Delusion in Death: 35

by J. D. Robb

Paperback, 2013

Rating

(322 ratings; 4)

Publication

Piatkus (2013), 464 pages

Description

When a downtown bar erupts in sudden violence that leaves eighty people dead, Lieutenant Eve Dallas discovers that the bar's patrons were exposed to a lethal cocktail of chemicals and illegal drugs that a sinister killer administered through an airborne method.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Maya47Bob46
One of the most interesting in a while. The story features act of terrorism done for revenge both family and personal. One of the things I liked is the continued growth of the the relationship between Eve Dallas and Summerset, who plays a key role in the investigation.
LibraryThing member jshillingford
JD Robb may well be the only author left who I begin her books as soon as I get them, even when I am not in the mood to read. The books are always quick, engaging and downright entertaining. I have laughed out loud at something in every installment. This was no exception. Delusion quickly moved
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into my top ten favorites of the series because it involved nearly the full cast of characters, had some more “history” of this future world, and a lovely extra plot twist at the end.

Eighty people lay dead at a local pub after attacking and killing each other for no apparent reason. A toxin, obviously, but why? Eve has to pull in just about everyone on this case because of the sheer scope – many more avenues of investigation are considered and explored. Robb may also be the first mystery writer I have read to manage a terrorist-type plot without it devolving into a political “thriller” or the never-ending “suspense” of when will he/she strike next. That alone deserves five stars in my mind. Also, though the format is established (murder, Eve investigates, tension-relieving sex with Roarke, aha-suspect, gotcha), sometimes Robb throws in a little more, as she does here. Not only an extra twist at the end, but also having Summerset with some input to the case and expansion on the oft-mentioned Urban Wars.

There are a couple minor glitches, as happens with long-running series. I am tired of revisiting Eve’s traumatic childhood, though Delusion may have finally provided closure on that front (I truly hope so). Also, it’s getting more than contrived that Roarke manages to be involved in every case now. The expert consultant angle has been milked to, um, death. Time to move him to the background and bring in some more family-stuff if you want to bring him to the forefront. Still, these were minor issues that didn’t ruin the book.

Overall, fans of the series will surely like this installment, and I truly enjoyed it. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member LCOP
It starts out with a mass murder and just keeps going. While the last book was pretty relationship driven this goes back to police work and lots of it. I am not going to get into a ton of detail - I don't want to give away spoilers and the first chapter dealt with the mass murder and had been
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released and out - so no spoiler there.

There are moments with great relationship growth, it actually surprised me because of the scope of the investigation. But they are moments - it is not the book.

Also good news, things are not be sent out for anal as much. Lol that drove me nuts.

The only criticism I might have for this book was that I felt it over used Eve mixing up her metaphors. It was cute at first however she did it more than normal and I rolled my eyes on a couple.

This one didn't have great Roarke moments, in fact it seems more like they have both settled into their marriage. Eve has grown a lot and does not make the immature mistakes with him she used to. There just wasn't that tension we frequently get with them, but after the Dallas book - I am not surprised.

I loved the book but I don't feel like I need to re read it right away. I can not my finger on it, it was a good book but not a favorite of this series. One of my favorites from this series is Treachery in Death To me it had it all - the case and the relationship, it is in my top 5, probably top 2. This one is really good but not a stand out.

If you are are new to the series start with Naked in Death (In Death, Book 1)h. You will not want previous book spoilers if you started with this book.

Read this in one sitting with no breaks. This series remains automatic release day purchase at full price, and that is quite a testament to an excellent series. I love that we are over 30 books in and I still love it.
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LibraryThing member tmommy4
I love this series. The characters are great and the interaction is wonderful. Eve and Roarke are the greatest couple.
LibraryThing member Cats57
Delusion in Death – J D Robb

I think after 45 books, novellas and short stories it may be time to start another series, since this one seems to be bogged down and a caricature of what the series used to be. This book is written with the patented JD Robb formula and you cannot get away from it.
The
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book opens on a horrific scene of people murdering each other during a casual after work drink in a neighborhood bar—over 80 people are dead. Enter Eve and team---pan to Eve horrified demeanor and the sensibilities of Peabody being shaken to the core. Bring in the full team-enter Roarke, who is starting to really get on my nerves. Of course, Roarke owns the bar so should and will be sticking his rich nose into everything. The wrong people are accused, footwork is done, and Dr. Mira is consulted - all as per nom.

On one hand, we have an incident straight out of the Urban Wars. WE have a drug let loose in several places inciting innocent [people to horribly vivid blood lust and berserker behavior. This unnatural behavior lasts a mere minutes but the havoc it creates leaves an incredible toll. Moreover, this alone should have been a fascinating story; to see Eve and team search for the master mind. Yet nobody takes responsibility for this crime, so there is nobody for Eve to really focus on. Yet even with no concrete ‘clues’ Eve will solve the crime mainly by pretty much lying to the accused.
On the other hand (as I have mentioned) you would think that to find the culprit that there would be dangerous and fancy footwork. You would think! At 64% into the book what we have is yet another deep recap of Eve’s admittedly horrific childhood, some interviews at the cop shop a couple of rote sex scenes and miracle of miracles, Summerset and Eve work together, are polite to each other-dare I say- even nice to each other!

There really is not very much action in this story. What there is is a lot of blood and guts though. There is not a lot of Eve’s lighter side showing, some but not a lot.

I realize that in Eve’s world only about 2 years have passed, so technically she could be working on her issues for a long, long time. However, for the reader 17 real years have passed and with this many published works that many of us have read, the angst is getting a little redundant (at least for me). I for one would appreciate at least every other book to be without Eve’s and Roarke’s angst.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
This was another strong entry in the long-running In Death series. By internal chronology, Eve and Roarke have only known each other for two and a half years. I have been reading these books since 1995.

This episode is more of a police procedural than has been the case in recent novels. Eve is
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called in to work a case where people in one of Roarke's bars went crazy and killed each other - eighty-three of them. Someone released an air-borne drug cocktail with LSD and other components that caused hallucinations and triggered violence. Eve as a huge number of suspects to sort through as she tries to decide if this is some new outbreak of terrorism or some more mundane murder plot.

Eve is also still dealing with the repercussions of her meeting with her biological mother and the trauma that caused in her life. While she has always had nightmares about her abusive childhood, since her return from Dallas they have become much more severe. Roarke manages to convince her to finally talk with Mira about the dreams. He uses some marital blackmail and convinces Eve to see Mira because he can't stand the pain she is in.

The case has a lot of resemblance to some terrorist attacks that happened in Europe during the Urban Wars. Sommerset shares some information that puts Eve on the right track. It was interesting to see how the relationship between Eve and Sommerset has changed over the course of thirty-five books.

Because there is the possibility of terrorism, Homeland Security gets involved in the case. This is hard for Roarke because Eve convinced him not to destroy Homeland when he found out that they knew Eve was being abused by her father and let it continue because they were watching him for other reasons. Roarke had to put aside his need for revenge at Eve's request. Luckily, Homeland has done some housecleaning of its own and sends and agent that Eve can both like and respect to work with her.

Together Eve and her team, along with Roarke's able assistance, manage to build a case against the suspect and stop him before he can complete all of his terroristic plans. After the first half, this wasn't so much a "whodunnit" as a "how can we gather the evidence to prove it" sort of mystery.

I always treasure each new opportunity to visit with Eve and Roarke and really enjoyed this episode. I can't wait for the next one to arrive.
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LibraryThing member mnm123
Another great murder mystery. I have always enjoyed the In Death series. They are rarely predictable and there is always a little romance in the mix. The characters all interact well which adds humor to the story as well.
LibraryThing member hailelib
Not my favorite in the series but still OK. One problem may be that many of the continuing characters that make this series so entertaining were either just barely there or missing altogether. I also didn't find the mystery as interesting as usual and there were a lot of references to details in a
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previous book which I read just long enough ago that I had forgotten them.
anyone interested in the '...in Death' series should start at the beginning and read them in order.
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LibraryThing member SunnySD
Mass slaughter at a popular neighborhood bar sends Eve and her team digging back into the horrors of the Urban Wars for the roots of murderer's psychotic chemistry experiments.

Fresh as ever. The bad guys continue to meet their match, but it's the butt-kicking and the relationships that make this
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series so much fun to read.
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LibraryThing member Bettyb30
I love love love Roarke and Dallas!! This book was killer! Kinda a double ending. I loved it!
LibraryThing member rocketjk
Because I sell a lot of J.D. Robb mysteries in my used bookstore, I decided to read one and see what the deal was. I'm happy to say I enjoyed this recent entry into the series. Somebody is releasing something into the air in New York City bars that causes the patrons and staff to go crazy and
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savagely kill each other. Detective Eve Dallas is on the case, along with her rich, fabulously handsome (this is a "Romantic Suspense" novel, after all) husband. The writing is fine and the detailed storytelling engaging. I was a bit surprised by the degree to which this was a police prodecural, and there were times I thought the book got bogged down in the Dallas and her crew's detail work and research. Interesting, but not necessarily as compelling in the reading as it could have been for me. At any rate, as I said, an enjoyable mystery. I won't go out of my way to read any more of the Robb novels, but sometime in the future I might get into the mood to read one or two more.
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LibraryThing member romsfuulynn
If you are reading the 35th installment of a series character you probably like the author and the books. Good installment in the overall story arc, and a good interesting story. Disturbingly high body count if that bothers you.
LibraryThing member phyllis2779
Good installment in the In Death series. I thought by now I would get tired of this long-running series but once I start reading one I just can't stop. I tend to skip the sex scenes but they seem to be down to two or three short ones per book so that's OK. The mushy scenes are OK but tend to be
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somewhat repetitive from book to book. The characters, however, still jump off the page, the dialog crackles, and the mysteries are solved by detective work, not by the miscreant explaining all at the end of the book.
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LibraryThing member TerriBooks
I'm a little amazed at myself, that I can still be enjoying a series on the 35th book. But I do. The police work side in this one was pretty much hum-drum, formulaic, with the expected twist when it looks like it might be settled down. The increased description of Eve's world and its history is a
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nice touch. I remember how uninviting the year 2050 seemed to me when I read the first book, but by now I'm seeing it in a different light. My main quibble is that using Roarke as a "civilian consultant" didn't really make sense to me here. I mean, by now the NYPSD should realize that if they need someone with computer and lock picking skills they should be hiring. But I love the characters, and that keeps me coming back to Eve Dallas and her world.
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LibraryThing member wyvernfriend
While the murder was nasty and there was some gruesome involved it was an interesting read and a fun visit with Dallas et al. Dallas is still having issues with what happened in Dallas and the aftermath is interesting to see. She's also dealing with this murder and the fact that it's related to the
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Urban Wars which are referred to in earlier books but not fleshed out. It's an interesting weave of past and present and like many of this series the who is clear fairly early on, it's the proving it for legal purposes that occupies a chunk of the story, and makes it interesting for me.

I like this series, I like how the characters interact and work together and how they actually care for each other in their own way. While it's not earth-shattering writing I find it enjoyable and look forward to my visits to this world.
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LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Happy hour turns deadly, as a new hallucinogen is unleashed on a local watering hole.
LibraryThing member Glennis.LeBlanc
An airborne toxin drives everyone to kill each other in a crowded bar in just a few minutes. Turns out this is an old recipe going back to the Urban Wars. At some point I have to wonder if she will do a book or two based in that time frame? In the end the good guys win and another book was enjoyed.
LibraryThing member JillNYC
Love this series and J D Robb doesn't disappoint!
LibraryThing member ariel.kirst
Another great addition to the series. Although I'm a bit disappointed they didn't do an "Eve gets infected" scene. IT would have been fascinating.
I hope this series never ends.
LibraryThing member ChristineEllei
Office workers and executives alike often like to go to a nearby bar to unwind after a long work-day. This day was no different in the crowded New York establishment. No different until everyone started killing each other for now apparent reason. Twelve minutes later 80 people are dead. Enter Eve
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Dallas and her entourage. Discovering the manner behind the killings is as puzzling as the reason. Of course Eve, et al, persevere and eventually discover a trail leading all the way back to the Urban Wars.

I enjoyed this book because I am invested in the series (this one comes in at # 35) and I found it to be more concentrated on the case than the characters. That’s okay. In the last two books we caught up with everyone’s lives, so it was time for a really interesting murder-focused book.

If I could ask Ms. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) one question it would be “why is Eve losing her edge”? I liked her “sandpapery” and find her giving in a little too often. Rourke is taking on a very Christian Grey-esque demanding/stalking persona and Eve just lets him get away with it making her seem a little less in control of her life. Is it just me? Or, are other fans of the series feeling the same way?
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LibraryThing member sushicat
Case number 44 for Eve Dallas has the most brutal crime imaginable. Set in a future where technology allows for a very fast analysis of evidence and information is available online easily, the focus of the investigation is on the people and their motivation .This makes for a fast paced and
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enjoyable read. I'm sure to come back to the series.
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LibraryThing member Melayla
Is probably my least favorite of the in-death books -- which is probably my favorite series. The story was typical Dallas/Rourke, which isn't a complaint. One of the things I like about the series is the familiarity of the character interactions, and I think that's why I was disappointed by this
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one. The mystery part was typical and I enjoyed that. But there didn't seem to be as much interaction from the familiar characters I enjoy. Peabody wasn't as much of a presence as usual, and there other regulars barely showed up (McNabb, Freeny, Nadine; even Rourke's man (I forget his name at the moment) - even he seemed less there than usual.)

It wasn't bad it just seemed to be missing the ensemble-feel I usually get from this series. It also seemed a lot shorter than usual. (I'm going to go back and read the Amazon description - maybe this was a novella or something....)
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LibraryThing member Carol420
Per usual the dialogue between Eve and Roarke is witty banter and through it all you see how much they love each other. It was also great to see familiar characters such as Summerset get expanded upon in this novel. Also story lines from previous novels are followed up in this one. Another great
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Eve Dallas book.
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LibraryThing member jfe16
Twelve minutes. That’s all it took for the folks in an after-hours bar to turn maniacal and rip into each other.

More than eighty people dead.

As the body count rises, can New York Police and Security homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team discover the cause of this sudden violence?
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In this, the thirty-fifth installment of the “In Death” series, readers learn something of the Urban Wars, an event occurring before the first book in the series and often referred to but never elaborated upon . . . until now. Readers will appreciate the backstory presented here. Summerset proves to be an unexpected resource for Eve and readers will enjoy the pleasantness between the two [who generally spend most of their time tossing sarcastic remarks at each other].

As with the previous narratives, the relationships are at the heart of the series. Mira helping Eve deal with the past . . . Peabody staunchly standing by her partner’s side . . . Eve and Roarke finding a comfortable steadiness in their relationship. It’s the banter, the camaraderie, the humor that help readers see the ever-evolving relationships between these nuanced characters . . . they’re at the heart of every “In Death” story.

And, as with earlier stories, this one stands alone, but reading the previous installments helps readers understand the connections. Despite the high body count, readers will find much to appreciate here.

Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
This was another strong entry in the long-running In Death series. By internal chronology, Eve and Roarke have only known each other for two and a half years. I have been reading these books since 1995.

This episode is more of a police procedural than has been the case in recent novels. Eve is
Show More
called in to work a case where people in one of Roarke's bars went crazy and killed each other - eighty-three of them. Someone released an air-borne drug cocktail with LSD and other components that caused hallucinations and triggered violence. Eve as a huge number of suspects to sort through as she tries to decide if this is some new outbreak of terrorism or some more mundane murder plot.

Eve is also still dealing with the repercussions of her meeting with her biological mother and the trauma that caused in her life. While she has always had nightmares about her abusive childhood, since her return from Dallas they have become much more severe. Roarke manages to convince her to finally talk with Mira about the dreams. He uses some marital blackmail and convinces Eve to see Mira because he can't stand the pain she is in.

The case has a lot of resemblance to some terrorist attacks that happened in Europe during the Urban Wars. Sommerset shares some information that puts Eve on the right track. It was interesting to see how the relationship between Eve and Sommerset has changed over the course of thirty-five books.

Because there is the possibility of terrorism, Homeland Security gets involved in the case. This is hard for Roarke because Eve convinced him not to destroy Homeland when he found out that they knew Eve was being abused by her father and let it continue because they were watching him for other reasons. Roarke had to put aside his need for revenge at Eve's request. Luckily, Homeland has done some housecleaning of its own and sends and agent that Eve can both like and respect to work with her.

Together Eve and her team, along with Roarke's able assistance, manage to build a case against the suspect and stop him before he can complete all of his terroristic plans. After the first half, this wasn't so much a "whodunnit" as a "how can we gather the evidence to prove it" sort of mystery.

I always treasure each new opportunity to visit with Eve and Roarke and really enjoyed this episode. I can't wait for the next one to arrive.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2012-09-11

ISBN

9780749955175
Page: 0.6337 seconds