Nice to see some more of Roarke's past and to get some insight in to what Eve offers him. Nice first book for the year. ( )

Excellent reading from JD Robb, as usual. ( )

Portrait In Death is another Eve/Roarke installment that had me engrossed from the beginning. This time Eve is chasing after a killer who has been murdering young people and then taking their picture afterwards. She has bigger problems to deal with though as Roarke is forced to deal with some family issues that he long thought were dead. This is another whirlwind of a murder case that had me engrossed from the beginning. What I really enjoyed about this book though was seeing a softer side of Roarke. I just love the way he and Eve work together as well as the way they depend on one another. It is so sweet!
All in all with this series, I'm loving it more and more the further I get into it. I really enjoy the way the author has made the characters grow and develop throughout this series. If I bought books these would be on my must buy list so I definitely recommend them. ( )

I nearly didn't re-read this one. I'd started it a couple of weeks ago, then stopped when I realized I hadn't re-read Purity in Death yet. I wasn't looking forward to picking this one up again because all I remembered of it was that I didn't think the killer's plan made sense.

But I picked it up and resumed reading anyway.

I'd forgotten all the good stuff in this book. I didn't forget that it happened--I just forgot that it was in this book. The big thing is, of course, that Roarke finds out that his mother wasn't the cruel, heartless Meg Roarke who abandoned him, but rather a sweet and loving young woman who was killed by his father when she tried to leave. Roarke does not handle the information well, and locks himself in his home office (violating his edict of no locked doors from Judgment in Death), refusing to talk to either Eve or Summerset.

Before that, however, Summerset was supposed to be going on vacation, but he falls down the stairs, tripped by the cat, and breaks his leg. It's almost as rough on Roarke as it is on Summerset, because Summerset is his surrogate father. So when Roarke's emotions get in the way, it's up to Eve to smooth things over with the nurse Roarke hired so Summerset can recuperate at home. Roarke and Summerset's feelings for each other are the clearest we've seen them, even more so than in Vengeance. It's especially clear in the private conversations between Eve and Summerset.

The mystery plot starts with a young woman's body being discovered in a dumpster, and a statement sent to reporter Nadine Furst saying that he's captured her "light," with accompanying photographs. The whole gang gets called in on this one, even including Baxter and his new trainee, Trueheart. Some of the clues lead Eve to temperamental photographer Hastings, who's the source of much of the comic relief. I hope we see him again eventually.

The mystery itself was better than I'd remembered, but my attention was mostly on Roarke's revelation and its effect on him and on his relationships. His reactions were very realistic, and fit well with the character we've gotten to know over the past 18 books. This is something he can't fix, he can't buy or steal, and he can't go back in time and change anything. It made him much more human than previous books did.

The personal crisis not only changes Roarke's understanding of his past, it also prompts growth in their marriage. The realistic portrayal of marriage as a work in progress rather than as a static state or an end result is one of my favorite things about this series, and this book excels at it.

The conclusion of the mystery was tense and emotional. My only complaint was that part of the killer's motivation wasn't explained. Seems like a little thing, but it left me with an unsatisfied feeling that was the only thing I'd remembered specifically from this book, so it's worth mentioning. ( )

Summerset breaks his leg. Roarke learns about his true mother. Eve deduces that Summerset killed Patrick Roarke, which he confirms obliquely. Roarke is warmly welcomed by his maternal family.

Mother/son thread throughout. ( )

I heart Peabody! This book is filled with priceless Peabody moments of hilarity. It's fascinating to watch how her character develops along with Eve's! ( )

Roarke learns of his true mother and meets his maternal family.

Especially good. ( )

Read 1/2008 - Vic is Rachel Howard....found dead in dumpster and pictures taken after death and texted to Nadine

Portrait in Death is one of the best of the series!

I love the In Death books. I’m about in the middle of the series now, and I have to admit they were becoming a little formulaic. (Not that there is anything wrong with this formula, but the last book Purity in Death was a little disappointing.)

However, this book was a wonderful change of pace. To be honest the mystery/case is not important in this book. There is some real character development in here and it’s all about Roarke! He learns something new that changes his perception of his past and he doesn’t handle it well. Like Eve says in the book - it was nice to see him “screw up now and again”. ( )

Another enjoyable page-turning installment in the life of Eve Dallas, the future NYPSD homicide cop married to the gazillionaire businessman Roarke. In this episode we learn of Roarke's backstory which is pretty much the A plot to the murder-mystery B plot. JD Robb delivers as expected - comfort reads may be guilty pleasures, but when they are this enjoyable I don't really care that I'm not being challenged by something new. Sometimes it's fun to cuddle up with an old friend. ( )

Another Eve Dallas, I was a quick read that I throughly enjoyed. Same formula as always but good. ( )

I loved this one. I flew through it when I've been struggling a bit with other books, so that was great too.

Like most of the books in this series, while it has a good solid crime (more of one that some of the last few), it's really about Eve and Roarke's continued learning curve about love and marriage.

This time it's Roarke's past that comes up to bite them, and boy is it a biggie, as pretty much everything he thought he knew about himself gets turned upside down. He doesn't handle it well, shutting Eve out instead of leaning on her strength. They sort it out in time, as they always do, and I look forward to seeing more of the new characters introduced in this book. (Anything more would be a spoiler.)

Summerset and Eve continue to bicker, especially since he manages to fall and break a leg just as he was about to go on vaction, giving Eve three weeks of Summerset-freedom. The accident, coupled with Roarke's problems futher demonstrate the depth of the relationships between Roarke, Summerset and Eve.

Tangled in with this is a neat and tidy murder mystery where all the pieces point in the right direction, but it is only at the end that everything finally falls into place. Clearly, working with Eve is a dangerous occupation, as another of her team is injured, although fortunately all is well at the end.

I thought it was particularly telling that it is only when Eve and Roarke get their balance back and start working as a team again that the investigation begins to come together.

An excellent addition to the series. ( )

I should start off by saying that this is the 16th in a series of romantic futuristic novels under Nora Roberts pseudonym. However as many have complained in the past a lot of the books do follow a basic formula Eve Dallas is a homocide cop struggling with a dark past of child abuse, and she is married to the dark and sexy Roarke a self made billionaire with an unhappy past of his own.
The mystery this time around involves groups of students who are murdered and photographs are sent to the media by the killer of these students posed in death. The killer wants to absorb the radiant inner light these talented teenagers posess, but Eve is struggling with the case as her husband Roarke confronts some ghosts from his past, and seems intent on shutting her out. This provokes the couple's first real nasty fight.

The mystery itself may seem rather slight to the hard core crime fan, but this book offers a welcome change of pace to those who have followed the In Death series. I particularly enjoyed seeing the rift between Eve and Roarke as at times their too perfect marriage can come across as a wee bitty smug, so the conflict did add that edge of reality and tension that is sometimes missing. Plus there is always the joy of the 'hot jungle sex' make up scenes!

All of our favourite secondary characters are present: Mavis Eve's best friend is now pregnant, the dialogue betweeen Dallas and her stalwart aide Peabody is as sharp and funny as ever and Eve's relationship with Summerset, Roarke's curmudgeonly butler come father figure is shown with a bit more warmth as they attempt to put aside their differences for Roarke's sake.

The emphasis in this book is firmly placed on character development, which as a regular fan of the In Death series makes a welcome change. Eve is becoming a more likeable character as she learns to open up to the family of characters around her without losing any of her edge. In particular the scenes of Eve's reactions to Mavis' pregnancy and Peabody and McNab's romance are priceless! Roarke takes centre stage as he struggles with revelations from his past about his mother, which gives us a more fully rounded and at times nastier view of his character instead of the supportive sex symbol husband role he is normally allocated. ( )

o a degree this is one for the fans. The interaction between the characters is more important than the murder. There is a lot of information about some of the back history of the characters.

A photographer is killing people. ( )