J.D. Robb – Griffin's Nest

Published in the U.S. by St. Martin’s Paperbacks an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

This is the latest title in the series starring Lieutenant Eve Dallas, her partner, Detective Delia Peabody, and Civilian Consultant(aka Hubby) Roarke. Secondary characters who have helped round out the series and make it even more relatable include Peabody’s beau, Detective Ian McNabb, EDD lead Captain Ryan Feeney, Mavis Freestone, Nadine Furst, Dr. Charlotte Mira, Chief Medical Officer Morris, Lawrence Charles Summerset, and Galahad.

This novel is as action packed and suspenseful as all the rest in the series. Robb keeps death and sex scenes minimal yet impactful so those who are easily triggered may take care just in case. Keeping the blood and gore details just to what is needed to make the scenes believable is a nice change from a lot of books in this same genre. Romance is part and parcel with this series and allows the reader some breathing room while showing the softer side of the main characters, especially Eve. It makes them more relatable. Sex scenes are not graphic and are described with a romantic tinge rather than a carnal one.

J.D. Robb weaves her way through a plot from start to finish with flare, throwing in a twist here and there. She keeps the energy up where it’s needed and slows things down a bit where it makes sense so there’s no jarring. There’s no filler or fluff just to fill pages, every scene has a purpose – to further the story.

Eve Dallas open the story investigating a murder that happens as she’s out with her husband, Roarke. Roarke, a former criminal, sees someone from his past, a murderer nicknamed Blade, in the crowd surrounding the murder scene. Blade had been a bane of Roarke’s existence while Roarke had lived in Europe to the point of attempting to kill Roarke twice. Linked to hundreds of crimes in Europe but never caught, Blade has come to the States to try yet again to end the other man’s life while getting away with a murder for hire plot – or so he thinks.

He hasn’t taken into account Lieutenant Eve Dallas being assigned the case, as well as being the wife of Roarke. Both make her a more than formidable foe, and with her team fully behind her from the Police Chief on down, it’s only a matter of time before Blade is in a cage.

I really enjoyed this novel, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes murder mysteries.

See you on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!

My copy of this book is a trade paperback meaning it’s small enough to fit in my purse. 🙂 It’s printed by St. Martin’s Press, the Paperback division. Copyright is 2017 and held by Nora Roberts aka J.D. Robb. It’s a cop driven whodoneit which I like when it’s written well.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Detective Peabody (aka Shebody to her beau, EDD Detective Ian McNab) are the main players from the police force, and there’s Raorke, the civilian consultant. He also happens to very rich and very married to Eve though she doesn’t use his last name when she’s working. Not sure what that means, but it’s in the book.

The story starts with Eve going to a swank bar to meet a colleague she really doesn’t like that much and during a somewhat testy exchange of why don’t you like me; I don’t like you because.. Eve sees a woman come staggering into the bar from the lower floor, bleeding. She literally catches the woman before she dies and goes to the floor with her even as she breathes her last.

So begins the mystery of who killed the woman, who turns out to be the gossip queen of a big television studio. Everyone has a reason to kill, more so than others, so motive is a no-brainer. The question is, amongst all the people this woman blackmailed and extorted, who actually ended her.

I enjoyed the book immensely. I’ve actually read most of the series from the very beginning, and the evolution of the Eve character is fun to watch. 🙂 Sex is in the book, but it’s not all that graphic (not compared to many so called “romance” books that are really just soft porn). It’s also between the loving couple of Eve and Dallas, and it’s part of the story – their story.

This story isn’t your run of the mill mystery. People really matter. How they feel, what they’ve been through and the secrets they’ve felt the need to protect despite what it led to – in this case extortion and blackmail. There’s a great deal of depth and emotion, and I really like that as it makes me care more, makes me relate better, to the characters.

I highly recommend reading this book, but as usual, I don’t advocate taking my advice blindly. Check out the book yourself. If it’s not what you like, no worries. I’m not here to judge, just to share a little bit of my world with you. 🙂

See you all on the flipside and don’t forget your towel and sonic screwdriver!