Seduction in Death

by J. D. Robb

2001

Status

Available

Publication

Berkley Books (2001), 368 pages

Description

Fiction. Mystery. Romance. Suspense. HTML:From #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb comes a tantalizing novel in the futuristic In Death series, as Detective Eve Dallas searches for a Casanova killer with a deadly appetite for seduction...Dante had been courting his victim in cyberspace for weeks before meeting her in person. A few sips of wine and a few hours later, she was dead. The murder weapon: a rare, usually undetectable date-rape drug with a street value of a quarter million dollars. Detective Eve Dallas is playing and replaying the clues in her mind. The candlelight, the music, the rose petals strewn across the bed�a seduction meant for his benefit, not hers. He hadn�t intended to kill her. But now that he had, he is left with only two choices: to either hole up in fear and guilt. Or start hunting again�.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member wyvernfriend

Woman are dying, dying surrounded by the signs of seduction of romance. The women are being first seduced online and then dying after their first date. As the bodies mount Eve has to acknowledge that she can't keep going without rest and her nightmares are keeping her awake.
Interesting sideline

romances going on as well with some development of the characters and Eve and Rourke's relationship.

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22 more

LibraryThing member rocalisa

As always, a very pleasant visit with Eve and Roarke. While the murder mystery is solid, my feeling in this book was that it was secondary to the further development of Eve and Roarke's relationship. There have been some lovely touches in previous books of Eve's attempts to do the 'relationship

thing' and that goes up a level in this book. As her first wedding anniversary approaches, Eve is finally beginning to find some security in her relationship with Roarke, even if she still feels she doesn't really understand it. She manages to admit some of her feeling to him out loud at last, and the effect of that upon him is major. I was left with the feeling that they had both taken some great strides in the process of letting each of them heal the other in this book, especially Eve, who still tries to avoid admitting her own weakness, whether emotional or physical.

All the usual minor characters appear, with a delightful 'attack' on Eve by Mavis, Trina and Leonardo, determined to make her fashionable, more sniping between Eve and Sommerset, and interesting developments in the broken relationship between Peabody and McNab.

Robb takes a different approach with the murder this time, letting us in on the identity and motives of the murderer long before Eve begins to discover these things herself. This part of the book is solid, but it is more a mirror to Eve's development and her fundamental ability to 'stand for' the victims by understanding the murderer than the main focus of the book. Still, since I read the books primarily for the characters, especially Eve and Roarke, that works fine for me.

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LibraryThing member miyurose

I enjoyed this installment in the In Death series. This one isn’t so much about the whodunnit, as the reader knows whodunnit. Instead, it is more about the chase. I like that element of suspense, knowing what it is the killer is going to do next and wondering if the good guys are going to catch

them in time. It’s hard to find a bad book in this series.

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LibraryThing member Darla

Well, last time I read this, I gave it 5 stars, but I didn't say anything about it, so I'm not really sure if I liked it more, or if it's just a case of ratings inflation that happens here once in a while.

NYPSD homicide lieutenant Eve Dallas is up against a pair of killers this time, loosely based,

IIRC, on a real story from some years ago. It's two privileged young men (this isn't a spoiler--we know this from the beginning) who are playing a game, seducing and killing women they've selected through internet chat rooms.

Because we know whodunit from the beginning, it's not so much a mystery as it is horror. It's horrifying because it seems so real, and because you know there are people out there whose minds work the way these killers' minds do. Eve also twigs to the two-killer thing right away, so it's more like watching a chase than watching the slow unraveling of clues. It's an effective story, don't get me wrong--it's just different. Which is a good thing in a series as long-running as this one. Seduction in Death, btw, is the 15th in the series, if you include the 2 novellas.

There are also interesting developments in the ongoing series story--Peabody and McNab in particular, and a somewhat startling new romantic attraction between Dr. Dimatto and LC Charles that was very thought-provoking.

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LibraryThing member mikitchenlady

Disappointing audio book -- narrator Susan Erickson did not do the voices as well as she has on other recordings which made it hard to keep track of who was talking when (where did the great Peabody voice go?). Was also short -- did I get an abridged version that wasn't marked that way on the box?

Of course I love the series and the characters, so this won't stop me from reading more.

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LibraryThing member pauliharman

Typicak 'In Death' story - pair of rich bored youngsters treat women as their playthings, their game accidentally turns to murder and escalates from there.

LibraryThing member wisdomlore

Eve Dallas takes on a Casanova killer who targets young women via on-line poetry chat rooms. The killer sets the mood for murder with rose petals, candlelight and expensive wine laced with a deadly date-rape drug. When Eve asks Mira about her killers motivation, Eve comes to astounding conclusion

that there might be two serial killers working together - quite unique. Also - Peabody and McNab are still dancing around each other.

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LibraryThing member KANwrites

I really enjoy this series. They are easy to read, easy to get into, I care about all the regular characters and because it is such a long running series I can be fairly confident who will still be alive by the end of each book. Nice relaxing reads for me.

LibraryThing member gerleliz

I love this series. Silly but fun.

LibraryThing member Kaetrin

I know the narration isn't as good on this one because it was Ericksen's first go round at the series. Roarke's voice is pretty much the same but Eve's has become more defined. Feeney, Whitney, Mira, Trina, Mavis and Charles are basically the same but there are quite distinct changes made in

subsequent narrations to Peabody, McNab and Louise. Especially with Peabody & Dallas, there isn't much between them in this audiobook to make it easy to tell who's speaking. That's not the case with most of the series.Still, this is one of the excellent books in the series and I think the story is good enough to make up for the lack in the narration. Having said that, the only lack is really the way Ericksen does the voices - the emotion and the rest are, as usual excellent. I am glad she's defined Peabody's voice etc - when I first started listening to the series, I thought Peabody's voice was a bit on the strange side but I have gotten used to it and, having listened to this one, really appreciate that Ericksen makes the voice very different and therefore easily recognisable.I love this series. I can listen to book after book and not get sick of it.

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LibraryThing member vmccaffrey

Another good read in the in death series. Engaging and a fast read.

LibraryThing member Barb_H

Audiobook. I love this series!

LibraryThing member poonamsharma

Actually I should rate this book 2.5.

This book is written by Nora Roberts under the pen name J. D. Robb. I pick it up only when I intend to read pulp fiction.

Detective Eve Dallas, a woman who has been victim of abuse in past, is usually the primary detective in J. D. Robb books. Year is 2050 - they

have droids and AutoChefs - that take care of food and stuff.

There are other interesting characters - her aide Peabody who has a tumultous relationship with another handsome detective MacNab. There is Feeney who heads elab. Most of all, Roarke, her husband; it is indicated that once he had a criminal past. He is suave and rich and other than being Dallas's support system he does help her in her investigation with his vast resources of technology and information.

In this particular book, crime was an escalated form of date rape and women were dying. Crime procedures, victimology and criminal behavioral analysis - you find them all there. I have nothing to complain on that front.

My grouse was with too many romantic scenes between Detective Dallas and her husband, they seemed at times interrupting the narrative and taking focus away from crime. So, whenever the chicklit writer appears in J. D. Robb series - I take it as a let down. The book could have been 100 pages less to keep it gritty and fast-paced.

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LibraryThing member kmartin802

This episode in the In Death series is not a "whodunnit" but rather a police procedural where we watch Eve and her team gather the evidence needed to stop the murderers. The story begins when Eve is called to the case of the death of a young woman who might have jumped, or might have been pushed,

from the balcony of her apartment. The death is witnessed by Dr. Louise Dimatto who Eve had met on an earlier case. Eve quickly learns that the young woman had been dosed with two unusual sex enhancement drugs. It was the amount and the combination that killed her.

We also get a look into the killer's minds. They are two rich boys who are playing a game. Their births were the result of the original experiments with the two drugs before it was learned how dangerous they were. One is a computer hacker and the other is the one who is making the drugs. Kevin is the one who accidentally killed the first girl but Lucias is the one who deliberately sets out to kill the second girl. The game escalates for them with Lucias being the leader and Kevin the tool who follows his lead.

This case brings back some of the memories Eve has about her childhood where she was sexuallly and physcally abused by her own father which makes it a hard one for her to investigate. Roarke works with her as her civilian consultant as they try to track down the killers.

The big relationship issue in this story doesn't center on Eve and Roarke. Instead, McNab and Peabody's relationship is the focus. McNab is very jealous because he believes that Peabody's relationship with licenced companion Charles is sexual. Of course, Peabody hasn't told him that they are just good friends. When Charles and Louise meet and start a relationship, McNab is angry with Charles for hurting Peabody. They do manage to resolve their relationship issues and begin dating exclusively.

This was an enjoyable entry into this long-running series.

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LibraryThing member msralways

I have one thing to say for how one of the couples turned out at the end of this book: o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/o/.
I have another thing to say to how the other couple turned out at the end of this book: *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.* *.*
Now to the

story: I thought it was a very cool case and the background action was just as good too. J.D Robb has this incredible talent to mash everything together into one great story. I loved seeing more of Commander Whitney here and there were some really romantic scenes that started out with Eve for a change. Amazing.

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LibraryThing member Sheila1957

These deaths hit Eve hard. She has to rely on Roarke to get her through the investigation. I like her thinking pattern and how she can get into the mind of the killer. I love how Roarke always has her back. Love these two.

LibraryThing member Olivermagnus

Seduction in Death is the 13th book in the gritty, futuristic detective series featuring Eve Dallas and her husband, sexy billionaire Roarke. Eve and her team are after a serial killer who is meeting women through chat groups. He's targeting single women with poetry, flowers and romance before

meeting them in person and slipping a lethal date rape drug into their cocktail. To add to the intrigue, it looks like there are two different killers working as a team, making it a game where each accumulates points.

All the usual secondary characters appear and there are some interesting changes in Peabody and McNab's fractured relationship. I always enjoy a cameo appearance by Mavis, Leonardo and Trina, who are tasked with disguising Eve, including fake boobs. Truly hilarious.

This series is an unconventional blend of science fiction, romance and police procedural which will appeal to fans of both mysteries and romance. It's definitely not a cozy mystery and the themes explored in the stories are pretty brutal. I enjoy seeing how Eve and Roarke continue to grow as a married couple. I am not very far into this unique series but it's definitely one I plan to continue.

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LibraryThing member AddictedToMorphemes

Seduction in Death
#13 In Death

Multiple rapes/murders by two friends using date rape drugs. Readers know who the killers are and follow Lt. Dallas' methods of discovering who they are and tracking them down.

LibraryThing member wndy2011

Eve must find the two men playing games with unsuspecting women in New York before the death counts continue to rise.

LibraryThing member Lauren2013

Seduction in Death
4 Stars

Homicide Lieutenant Eve Dallas is on the hunt for a serial killer who targets women in dating chatrooms, seduces them with roses and romance, and kills with a rare and deadly drug.

Once again the culprit is revealed at the start and the plot focuses on Eve following the

clues with the help of her team. While the mystery is straightforward, the motivations are deeply disturbing and call to mind such cases as Leopold and Loeb as well as the Clutter family murders. There are also some very dark and brutal descriptions of the victims' last moments that some readers may find off-putting.

As with the previous books, the real highlight in the story is the character development. Peabody and McNab's volatile relationship comes to a head and Charles Monroe finally finds a woman who can look past his profession to the wonderful and caring man he truly is.

Roarke and Eve also have some lovely moments together as well as some laugh out loud ones.

All in all, another great installment and I look forward to the next one.

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LibraryThing member jfe16

Dating: poetry and flowers and romance . . . and death.

NYPSD homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas is on the trail of two men who use online dating to find their victims; two men who use a lethal date-rape drug and murder the women . . . and it’s a game to see who can accumulate the most

points. Can Eve escape the horrors of her past and find justice for the victims?

Thirteenth in the “In Death” series, this story is one that reveals the depravity of those who feel entitled to take whatever they want. With an inflated sense of importance, their dark, disturbing actions will leave readers shaking their heads in amazement at their preposterous reasoning.

As with earlier books in the series, there is a strong sense of place to anchor the telling of the tale and, as the story unfolds, the characters readers have come to expect to see all make their appearances. Eve and Roarke, now married almost a year, continue to grow in their relationship while Peabody and McNab are slowly feeling their way toward something more permanent. As with previous stories, the character development is a highlight of the narrative; there’s the requisite humor and an exquisitely-stinging rant from Eve when she’s confronted with police incompetence.

As with the earlier books, “Seduction” works as a stand-alone for readers new to the series while returning fans will find much to enjoy.

Highly recommended.

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LibraryThing member Olivermagnus

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LibraryThing member jmchshannon

Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb is the thirteenth book in the In Death series. By this time, the series should come with trigger warnings because this is, once again, a truly disturbing story. Ms. Robb's date rape-murder investigation is not for the faint of heart. Not only are the murder scenes

upsetting, but she spares no feelings when going into detail about what the victims experienced. It is intense.

I am beginning to really love watching Eve and Rourke working together. It makes them such a strong couple, but it also shows how much they complement each other. Roarke's technical abilities combined with Eve's street instincts are a formidable force, and I can't wait to see what they join forces on next.

Susan Erickson does it once again. It continues to amaze me how well she embodies each character. I always look forward to listening to these audiobooks. This is, in part, because of Ms. Robb and the stellar story I know I'm going to get, but also because of Ms. Erickson's performance.

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