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Top of the In Death charts

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While I’m not usually a list person, I know there are readers who love to create/debate/talk about them. So we’re adding another new, occasional feature here: Random Sunday Lists.

In the teasers for Forgotten in Death — which hit #1 on a few best seller lists, thank you all very much — I mentioned it was now in my top five In Death titles.

In the comments to that post, Lori K asked what’s in my top five.

My reply:

These four are set in stone. Number 5 rotates between Conspiracy, Survivor and now Forgotten — depending on the day/mood.

What are your top five In Deaths? Remember there are no rights and no wrongs. It’s just a little fun.

And no whining that I’ve set a limit. <g>

Laura

119 thoughts on “Top of the In Death charts”

  1. Naked, Glory, Born, Portrait, Forgotten are my Top 5, right now.

    2. Born in death

      Promise in death
      Forgotten in death
      Faithless in death
      Shadows in death

      1. Faithless is right up there, too. I do love it when she brings down a wacko organization.

  3. 1. Survivor in Death
    2. Strangers in Death
    3. Obsession in Death
    4. Brotherhood in Death
    5. Shadows in Death

  4. Naked, Imitation, Born, Origin, Creation

    I love the whole series, but these are the ones I reread the most.

      1. Hi Cindy, you are one of the many fans who put Treachery in Death on her Top 5 list. It is about #3 for me, after Naked and Glory, and just ahead of New York to Dallas, and Celebrity in Death. The whole “Peabody in Peril” story line of Treachery was gripping from start to finish.

  5. New York to Dallas, Treachery, Survivor, Purity and Concealed.

  8. In no particular order: New York to Dallas, Innocent in Death, Divided in Death, Survivor In Death, Promises in Death, Treachery in Death Oh crap, that’s six!

    1. These are mine too. I think I love New York to Dallas and Innocent in Death so much because Eve and Roarke show so much emotion in these two. It’s heartbreaking, but at the same time, to see them come together in the end is so amazing.

    2. My list: Innocent, Portrait, Brotherhood, Secrets, Treachery. (Although I love them all)

  9. Born in Death
    Conspiracy in Death
    Survivor in Death
    Faithless in Death
    Forgotten in Death

    There are others, but these came to mind immediately.

  10. I am title and name challenged. So here goes.

    1. Nixie Swisher and death of her family.
    2. The one about the corrupt vice cops, where Peabody gets stuck in shower.
    3. The one about obsessed “fan friend”, killing Dallas “enemies” and then friends.
    4. The one where Mavis gets arrested for murder and Dallas gets married
    5. The Red Horse where the deadly gas is released in the bar.

      1. That’s a VERY good list! Typically the last 5 I read are my favorites. lol

  12. Not in order but, Purity, Visions, Celebrity, Treachery and Festive

  13. Survivor (Nixie gets me every time)
    Brotherhood (love Dennis Mira)
    Salvation (Father Lopez)
    Promises (Li Morris)
    New York to Dallas (Stella gets hers)
    Haven’t read the newest yet as I am not quite finished with my annual reread. I’m up to Concealed.
    I could pick more, I find I choose based on the secondary characters and how they add depth to the Eve/Roarke narrative.

    1. My favourite is impossible, so it changes regularly, just love them all.🤗 Not forgetting N R novels.🤗.

  14. Treachery (fastly and firmly my #1), and then in no particular order: Obsession, Conspiracy, Promises, and… crap, my brain is short-circuiting…the one where Roarke finds the teenage girls’ skeletons in the wall.

  17. Kindred, Salvation, indulgence, Naked, …and I can’t choose amongst the rest!
    I love the old lady who helps Eve ytap the killer, in Kindred.
    I love the substory (the killing of the evangelist) in Salvation.
    I just love the weird deaths in Indulgence.
    And Naked is the first.

  18. I’ve only read through Missing so far, but as of now my top 5 would be Naked, Portrait, Conspiracy, Vengeance and Promises.

  19. My top four are the original trilogy-Naked, Glory, and Immortal, plus Portrait. The fifth is flexible. I like watching Eve and Roarke navigate around the bumps in their relationship, as in Conspiracy, Innocent, and Divided.

  20. I’d go with Shadows, Portrait, Treachery, Calculated and Celebrity . I love the original cover for Naked shown above. I wish Nora’s publisher would offer both the old cover and the new one as options for ebooks. Both covers are nice, I’m just partial to the original. I’d buy another copy to get the old cover back.

  21. My top five are
    Creation In Death
    New York to Dallas
    Portrait In Death
    Obsession In Death
    Naked In Death

  22. Narrowing down to five (always hard for me):
    Naked
    Survivor
    Delusion
    Treachery
    Forgotten
    Although, in truth, I love them all because these are my friends and I get to visit and share in their lives.

  23. Survivor (first book of the series I ever read)
    Faithless
    Creation
    Visions
    Calculated

  26. 1. Brotherhood
    2. Treachery
    3. Betrayal
    4. Salvation
    5. Concealed

    The order varies sometimes, but those are my top 5.

  27. New York to Dallas
    Obsession
    Holiday
    Vengeance
    Delusion

    Of course the list changes every few months. 😁

  28. Glory, Immortal, Treachery, and Celebrity are pretty solid for me. The fifth rotates between any of about 6 others on any given day.😀

  29. the majority of the first books, in fact up to Leverage in death. I still buy these as hardback as soon as they are released but do not enjoy the later ones quite so much. I think this is because there isn’t much background story with Roarke, Mavis, Charles, Louise, Tina etc. The story now mainly concentrates on the solving of the crime. Probably just me but absolutely loved the first 50 or so and re-read them but don’t think I would re-read the later ones.

    1. I agree, My favorite part of the series was the interaction of Eve with all the people coming into her life and her growing circle. I get kind of bored now with the books because of the lack of secondary story. Just not the same.

  30. Survivor, Innocent, Treachery, Thankless, & my rotating faves are Strangers, Festive (love all of Tiko’s appearances) and Born.

  31. Ceremony( I love when they meet Jamie!), Purity, Portrait, Dark, Obsession.

  32. Like several of you, my list changes frequently, however the top2-3 always remain the same:
    Naked
    Survivor
    Purity
    Brotherhood and
    Faithless.

  33. Naked (of course!), Portrait (love the revelation of Roark’s backstory), Treachery, New York to Dallas (Eve’s mom- what a beotch!) and Golden, with the best Peabody burn EVER- “You’re not fit to lick the boots she’ll kick your ass with!”

  34. What was the one where Roarke found his family? Love the line about Dallas flying to him in Ireland but being suspicious of cows? Sorry, title challenged! Otherwise Naked, Concealed, Ceremony, Innocent

  37. Naked
    Glory
    Remember When
    Born
    Brotherhood (Dennis Mira)
    Since you asked for 5 but those are in my top ten. Glory and Naked got me hooked.

  38. Hard to limit it to five but here goes:
    1. Survivor – Nixie gets to me every time
    2. Immortal – Eve and Roarke in the childbirth classes and at delivery are just too much.
    3. Treachery – Peabody hiding in the shower gets me every time
    4. Portrait – I get upset every time while they are rushing to rescue Trueheart
    5. Promises – Li just breaks my heart, and the little cat, makes me cry

      1. I am still waiting for a Hard back copy of Forgotten in Death, I have it on order with Waterstones Eastbourne, but they are having trouble with ordering them. There’s a supply problem, I am getting anxious, hope it comes through soon.🤗

  39. Five? Only FIVE?!?! Okay —

    In no particular order:

    Treachery
    Imitation
    Portrait
    Born

    I just can’t do it! I keep wanting to change the list; I love ALL of them. But the above four, adding Dark to those, are the ones I love to reread the most.

  40. Title challenge here.
    1- Where Roark asked Eve to marry him.
    2- Where Charles fell in love with Louise.
    3- McNab picked up Peabody after she got hurt during an ops.
    4- When Dr. Mira told Eve Wolf mate for life at a Bachelorette party.
    5- Where Roark said he wish his Eve was here, and what do you know she was on her way to him!
    (Just in case some of the titles are the same I especially love the book when Eve told Roark “who I am is because of you”) I know I didn’t get the quote quite right. Forgive me please.
    I have more moments but I’ll stop here.

  41. The ones I reread the most are: Brotherhood in Death, Celebrity in Death, Fantasy in Death, Big Jack and Imitation in Death.
    >^.,.^<

  42. Naked, Treachery, New York to Dallas, Echoes, Shadows

    (And I have at least 5 more I could add to my top 5 list!)

  43. Naked. It’s where it all started. Surviver Nixie gets me every time. Brotherhood. Mr Meara sigh. Born child birth classes and BELLA. Shadows Roark bringing the squad to Ireland. I loved this Forgotten. It is definitely in my top six. Lol.

  44. Naked in Death, New York to Dallas, Purity in Death, Shadows in Death and Treachery in Death

  46. Oh good Lord, how to choose?!

    This list is always in flux, but Naked, Survivor (Nixie 🥰) and Treachery are always in rotation.

    These days Promise would be included (relationship with Li and one of my all time favorite scenes where Eve has a briefing with the “smart girls”!).

    Divided, Brotherhood and Born currently fighting it out for fifth position! lol

    I haven’t read Forgotten yet – still on library waiting list – but looking forward to it!!

  47. I am titled challenged as well. My choices are different depending on my mood. I reread the whole series when Canada went into lockdown again this spring. Among my very favourites are:

    when Mavis had Bella, made me laugh and cry happy tears; When Eve setup the playground in Ireland as an anniversary present; when Roark found his family in Ireland; I’m a sap.

    I love the whole series.

  48. 5 Favorites
    Naked Because it’s the first
    Treachery because of the respect for Eve
    Survivor because of Nixie of course
    New York to Dallas Because WOW
    Purity Because it was the first JD Robb book I read and was hooked!

    1. Naked in Death
      Survivor in Death
      Conspiracy, in Death
      Treachery in Death
      Visions in Death

  51. My top five are actually seven books BECAUSE, if I read NAKED, I have to read GLORY and IMMORTAL also. Those three are forever tied together for me as one. They are my Holy Grail of the In Death series. Following them are PROMISES (intensity of Amarylis’s death), DEVOTED (Daryl and Ella-Loo, best villains ever), NEW YORK TO DALLAS ( Stella, Galahad, intensity) and last but not least, the novella POSSESSION (the whole idea of the storyline, fantastic).

    2. I forgot about how Roarke got Mira and Galahad to be there for them. That would make this one in my top five if I hadn’t already done my list.

  52. Naked in Death
    Glory in Death
    Conspiracy In Death
    Portrait in Death
    Depending on my mood….Reunion NY to Dallas or Shadows

  55. Wow. Tough.

    Treachery, always #1
    NY2D
    Obsession
    Ceremony
    Born

  56. Naked
    Glory
    Conspiracy
    Treachery
    Promises
    And #6 would be all the rest of the books.

  57. 1. Naked
    2. Portrait
    3. Origin
    4. Concealed
    5. Forgotten

    Only Naked stays in place, the others are fluid.

  59. Oh, my! Ahhh! Can’t do it!

    Okay, I call this list the initial top five:
    Naked (the hook well set)
    Conspiracy (Eve suffers)
    Witness (loved tribute to Agatha)
    Betrayal (Roark suffers)
    Seduction (Nora’s valentine to us)

    Thanks, Laura

  60. Love them all, but here goes. May change after I finish Forgotten, who knows!

    Conspiracy, Treachery, Obsession, Vengence and Shadows.

  62. Brotherhood (I have an Eve size soft spot for Dennis Mira)

    Shadows because it involves Roarke’s family

    Promises because it shows how they pull together to support a friend

    Visions because it’s the one where Eve tells Peabody about her childhood

    Survivor because I needed a fifth one and it was tooooo hard to choose.

    The only one I don’t care for is Conspiracy. That one was too mean for me.

  63. In no particular order
    Portrait in Death
    Promises in Death
    Treachery in Death
    Echoes in Death
    Shadows in Death

  64. Very tough question as I love them all, same thing for the Nora books. In Death top 5 favourites: Naked, Survivor, Innocence, Treachery, NY to Dallas. Bonus, I love all Nora’s Irish books but my top 2 Trilogy are: The Chesapeake Bay and In the Garden. Ultimate character: Cian. Thanks for all the stories Nora.. Stay safe.

    1. How could I forget the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy? This homework is hard, they are all so wonderful!

      1. There will be a Nora Roberts book/trilogy/characters post somewhere down the line. So hold off on trilogies for now. ~Laura

  65. Naked as it started it all as others said
    Born
    Promise
    New York to Dallas
    Treachery.
    I all of the rest.

  66. I always consider the first 3 books as a story arc of the “Beginning” (Eve and Roarke going from strangers to kickass couple) so Naked , Glory and Immortal are my number one.
    Portrait
    Visions
    Treachery
    New York to Dallas
    But really each book is so compelling and always has many wonderful and scary moments with fascinating characters old and new that picking a favorite is like trying to pick a favorite child.
    I also love Possession and Missing from the novellas.

  68. I love them all and have read most of them multiple times; here are my top 5.
    Naked in Death
    Forgotten in Death
    Survivor in Death
    Treachery in Death
    Immortal in Death

  70. When I first started reading the In Death Books when they first came out I bought the first 4 altogether
    They remain my favorites
    As for a fifth one it’s really hard to pick since I have been a dedicated reader of the series
    I remember there was one with the Virtual Reality ( I think) , & I also liked the one where Mavis has her daughter, there is also the one where Leonardo has a murdered ex model girlfriend I think, I also think there was one where Summerset witnessed a murder , I think there was one that Eve was at a play & there was a murder, there are just too many to choose from
    Liked them all or else I wouldn’t be reading the series
    I would love to see this series made into movies
    Through the years I tried to picture which actors would be great in which parts
    At this stage since the series is about 26 years old
    the actors that may have been good 20 years ago might not work now.
    I think though in my opinion I think Henry Cavill would be a great Roark, & Sir Michael Cain would be a good Summerset. As for Eve that is very hard to choose
    Any thoughts out there I am sure we have all thought of this from time to time
    Do you Laura have any picks for an ideal cast if you were casting

    1. From the descriptions you mean Fantasy in Death, Born in Death, Immortal in Death (the third of the first four), Vengeance in Death (Summerset doesn’t witness but is on the scene immediately after), Witness in Death.
      I don’t think about casting (nor does Nora). At one point about a decade ago, I loved Anna Torv in Fringe and thought she had the gravitas to carry Eve off.
      But casting may be another list on another Sunday.
      Laura

      2. Thank you Laura
        Each book is good
        A casting thread might be interesting to see who picks whom as actors

  71. My top 5:
    1) Treachery
    2) Kindred
    3) Origin
    4) Innocent
    5) Shadows
    Love reading all the In Death books, but the top 5 are the ones I’ve read over and over again.

  72. I’m almost always in the middle of a re-listen of the whole series… just finished again in time to listen to Forgotten in Death last week!
    I know a recent fave is Faithless (1) and I love Survivor (2)… I have in my notes that I dislike the case, but really like the book: Reunion in Death (3). Dark in Death (4)- I loved the books within book. And Immortal in Death (5), I think – E&R’s wedding and Peabody as permanent aide— it’s when it really feels like they have the whole core group together.

  73. I love all the In Death books by J D Robb and look forward to each new one. I’ve read some of them more then twice. My top 5 favourites are New York to Dallas, Innocent in Death, Golden in Death, Vendetta in Death and Faithless in Death. Truth be told though I really love them all and find it very hard to put them down once I start reading them. I’d really like to someday see what Dallas and Roark would look like in doll form. To bad Mattel hasn’t come up with any. They would probably be a big seller. I look forward to the In Death book. Sincerely. C. Turner

  74. I have re-listened to the whole series at least 3 times. I never tire of them. So it took some thought to come up with only five. Each has their own “special” story. Since I just started “Forgotten…”, I can’t include that one, but here goes: (1) Naked.. (of course cuz’ it got me hooked), (2) Celebrity…, (3) Thankless…, (4) Golden…, and (5) Faithless.

  76. Wow! I came into this a little late but here are my 5 (as if we can really choose) these are in no particular order
    Immortal In death
    Apprentice in Death
    Devoted in Death
    Treachery in Death
    Delusion in Death
    But like most of you they kind of rotate in and out but these are the 5 that I have read the most too bad we couldn’t have a top 10 honorable mentions went to Survivor , Brotherhood and Obsession in Death

  77. Born in Death
    Treachery in Death
    Portrait in Death
    Survivor in Death
    Tie – Purity in Death & Innocent in Death

  78. My top 5:
    Naked in death
    Treachery in death
    Promise in death
    Born in death
    Apprentice in death

  79. I find that mine also shift a little bit…

    Survivor
    Portrait
    Born
    Treachery
    Forgotten – This one does float because there are just so many great ones. Especially as I read other’s lists and think how much I loved one on their list too….

  81. I can’t say I have a top 5. I just read Festive in Death (not sure how I missed that one) and I LOVED it. Definitely one of my favorites.

  82. Fantasy (great for gamers!)
    Survivor (Nixie just gets to me)
    Shadows (love the development of Roarke’s back story)
    Promises ( Li Morris)
    Conspiracy (nothing can stop Dallas)

    I love all of them and have read the series many times, but these are the ones that stand out for me.

  83. This is hard, I love the series and especially the main ensemble of characters. However, here are five the stand out: naked, ceremony, origin, treachery, forgotten.

    I just re-read entire series last August=September and thnking of doing it all again!

  84. I agree with others- the first 3 are 1 book to me.
    Innocent
    Portrait
    New York to Dallas
    Treachery
    I love all the books however, the ones since 50 haven’t been the same. There is alot less of the life and circle of friends Eve created for herself. It’s all so much technical murder solving with no real life anymore.

    1. Well, right off the top of my head I can name Shadows which had pretty much everyone in it,—including Roarke’s family in Ireland—more of Roarke’s backstory and trauma and so on.

      After that we have books that include the whole house deal with Mavis and Leonardo, Peabody and McNab.

      I’m sort of baffled by what readers who aren’t happy because they don’t think there’s enough character interaction are really looking for.

      1. I agree. Impossible to name favorites as I love all of them. The continued growth of all the characters really get me and I cannot wait for the next book to see what comes up next. I must say my favorite was the one with Dennis Mira. Cried my eyes out over his interaction with Eve.

  87. Wow, this is a pretty tough one for me, but zi think this is probably my top 5:
    1. Treachery
    2. Immortal
    3. Brotherhood
    4. Portrait
    5. Forgotten (was Dark, but think I need to bump that down to 6th place, mainly due to the convos with the gangster).

  88. 1. Memory
    2. Portrait
    3. Judgment
    4. Conspiracy
    5. Divided / New York to Dallas

    Hey you got to pick three rotating for number 5 and I stuck to only two, so…

    But I like to think of the series as one really long story. And my mood changes so on any other day I might have included Survivor, Reunion, or Survivor in the latter spots. But for today I stand by my choices above.

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