Imitation in Death

Eve Dallas, a police lieutenant, faces the most challenging case of her career, when she has to track down a serial killer that duplicates the brutal killing styles of notorious serial killers. A prostitute (LC is the term used in the book) is killed in the style of Jack the Ripper and the next victim meets their fate a la Boston Strangler style. With each murder, a personal note is left for Eve as the killer singles her out. Roarke, Eve's husband, is not the least bit amused with this last fact.Robb, a.k.a. Nora Roberts, offers a splendid blend of mystery, thriller action, internal friction amongst the principle characters and poignant intimacy spiced with a dash of sex to make this a very interesting read. I recommend this book.

I rushed down to the store to get this yesterday, and unlike the last one [Portrait], which left me feeling a bit hurried and miffed, this one had a lot of the best things about this series. Eve Dallas has some very good moments in this book - the mystery makes sense (the murderer is actually one of the main suspects this time), still managing to keep the reader guessing. It plays out well, and the murders manage to impress upon the reader the appropriate sense of disgust intended.The main characters mostly have some good points in this book, although I was a bit weirded out by Roberts' description of Morris (he is suddenly described with the adjective 'exotic' on two consecutive pages). Peabody is taking the detective exam, McNab is being lovey-dovey with the aforementioned, and Roarke is getting through the loss discovered in Portrait. There's a lack of Feeney in this book, as well as Nadine, but it plays out better for it, especially since Portrait had characters experiencing Significant Moments of Life every five pages. Not that this book isn't lacking in the odd character moment here and there, but it works anyway. For Lt. Dallas herself, there is a big flashback - and a fascinating one, for it's about the person that her brandy-colored eyes are from - and no, it's not her dad.One of my favorite aspects of this series is the Eve-Roarke dynamic, and in this book, they're awfully cute in this book, and such fun to read. I don't mean gushy cute, thank goodness, but they're a highly amusing couple. A favorite moment of mine is Eve watching, with some baffled horror, as Roarke cooks, and I don't mean with an Auto-Chef. More than ever, I think this couple has really settled into a comfortable dynamic, the way that only they can do it.One of the reasons it's such fun to read this is because of how the characters have grown throughout the books. I feel that Roberts' other books often lost realism in the characters, with the books themselves too often ending with a tidily engaged couple and pregnant female. However, the In Death series gives her the chance to naturally grow these characters, and it's really evident in this book. Compare Imitation to Naked or Glory, and it's actually a little scary to see how these characters - especially Eve and Roarke - have changed, but they've done so together, and it's sweetly romantic.Last word: this isn't a book for new readers. It would be completely confusing, very bizarre, and without the enjoyment of seeing how these beloved characters continue to change. There is an unusually high amount of references to other J.D. Robbs here(there was even a reference to Interlude in Death), and although it's nice for the devoted reader, it can be nothing but bizarre to a newbie. In the end, this was a very entertaining book - I think one of the best in this series - and though there were no previews, I look very forward to buying Remember When in a few weeks and Divided in Death in the new year. :>