Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death, #16
Suspense > futuristic > romance > mystery

“You're certainly chipper this morning."
"Damn straight. Chipper's my middle name. I'm going out to spread joy and laughter to all of mankind."
"What a nice change of pace." There was amusement riding along with the Irish in his voice. "Perhaps you'll start now by going down with me to see Summerset off."
She grimaced. "That might spoil my appetite." Testing, she polished off the pancakes. "No, no, it doesn't. I can do that. I can go down and wave bye-bye."
Brow lifted, he gave her hair a quick tug. "Nicely."
"I won't do the happy dance until he's out of sight. Three weeks.”

Lt. Eve Dallas is waiting the shortly-to-start vacation of Summerset, Roarke's majordomo, when all her plans were ruined by the cat. After a tip from a reporter, Eve Dallas finds the body of a young woman in a Delancey Street dumpster. Just hours before, the news station had mysteriously received a portfolio of professional portraits of the woman. The photos seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary, except she wasn't a model and these photos were taken after she had been murdered. Eve Dallas and her team must start to investigate.
Meanwhile, Eve's billionaire husband Roarke, is doing some investigating of his own. He grew up believing that his mother was a heartless woman who deserted him, but it seems that he was wrong. His investigation stirs up a lot of emotion, and Eve and Roarke are in for some rocky times in their marriage.
n  Marriage isn't for the weak or lazy. It's work, and it should be. What would be the point otherwise?n

Can Eve and her team close the case and find out who did those portraits in death?

n  When Eve didn’t rise, Peabody walked over, poured two cups of water. “My dad used to love these old cartoon vids. I remember this one, where this talking cat was crazy. Totally bonked. Anyway, to show it, they had these little birds flying around his head and chirping.”

She drank her water while Eve stared at her own. “Anyway, that’s what I’d see with him. Little birds flying around his head, except it’s too sad and too awful for little birds.”

“Sometimes, you do the job, you close the case, but the door just doesn’t shut for you. I guess this is going to be one of those. Roarke was right. He’s just pathetic. It’s easier when they’re vicious or greedy or just downright evil. Pathetic leaves the door open a crack.”n

Another goods story. Definitely must-read to all Robb's fans.

I have shelved J.D. Robb [and Nora Roberts] for decades. I thought it was time to read one and see what keeps these circulating. Took me three weeks to finish Portrait in Death and I probably won't read any more. Swimming in shallow water comes to mind.

I love a book that ends with "one never kids about monkey sex with chocolate sauce" lmao

This one had alot of personal heartstrings being yanked. Sommerset hurt. Rourkes history being rewritten

Plus a killer killing college kids

4.75⭐

I so much miss Eve and Roarke

Dark Erotica
June 2023
Buddy Read Special


https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Going to sound like a broken record here soon. Yes, I loved it. There were some stark revelations here that left one of the characters reeling. The mystery element was well plotted. No, didn't guess the "bad guy." Eve is in full force as usual. She loves her job.


Roarke has his own businesses to run but he is always there to help Eve in any way he can. And ease her tension ... with some hot sex!!

n  "I couldn't fall out of love with you if I fell all the way to hell." Emotion was storming into his eyes ...n

n  The Irish knew all about wars, conflicts, hunger, and poverty. And they dealt with it, sang of it, wrote of it. And drank around it of an evening ...n

Roarke has to return to Ireland to deal with a personal situation - he visits County Clare (this is where I was born and lived for 22 years) - I got so excited when I saw this!!!


Yeats is one of Roarke's favourite poets. I like his poetry too and have visited his resting place many times in Drumcliffe, Sligo.

A few bits and bobs annoyed me (0h, here she goes again!!!) - the accents on some of the Irish words. Easy enough to put in, surely ... Sláinte, Siobhán, Dóchas! It just annoys me a little bit. I was the one who was in my hospital bed and warned Himself that if he came back from the Town Hall with Seán's birth certificate and if didn't have the "síne fada" on it, I would clock him one! He did good.

n  OUT-WORN heart, in a time out-worn,t
Come clear of the nets of wrong and right;t
Laugh heart again in the gray twilight,t
Sigh, heart, again in the dew of the morn.t

Your mother Eire is always young,
Dew ever shining and twilight gray;t
Though hope fall from you and love decay,t
Burning in fires of a slanderous tongue.t

Come, heart, where hill is heaped upon hill:t
For there the mystical brotherhood
Of sun and moon and hollow and woodt
And river and stream work out their will;t

And God stands winding His lonely horn,t
And time and the world are ever in flight;t
And love is less kind than the gray twilight,
And hope is less dear than the dew of the morn.n

n  "I was just wishing for you ... and here you are."n

Roarke - sigh - you know me. I love an asshole alpha male. Roarke is alpha but he is not an asshole. He is fucking perfect! I adore him. And I pretty much have a girl crush on Eve too. As always, the secondary characters are wonderful. Peabody, McNab, Feeney, Summerset, Galahad ....

Roarke had a hell of a shock in this book, we’re so used to deal with Eve’s struggles that sometimes it’s easy to put his own aside so when shifts this big happen, it leaves the reader quite shocked.
I really enjoyed the reversal of roles between Eve and Roarke, her being the safe port and anchor and him being the one in crisis….moments like these really make me appreciate how far long they’ve made it as a couple.
The mystery almost takes a secondary focus, despite being pretty intriguing and with a compelling killer.

This was book 16 in the n  "In Death"n series. Lt. Eve Dallas receives a tip from a reporter, Eve Dallas finds the body of a young woman in a Delancey street dumpster. Just hours before, the news station had mysteriously received a portfolio of professional portraits of the woman. In this book Roarke's past has come back with a loss that he doesn't know how to deal with because he feels helpless so he pushes Eve away and she lets him have his space until she talks to her friends. Eve is also dealing with a killer who is a perfectionist. I love reading this series with Eve and the team. This book was well written with no errors in grammar or spelling. I am looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Portrait in Death by J.D.Robb is the 16th book in the In Death series. The body of a college student is found after a portfolio of photographs taken before and after death is sent to the media. Another amazing book where Roarke connects with family of which he was unaware existed. The narrator is perfect and I love the various character voices, especially Roarke's sexy Irish accent.

Kind of a sad, depressing one. But still had brilliant detective work, great relationship developments, heart stopping moments and awesome Eve/Roarke bits.

An artist has found his medium photographing the dead.

But art will not wait for the subjects to die off camera.

Too bad Eve is a critic.

This was ok but I’m still high off Reunion In Death so it felt better than it was.

This is the book where Roarke finds out he has non criminal family in Ireland.