TEST
Eve Dallas has never been so terrified in her life. This is a horror beyond all horrors. A gruesome murder? No. Assault with a deadly? All in a day’s work. Serial killer? She’s met more than her share and beaten them all. This moment of terror comes to her courtesy of Ireland’s winding roads, with hairpin turns and – this is what really moves it from bad to worse – nary a building in sight. Instead, there is green, more green, and farm animals Eve is convinced are plotting an uprising.
We are, of course, seeing Eve out of her natural element. She has agreed to do “the family thing” with Roarke, complete with a surprise she has in store for him once he gets to his family’s hometown on the Green Isle. And though the vacation begins with the kind of family reunion we are all familiar with, it of course finishes with Eve involved – peripherally – in a murder. But that small event is no preparation for what awaits her at home.
A man has been killed in a limo. No surprises there for a New York murder cop. But the crossbow that did him in is not exactly a standard weapon. Nor is the identity of the most likely killer – a top executive at a hoity-toity security firm. But as Eve quickly discovers, her killer excels at two things: exotic weapons and identity theft. As he racks up the kills, Eve begins to be horrified at what she sees as the most likely motive. Could someone really kill like that? For that?
Of course, Roarke comes on as expert consultant/civilian to help resolve a few issues here and there. This actually worked for me since a lot of the book is taking place in “his” world – the world of uber-rich movers and shakers. Eve still feels out of place here, but this is the first time I really remember Roarke admitting that he is something of an outsider too. It also gives us a look at something we don’t see much of: Their public “rich people” faces. There is a fun moment when Eve discovers that everything she does in public is more or less catalogued in tabloids – such as what she was wearing when she had pizza in Italy. Such is the price of being the wife to richest man on earth.
But now that Nadine’s book has come out, she has moved beyond “Roarke’s cop” to celebrity in her own right, too. There is much squealing when she meets Mira’s new (temporary) assistant, and many of her witnesses are more than eager to discuss the case with her when they would normally be reticent. She is baffled by the star status but happy to use it to open doors in her investigation. It is interesting to see her and Roarke’s rising celebrity status contrasted with the attitude of some of the people they run into, who view them as interlopers in the world of the privileged.
This book makes a nice addition for fans of the series. We see Eve grow a bit as a friend and for the first time really start to relate more to the people in her fold in a casual style. We see her start to want a sort of “bridge” between her time as Eve Dallas and her time as Eve Dallas, murder cop. While we have seen that slowly emerging, she takes a small but definitive step here that moves it forward.
So – if you like this series, you will like this book. It’s solid, definitely solid. If you don’t like the series, there is nothing here to make you change your mind. And while you assuredly wouldn’t be lost if you hadn’t read the rest of the series first, I recommend starting with the first three books anyway. They are stronger on the romance and lay a lot of the groundwork for relationships we see grow within this story.
Grade: B
Book Type: Futuristic Romance
Sensuality: Hot
Review Date: 29/10/10
Publication Date: 2010/11
I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade. I currently read approximately 150 books a year, comprised of a mix of Young Adult, romance, mystery, women's fiction, and science fiction/fantasy.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.