Abandoned in Death

ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb is another brutal case involving someone who never got over their mother's abandonment when a child. As expected, it raises the specter of the nature versus nurture debate regarding personality development for both Roarke and Eve; however, not to the same degree as in past cases. Eve's maturation and healing finally allow her to recognize that mothers come in all shapes and sizes, good and bad. Everyone deserves justice, but the good mothers, like Maevis, also deserve protection. Still, the murderer is creepy and insidiously clever, making them one of Eve's more difficult catches. While Eve shows an amazing level-headedness for a case that would normally send her spiralling, ABANDONED IN DEATH is show more unsettling in the lengths the suspect goes to protect their identity. show less

The woman's body was found in the early morning, on a bench in a New York City playground. She was clean, her hair neatly arranged, her makeup carefully applied. But other things were very wrong, like the tattoo and piercings, clearly new. The fatal wound hidden beneath a ribbon around her neck. And the note: Bad Mommy, written in crayon as if by a child. Eve Dallas turns to the department's top profiler, who confirms what Eve believes: They're dealing with a killer whose childhood involved some sort of trauma. Yet the clues suggest a perpetrator who'd be 60 years old, and there are no records of old crimes with a similar MO. What was the trigger that sent someone over the edge? When Eve discovers that other young women, who physically show more resemble the first victim, have vanished, the clock starts ticking louder. But to solve this case she will need to find her way into a hidden place of dim light and concrete, into the distant past, and into the cold depths of a shattered mind. show less

If you are 54 books into a series (and that counts only the novels; there are also at least 11 novellas) and you are still reading the new books as soon as they are out, you either like the series or you are paid to do it. As I am not paid to read anything (I wish...), I really don't need to mention that I like the series.

One morning a body is found on a bench, holding a scrawled message "Bad Mommy" - a woman who seems to have fallen off time and landed in the future - everything about her is old-fashioned - her clothes, her hair. Except she is not - until a few days earlier she was just a normal modern woman - before disappearing. The reader actually knows a lot more that Eve at that point because we get not only the chapters from the show more perspective of the killer but also parts of chapters showing the past which led him to the current state.

Before long the book turns into the usual cat and mouse game - Eve is sure there are other women being abducted and about to die so the team works non-stop to try to stop the killer. A few red herrings later and the killer ends up being a surprising one (it was about time for this kind of a twist in the series but it still was surprising).

The novel won't win any awards in any of its genres but it is a decent entry into the series. Not sure if it can work as a standalone (the author stopped doing heavy introductions of her characters awhile back so they can look almost cardboard-y without the backstory). And I tend to overlook and forgive things in long running series - the backstory carries a lot of weight.

Note on timing - Eve and Roarke are about to celebrate their 3rd anniversary - which means that the 54 novels fit in 3 years (2058-2061). As all of them are dated somewhere in the books, that is not hard to work out if one tries to but still... this series can continue forever with this speed. Not that I mind. show less

This episode of the Eve Dallas In Death series pits Eve against a person who is kidnapping young women, murdering them and leaving them posed with a sign saying BAD MOMMY. The rush is on to identify and track down the killer before victim number three is found dead.

The flashbacks outline the motives of the killer and the switch to victim number three's viewpoint shows what she is dealing with.

This episode is definitely a police procedural with the investigating and gradually discovering information about the killer. It still leaves plenty of time for Eve and Roarke moments. Eve is in fine form with her misuse of idioms and snarky attitudes. It also illuminates the fact that both Eve and Roarke survived BAD MOMMYs without turning into show more psychopaths.

I loved Eve's interactions with her friends in this episode. She has built herself quite a support network since this series began fifty-four episodes ago.

The mystery was engaging and twisty and kept me reading long past my bedtime. show less

At fifty-four books, you’d think this series would tend to become repetitive and stale – but it doesn’t. This latest addition to the series is just as interesting as the first. I love how far all of the characters have grown – especially Eve – and I love how the author manages to add new characters without forgetting older, more established characters. Tracking down the culprit in this book is certainly not an easy task because he/she is very intelligent, cunning, sly, and seems to know how to bypass and elude the NYPSD at every turn.

In the early morning hours, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called to the scene of a murder. The victim is twenty-six-year-old Lauren Elder. Lauren is lovely, well-liked at work, and well-loved by show more friends and family. Who could have done this to Lauren? Who would meticulously dress and stage Lauren’s body and then leave her in a children’s playground with a crayon sign saying ‘Bad Mommy’? Lauren had been reported missing ten days ago – where had she been all of that time?

As the team discovers more clues and discovers more missing young women who fit the same description as Lauren, they know it is only a matter of time before they find another body – if they don’t discover the killer first. Eve calls all-hands-on-deck and mounts a massive search in the area they have identified as the killer’s hunting grounds. Then, the body of Anna Hobe – one of their missing – is found at yet another children’s area. Her body has also been cleaned, styled, dressed, and includes a crayoned sign saying, ‘Bad Mommy’.

Twenty-five-year-old Mary Kate Covino is still missing and Eve knows MK’s time is running out. Can they find her alive before they discover her staged body in another children’s area? They are close – so very close – but are they close enough to apprehend the murderer and save MK?

To learn the history of the murderer, the author intersperses the current timeline (NOW) with past events (BEFORE) – so you’ll know the traumatic events in her/his life. The murderer’s identity will surprise you, but there are hints.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book and this series. Most of my favorite characters made an appearance and we got to see a bit more of Feeney’s godson, Jamie Lingstrom and I enjoyed getting to know him better. I’m sure he’ll make significant contributions in future books. The only thing missing was a scene where Roarke bought the bar Eve wanted him to purchase – perhaps that will be mentioned in the next book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less

I've been a fan of In Death for many years. I love the blend of character relationships with a nice mystery. Sadly, I felt that the last couple installments had very weak mysteries; read and done in a couple hours. Abandoned changes that, but at the expense of the relationships.

The book kickstarts with a young addict abandoning her toddler before taking an overdose of pills. We then jump to The Body. The book focuses almost exclusively on the investigation from there on, mostly via Dallas & Peabody, with a lot of flashbacks to the killer's past or the pending victims. There are a few mentions of Mavis' new house, but there's very little interaction among all the principals. While I felt that lack keenly, the improved mystery was a show more welcome change and the killer was surprising.

I enjoyed it, but hope the next one gets back to better balancing the relationships and the investigation. show less

This episode of the Eve Dallas In Death series pits Eve against a person who is kidnapping young women, murdering them and leaving them posed with a sign saying BAD MOMMY. The rush is on to identify and track down the killer before victim number three is found dead.

The flashbacks outline the motives of the killer and the switch to victim number three's viewpoint shows what she is dealing with.

This episode is definitely a police procedural with the investigating and gradually discovering information about the killer. It still leaves plenty of time for Eve and Roarke moments. Eve is in fine form with her misuse of idioms and snarky attitudes. It also illuminates the fact that both Eve and Roarke survived BAD MOMMYs without turning into show more psychopaths.

I loved Eve's interactions with her friends in this episode. She has built herself quite a support network since this series began fifty-four episodes ago.

The mystery was engaging and twisty and kept me reading long past my bedtime. show less