Category Archives: In Death

Books, Conversation, In Death, Payback in Death, reader discussions, spoilers ahead!

Payback in Death discussion thread

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Today’s the day! Payback in Death is on store shelves and e-readers.

Before skipping to the comments to share your thoughts, here’s the official description:

Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes.

An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide note―Eve’s gut says it’s a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback―and she will not rest until the case is closed.

Share your thoughts about Payback in Death in the comments. Please be aware that spoilers are very much allowed here.

Enjoy!

Laura

In Death, Laura's posts, Payback in Death

Payback in Death teasers

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We’re 8 days from Payback in Death hitting store shelves and ereaders. And in what’s become a tradition, I’ll share some teasers for you to look for as you read. As always, these are not spoilers to the case, just items that caught my eye.

First, here’s the official copy about Payback in Death:

Lt. Eve Dallas is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes.

An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide note―Eve’s gut says it’s a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback―and she will not rest until the case is closed.

The teasers below pick up after Chapter One which you can read here and is a lovely end to Eve and Roarke’s vacation.

Over the course of Payback, we learn:

– BUT is such a flexible word.
– Jenkinson still has a way with a certain word.
– when you look at the list, friends come in all shapes and sizes.
– there are still arguments for buying v shopping.
– one can have concerns about in utero anchoring.
– Fate has lovely decorating tricks up her sleeve.
– Peabody still looks good in a righteous rage.
– Eve has some issues with ice pops.
– it’s not hard to follow Roarke’s example.

For the rest, I’ll let you read on your own.

The discussion thread opens on September 5.

Laura

Excerpt, In Death, Payback in Death

Payback in Death excerpt

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Time for a peek at Payback in Death, out September 5. To my mind it’s another little travelogue.

Here’s a short/sweet description:

Eve is just home from a long overdue vacation when she responds to a call of an unattended death. The victim is Martin Greenleaf, retired Internal Affairs Captain. At first glance, the scene appears to be suicide, but the closer Eve examines the body, the more suspicious she becomes.

An unlocked open window, a loving wife and family, a too-perfect suicide note—Eve’s gut says it’s a homicide. After all, Greenleaf put a lot of dirty cops away during his forty-seven years in Internal Affairs. It could very well be payback—and she will not rest until the case is closed.

You can read the first chapter here: Payback in Death excerpt.

Enjoy!

Laura

Encore in Death, In Death, teasers

Encore in Death teasers

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On sale Tuesday

Release day is only hours away, so I thought it was time for some In Death teasers. Not spoilers, just a few little things to notice as you read.

First, here’s the cover copy:

It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who’d conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance–but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide, and the police have crashed the party.

From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Everyone loved him–even his ex-wife. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival, and an obsessed fan in the picture.

With so many attendees, staff, and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd–and what was their motivation. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight herself, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…

Here are some things that caught my eye:

Roarke does something we rarely see.
It’s never too early to find like a mind about holiday movies, bonus points if it’s on an elevator.
Eve has a meaner motto than Forgive and Forget
The Marriage Rules are not alone.
A small glimpse of that which is rarely spoken — a certain wedding reception.
An uncomfortable candy stash is empty.
Eve edges to real estate tycoon status.

And a bonus:
Who’ll find the GOT reference?

I’ll open the discussion thread early Tuesday.

Laura

Encore in Death, Excerpt, In Death

Encore in Death excerpt

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It’s the end of Thanksgiving weekend in the US — what better time to set our sights for 2023 and the Encore in Death release on February 7?

If you subscribe to Nora’s News, you’ve already read Chapter One when I sent the newsletter out over a week ago. Now it’s time to share with everyone.

Here’s the cover copy for Encore:

It was a glittering event full of A-listers, hosted by Eliza Lane and Brant Fitzhugh, a celebrity couple who’d conquered both Hollywood and Broadway. And now Eve Dallas has made her entrance—but not as a guest. After raising a toast, Fitzhugh fell to the floor and died, with physical symptoms pointing to cyanide, and the police have crashed the party.

From all accounts, he wasn’t the kind of star who made enemies. Everyone loved him—even his ex-wife. And since the champagne cocktail that killed him was originally intended for Eliza, it’s possible she was the real target, with a recently fired assistant, a bitter rival, and an obsessed fan in the picture. With so many attendees, staff, and servers, Eve has her work cut out determining who committed murder in the middle of the crowd—and what was their motivation. As one who’s not fond of the spotlight herself, she dreads the media circus surrounding a case like this. All she wants is to figure out who’s truly innocent, and who’s only acting that way…

Here’s your first look at Encore in Death, Chapter One.

Enjoy!

Laura

Books, Desperation in Death, In Death, reader discussions

Desperation in Death discussion space

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Today’s the day! Desperation in Death is officially on sale.

And this is the official space to discuss all things Desperation. Beware of spoilers in the comments.

Did you notice any of the questions I posed in the other thread? Or were you reading so fast to get to the conclusion that you’ll notice on the second read? Just curious.

Hope you enjoyed!

Laura

Books, Desperation in Death, In Death, writing

Trust Me

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Desperation In Death comes out shortly. As always, I enjoyed spending time ( a lot on this side of the page!) in that world, with the characters who inhabit it. And hope you will, too.

Whenever we announce a new In Death, there’s excitement and speculation. There’s also—inevitably—a continuing complaint from some readers.

It goes something like this:

The last book (or books) disappointed me/ wasn’t up to par because —name a favorite reoccurring character or characters —wasn’t in it/them or wasn’t in it/them enough.

It’s difficult to address or explain the reasons for this in a two sentence reply on Facebook, so I decided to address and explain here.

First: Trust me.

If you’re invested and attached to these characters, it’s because I created them. I know them—and yes, gentle reader, even better than you because they came from me.

It’s my job to write the best book I can. To do that, I have to respect and honor the story, and the people in it. It’s simply not possible to craft the best book I can if I try to shoehorn every character—even your personal favorites—into every single book in the series.

When a recurring characters shows up, it’s because it fits the story, the scene, the tone, the purpose. When they don’t show up, they didn’t fit.

It’s my job to craft the story.

Trust me to do my job.

If I wrote thinking: I have to squeeze Mavis into this, and Bella, and Louise and Charles, and Nadine, Feeney, and so on, the story would suffer for it. I’m not going to do that. Not ever.

Let me add an aside. I absolutely love writing scenes with Bella. I find her a joy, and find more joy in seeing Mavis’s evolution as a mom. But the books aren’t about Bella, Mavis and motherhood, or Eve’s often baffled reaction to both.

When they do come in, it’s for a purpose. To further the story, to lighten or darken the mood, to provide information, to interact in a way that makes sense in the storyline.

I’ll add in the In Death world very little time spans between stories—much, much less time than the six months span in which they’re published. How would it make sense for Lt. Eve Dallas to interact with all the recurring characters every few days when she’s pretty busy investigating murders? It just doesn’t.

Connected to the above complaint is: There wasn’t enough Roarke—which I firmly believe a good portion of readers expressing this actually mean: Not enough sex with Roarke. (Hard to blame you!)

But the same reasons apply. I’m not going to shoehorn sex scenes in either. They, like any scene, either flow into the story, for a purpose, or they don’t. Also, Roarke’s pretty busy running his empire, and while I have crafted ways—that make sense to me—to have him on the page, contributing to the investigation, even just as a sounding board—he and Eve have their separate careers and duties to them.

Roarke doesn’t work at Central, or in the field. He’s evolved into a consultant—officially—because it made sense, and opened a way to give him more page time, and added to his understanding of and respect for what Eve does.

There are books in the series where nearly everyone finds a way onto the page—for a purpose. And there are books where hardly anyone outside the main characters show up. Because they don’t fit in that storyline.

Trust me to know when they fit, when they don’t.

Since I’m devoting a blog to this, let me address a couple more questions/hopes.

I have no idea—none at this time—if/when Baxter will enter into a serious relationship. I have no idea—none at this time—if/when Morris will find another love. The purpose of the series is clear in the name. In Death. It’s about a cop investigating murder. Each time, every time. That comes first. The primary purpose is not to hook up every character in a romantic relationship.

The secondary purpose is, absolutely, the connections—emotional connections, the evolution of long-standing characters, and/or the introduction of new ones. But the purpose is not romantic relationships for all. And for me, and I do know them, many of the characters are perfectly content with their lives as they stand.

I had no thought to write Nadine into a serious relationship. Until Apprentice In Death. It flowed out—from the scene where Jake first appeared because it fit, it made sense, and Jake’s character worked. The chemistry worked, a nice surprise for me.

The same thing may happen for one of the other characters in an upcoming book—as yet unwritten—or it may not. Ever.

And yes, Mavis is still pregnant, and will be for several more books. That’s how the timeline of the series works, it’s the way I structured it a couple decades ago. Decades for you and me, about three years for the characters in that world.

Some people may just be tired of the series, find themselves burnt out on it. That happens, and it’s okay. Some cycle through disappointment in a book or a couple in a row because they didn’t get to see their favorite(s) play a part.

I can only say to that: Trust me. They’ll be back when they have something to add to the story.

Again, I hope you enjoy Desperation In Death. And can happily tell you, Mavis, Leonardo and Bella all appear in this one. Because they fit.

Nora

Desperation in Death, Excerpt, reader discussions

Desperation in Death excerpt

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It’s never too early to plan ahead — even as you shouldn’t wish your life away. I had a chance to read Desperation in Death while I recovered from hip replacement and it’s a fast-paced entry in the series that grabs you by the throat from the first. Which you’ll see in a minute.

The official description is as follows:

The place called the Pleasure Academy is a living nightmare where abducted girls are trapped, trained for a life of abject service while their souls are slowly but surely destroyed. Dorian, a thirteen-year-old runaway who’d been imprisoned there, might never have made it out if not for her fellow inmate Mina, who’d hatched the escape plan. Mina was the more daring of the two–but they’d been equally desperate.

Unfortunately, they didn’t get away fast enough. Now Dorian is injured, terrified, and wandering the streets of New York, and Mina lies dead near the waterfront while Lt. Eve Dallas looks over the scene.

Mina’s expensive, elegant clothes and beauty products convince Dallas that she was being groomed, literally and figuratively, for sex trafficking–and that whoever is investing in this high-overhead operation expects windfall profits. Roarke may be able to help, considering his ties to the city’s ultra-rich. But Roarke is also worried about the effect this case is having on Dallas, as it brings a rage to the surface she can barely control. No matter what, she must keep her head clear–because above all, she is desperate for justice and to take down those who prey on and torment the innocent.

And now, here’s Chapter One.

Laura

Abandoned in Death, Conversation, In Death, reader discussions

Abandoned in Death Discussion thread

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https://www.ttpbooks.com/product/abandoned-in-death-hc-by-j-d-robb-released-02-08-2022-/1699?cs=true&cst=custom

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

Abandoned in Death, Books, In Death, teasers

Abandoned in Death Teasers

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I apologize for the delayed teasers this go round. Life has been spinning fast for me since December 1, culminating in hip surgery 5 days ago. To make it up to you, I offer a bunch of teasers in one shot.

As always, these are little Easter eggs (to borrow a film term) you’ll find in the book, not spoilers or major plot points.

I re-read Abandoned this week to create my list and it’s a fun, fast read. I think you’ll enjoy it.

So here we go:

  • The memo has gone out: Don’t mess with Bella’s territory.
  • Eve and Peabody are diametrically opposed on body art.
  • Summer internships are interesting and flexible.
  • Eve may have an unsettling definition of Good Mom.
  • It’s been nearly 3 years????
  • Always choose a meditation mantra that fits.
  • Could the perfect lip color get the bad guy?
  • Eve finally expresses an interest in real estate her reasons fascinate Roarke.
  • Life is a balance: you’re too young for some things/too old for others.
  • We learn Peabody has laid conversational traps for her partner.

If your copy of Abandoned in Death already arrived, please do not discuss the book in the comments here. I will open the discussion thread early Tuesday morning.

Laura