Survivor in Death

Survivor in Death
by J.D. Robb
#20 In Death series

Nixie Swisher, a courageous 9-year-old girl, loses all of her family members, as well as her best friend, after she wakes up in the middle of the night and creeps downstairs to sneak an orange soda immediately before a home invasion ends with the brutal slayings of everyone close to her. Because her friend was spending the night with her and was sleeping in her bed, the killers did not realize they had overlooked a witness to their crimes, someone who would remind Lt. Eve Dallas of herself when she was a young girl, setting off her rage and need to take them down.

As always in this series, the suspense and action do not disappoint. This book in particular has moved up high on my list for show more this series for the character development of Eve and Roarke, as well as for Summerset, their majordomo and Roarke's father figure. They all have to face the tragedies of their past because of this little girl whom they have vowed to protect. We witness an opening discussion and thoughts about whether they think they will make good parents someday when they are ready. There is a very touching scene which actually brought tears to my eyes when Nixie had to visit the morgue to say her goodbyes. Very well done in showing Eve's humanity through that, as she is known to keep her emotions under lock and key as she fights anything that brings them to the surface.

Another point I was glad was brought up was Roarke's reasoning and thoughts about why he's willing to drop everything and help Eve in her homicide investigations, whether it is his computer or lock-picking skills, piloting his personal helicopter to get her where she needs to be in a hurry, or being part of the on-site team when they are busting down doors. I've been wondering if that was ever going to be touched upon because in recent books, he seems to be spending more time assisting the police department than he is building and maintaining his own empire.

We are seeing the tight-knit community of friends weaving itself around Eve (both in her chosen team at work as well as personally) and the emergence of her willingness to lean on them and give back to them in return. She's slowly starting to show a softer side. It only lasts for mere moments (haha) but she's learning.

This was an excellent installment of this ongoing series. show less

The 20th In Death story begins with a home invasion that kills a man, his wife, his twelve-year-old son and the nine-year-old girl who was on a sleepover with his daughter. Nixie Swisher, his 9-year-old daughter, escapes the slaughter because she woke up in the night craving an orange fizzy and left her bed to go to the kitchen to get one.

Eve discovers her hiding in her parents shower and flashes back to her own situation right after she killed her father. Rather than let child protection services take her, Eve brings her home with her. And begins to try to find out who murdered her parents and why,

On the surface this family law lawyer and his nutritionist wife are unlikely people to be murdered brutally in their home. But looking show more deeper, Eve discovers that others connected to them - a judge, a social worker, a doctor - have all died relatively recently under suspicious circumstances.

She and Roarke and her team dig into the past to discover a conspiracy to get revenge.

I enjoyed the way Eve relates to Nixie and how Roarke and Summerset do too. I loved hearing Roarke's plans for their future children and how appalled Eve is to even think of becoming a parent. I loved how brave Nixie was and how she reminded Eve of herself had she had a different childhood. show less

What a story! Definitely one of the most intense and chilling in the series, especially with the paramilitary angle. I loved seeing Eve and Roarke dealing with a child. Those scenes managed to be funny, sweet, and yet very sad as well. One of my favorite elements of each story in the series is watching Eve and Roarke grow as a couple and find a little bit more peace with their past. SURVIVOR IN DEATH definitely did not disappoint in that regard.

The 20th In Death story begins with a home invasion that kills a man, his wife, his twelve-year-old son and the nine-year-old girl who was on a sleepover with his daughter. Nixie Swisher, his 9-year-old daughter, escapes the slaughter because she woke up in the night craving an orange fizzy and left her bed to go to the kitchen to get one.

Eve discovers her hiding in her parents shower and flashes back to her own situation right after she killed her father. Rather than let child protection services take her, Eve brings her home with her. And begins to try to find out who murdered her parents and why,

On the surface this family law lawyer and his nutritionist wife are unlikely people to be murdered brutally in their home. But looking show more deeper, Eve discovers that others connected to them - a judge, a social worker, a doctor - have all died relatively recently under suspicious circumstances.

She and Roarke and her team dig into the past to discover a conspiracy to get revenge.

I enjoyed the way Eve relates to Nixie and how Roarke and Summerset do too. I loved hearing Roarke's plans for their future children and how appalled Eve is to even think of becoming a parent. I loved how brave Nixie was and how she reminded Eve of herself had she had a different childhood. show less

I was introduced to this series years ago in a book group and have been going back to read ones I missed earlier in the series. That said, if I'd read this in the order it was published, I probably would have rated it higher than I do reading it now.

This case is a bit different in that there's no apparent reason why the Swisher family was targeted for quite a while in the novel so there's a lot more police work for the team to do before a culprit or culprits is/are settled upon.

The survivor in this case is 9 year old Nixie Swisher. Nixie's friend, who was sleeping over, is killed instead. Nixie survives because she got up to get a drink/snack from the kitchen and was overlooked by the killers (who only expected there to be 5 family show more members in the house).

But Roarke and Dallas are also survivors of their childhood. Summerset is a survivor of losing his own daughter Marlena. show less

Survivor in Death
In Death, Book 20

I Picked Up This Book Because: #IDLR #InDeathLongReadathon

Media Type: Audiobook
Source: Everand
Dates Read: 3/24/26 - 3/27/26
Stars: 5
Narrator(s): Susan Ericksen

The Characters:

Eve Dallas: Police Lieutenant
Roarke: Husband, independently wealthy, entrepreneurial, man of mystery and sexy times
Delia “DeeDee” Peabody (Police Detective), Summerset (Roarke’s right hand), Ryan Feeny (former police partner, cyber detective, and friend), Mavis Freestone (BFF), Dr. Charlotte Mira (psych), Nadine Furst (reporter/friend), Ian McNab (cyber detective, Peabody’s boo), Officer Trueheart

The Story:

I won’t lie, this one was rough. A child losing her family and having to navigate through a whole different world show more alone is devastating. I’m glad she had Eve, Roarke, and Summerset. I kinda wanted Eve and Roarke to adopt Nixie but I know that is outside of Eve’s capabilities right now. I hope we do get to visit with her in the future though. We had to dig deep for motive on this one and it was riveting. show less

The incomprehensible murder of the Swisher family as they slept in their beds has New York Police and Security Department’s detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas stymied. The callous, professional executioners breached state-of-the-art security, wore night vision goggles, and brutally wiped out the family . . . except for the nine-year-old girl fearfully cringing in the dark kitchen.

Eve may have an eyewitness, but solving this grisly crime will take all her determination if she’s to find justice for Nixie.

The twentieth tale in the “In Death” series holds the reader rapt from the first page. There’s the strong sense of place, relatable, believable characters, a gruesome crime, a child in peril . . . all of these combine to create a show more riveting tale filled with relationships, characters readers know and love, and an emotional plot that runs the gamut from humorous to heart-wrenching. As always, the relationships between the characters, the romance, and the repartee all have a place in the telling of a tale that readers will find truly unputdownable.

Highly recommended. show less