, Judy,
I was referring to comments not star ratings. Even within a 4 or 5 star ratings there are comments reflecting the change. I kept wondering if it was just me that felt that way.
Make no mistake, I am a huge Nora Roberts fan. I probably have nearly every book ever written by Ms. Roberts. I even have Jill March and Sarah Hardesty books in my collection which I would sneak and read from my mother’s collection when I was a kid ‘too young to read the adult books.’ And I have been duplicating my collection with e books. When I’m down, sad, struggling I choose a NR book to pick me up.
While I understand this is a fan site, it struck me as odd that no one seemed to notice. Maybe I read her books more often and the change is more apparent to me than to others.
Posting for Nora who is having timing out issues with WP:
Reader expectation is individual. Your expectations weren’t met. While I can’t agree the characters didn’t sound like themselves, they didn’t to you. It may be you’re not satisfied with the way they’re evolving, and they must evolve–have been evolving since the first book–for me to continue the series.
I’m sorry you haven’t enjoyed the last couple books in the series, and hope you’ll like Desperation in the fall.
I’d love to know where you got the Jill March–the one and only–as it was published in tabloid (not book) form way back in 1982. I’m surprised a copy’s survived this long!
The Sarah Hardesty–also a one-off–was only published in GB as the publisher there insisted I take another name for my first historical. I objected–but lacked any clout back then. They insisted readers would be confused. After one shot they admitted readers were smarter than that, and the name was retired.
Nora
I absolutely agree that characters must evolve! I have stopped reading other authors’ series because their characters never evolve, and it becomes like the same book over and over again. I am totally enjoying how Eve, Roarke, Mavis, Peabody, et al are evolving and continue to evolve. Adding Bella has changed Eve – she is a wee bit more relaxed with children. We all evolve and are affected by our experiences and people we; after all, we are not robots. Keep the novels coming, they entertain me and make my day!
Perfectly said!
Ms. Roberts,
Thank you for your reply.
About 15 years ago my mother set a box of books at my feet during a summer visit. She smirked at me and said, “Do you recognize this box?” (I gulped) “This is the box of books you would sneak and read as a teenager and I’m giving them to you.” (How could she possibly know? I was so careful!). She also told me that there were Sarah Hardesty and Jill March books in there and that I had read and been reading Nora Roberts before I “found” Nora Roberts. I packed the books in an airtight bin, as I had already purchased many of my favorites such as Linda Howard, Sandra Brown, Johanna Lindsey and those books many from the 70’s and 80’s were in rough shape especially the Harlequins. So I packed them in my ‘memory box’ and put them in my attic. I’ll have to get in there and see what I can find.
My first book I purchased of yours was Born in Fire and I was absolutely hooked. I scoured used book stores (no Amazon back then, no internet either) looking for any and all of your books quite a few of which was in the ‘sneak box’ and I hadn’t made the connection. I believe it was my purchase of Irish Thoroughbred that connected me to you through the ‘sneak box.’ The story stuck with me through the years but I couldn’t remember the title or who wrote it and I certainly couldn’t ask my mother. Ha!
While all your stories are always consistently good, with many being absolutely great, the thing I love most about your books is the character development and relationships you build within your stories. As someone who has struggled through a difficult childhood, a difficult marriage with very damaging and difficult people, the relationships you’ve created within your stories helped to form my character, who I wanted to be as a person, to not ‘when in Rome’ and hold onto anger and resentments but to work towards and build something positive. Your stories helped me hold onto my moral compass, my belief and understanding as to how people should treat each other. You’ve always had strong women characters and men confident and secure enough to partner with them. Maybe that’s messed up, taking relationship ideals from fictional characters but there you have it.
I have loved the way Eve and Roake and the group has evolved. Again, that is one of your strengths as an author, character development. I just felt there was a disconnect with the characters. I couldn’t hear Roarke’s lilt, Eve’s snark, Peabody’s earnestness. Maybe it has to do with the disconnect everyone else has been experiencing by social distancing because of the pandemic.
Anyway, I’m looking forward to Desperstion in Death in the fall. It’s already preordered through Amazon.
Thank you again for the personal reply and thank you for many, many wonderful books and hours reading them.
The thing is, there are no Jill March books—just that one tabloid publication, and only one British published Sarah Hardesty. Rebellion, from the British publisher which was published under my name everywhere else.
So I’m a little confused there.
I’m not sure why you didn’t hear those things in the last couple In Deaths. I can only say I did while writing them. But every reader reads a story in their own way.
I am only relating what my mother told me when she gave me the box. As she is not a very nice person and seems to delight in making sure I feel small, it could be there is nothing by Jill March in the box and maybe not Sarah Hardesty either. Her intent could have been to inform me of how little I knew of my favorite author while she seemed to be doing something nice for me. That would certainly not surprise me and would fit her M.O. I am absolutely certain your older books are there. When it warms up a bit more, I’ll check it out and if I find the tabloid by Jill March or the book by Sarah Hardesty I’ll be sure to let you know.
Back with my own reply on this.
Things are generally positive here because the readers are willing to let Nora tell a story as she sees fit. We go along for the ride because we’re not the author. There are negative comments, there are some pick-apart comments in specific title discussions. But as a whole? Most commenters are willing to let Nora take the lead in how the story plays out.
Laura
Very well put. I think sometimes we make comments on how we wish the story would play out to hear the thoughts of other readers (at least that’s why I might slip and do this at any point). The way I have it figured, if I want to write the story, I should become an author…which God knows would never happen as I do not have her talent (not sure this is the right word but flair sounded like it wasn’t enough). HTH
First I want to say I love all of Nora Roberts books. Her “In Death” series are my favorite (I’ve read all of them, at least once sometimes more.) I like the very real way the In Death series talks about child abuse and the after effects that come from that. I am a survivor and this is one of the first things I’ve read or watch that gets it SO right, and has help me feel like there is possibility of a good life beyond the abuse of the past. While Abandoned in Death was a great story, I loved it. I also found so very disconcerting, and I lost my enjoyment of the book because of one simple fact. That you are still using multiple personality disorder in a novel that is based in the 2060s when that disorder was changed to dissociative identity disorder back in 1994. This is especially hard when it is coming from Charlotte Mira’s mouth. Mira is psychiatry, who’s job it is to diagnosis and treat mental disorders, she would know better. Also if you do your research there are quite a few cases that have been verified in the last few years. In 2019 in Australia they had a case of a woman who had 6 different personalities testify in court against her father just as an example. Her name is Jeni Hayes. I think 40 years from now there will be even more. I’m sorry if this seems like I’m a little preachy or pushy on this subject. It’s just that I advocate for this mental illness and am very familiar with it. So I really hate how horribly television, movies, and books misrepresent it.