I enjoyed this one. The balance between Eve and Roarke is getting better. And the Eve/Somerset dynamic continues to be amazing. Particularly as Somerset gets hurt (broken leg) and requires care. That was the best part of the book for me, the Eve/Sommerset dynaimc. It's really charming. Then Roarke has a family crisis. And Eve takes care of him (complete wtih drugging his drink), AND Sommerset and Eve ally themselves together and it is great. Not sure how I feel about Roarke suddenly finding a family on his mother's side, but just as long as they don't ty to pull that exact plotline for Eve in a dozen books or so.

I continue to adore the dynamic between the cops. Feeney and Mira giving Eve marital advice was gold (always more Feeney and Mira). And Peabody and Eve's banter was amazing in this one (Peabody asking Eve if she'd sustained a head injury when Eve told her they were going shopping - explaining afterwards it was for a case - was hilarious), as was Eve's casual method of telling Peabody she was up for the Detective exam. OH, and the fact that Eve has a legit twitch in her eye anytime anyone mentions McNabb/Peabody is great. I also really enjoy the Truehart/Baxter partnership. So great.

In other words, I continue to not read these for the case at all. I do like how the family theme is coming along in these books though.

I loved this one. I flew through it when I've been struggling a bit with other books, so that was great too.

Like most of the books in this series, while it has a good solid crime (more of one that some of the last few), it's really about Eve and Roarke's continued learning curve about love and marriage.

This time it's Roarke's past that comes up to bite them, and boy is it a biggie, as pretty much everything he thought he knew about himself gets turned upside down. He doesn't handle it well, shutting Eve out instead of leaning on her strength. They sort it out in time, as they always do, and I look forward to seeing more of the new characters introduced in this book. (Anything more would be a spoiler.)

Summerset and Eve continue to bicker, especially since he manages to fall and break a leg just as he was about to go on vaction, giving Eve three weeks of Summerset-freedom. The accident, coupled with Roarke's problems futher demonstrate the depth of the relationships between Roarke, Summerset and Eve.

Tangled in with this is a neat and tidy murder mystery where all the pieces point in the right direction, but it is only at the end that everything finally falls into place. Clearly, working with Eve is a dangerous occupation, as another of her team is injured, although fortunately all is well at the end.

I thought it was particularly telling that it is only when Eve and Roarke get their balance back and start working as a team again that the investigation begins to come together.

An excellent addition to the series.

[Copied across from Library Thing; 17 October 2012]

About halfway in, give or take, I thought, "This is an interesting case, but Roarke & Summerset have completely stolen this show." I wasn't entirely wrong.

We learn a great deal about Roarke as he learns a great deal about himself. There are profound personal revelations whose ramifications are as yet unknown. I am looking forward to seeing what happens next.

In the meantime, Summerset is dealing with a medical issue - poor sod - that makes him (and Eve) miserable.

And while they deal with their situations, Eve has a disturbing case to solve. Just as the team gets closer to verifying the suspect, one of their own is put in danger.

The last few chapters were both fascinating and terrifying. As this officer struggles, we get to witness them shine.

This was a good read.

Re-read
Still not my favorite but still top notch work

5 Still Learning The Marriage Rules Stars
* * * * * Spoiler Free
I am so in love with this series and J.D. Robb's brilliance, I don't ever see myself getting tired of reading this series. I had stepped away for a hot minute and even though all the books I had read were strong and encompassing...this series kept coming back, tapping me on my shoulder whispering in my ear...urging me to return.

In Portrait in Death (In Death, #16) we are seeing how all of the people who are important to Roarke and Eve have grown along with our couple's the relationship. There are solid friendships, hot relationships between co-workers and the continued mutual hostility/affection between Eve and Sommerset.

In the midst of all of this, there is a new case that is robbing people of their light/life. We are given the killer's POV to enhance the creepiness. The case is a puzzle and will touch those we have become close to. The case has many twists and turns and keeps the team guessing.

Eve and Roarke have learned during this young marriage to navigate many of the new things in their lives...such as figuring out how to be there for each other. In the recent past, Roarke helped Eve overcome going back to Dallas and it brought them even closer...

Now Roarke is the one who has had his carefully controlled world turned upside down. He is presented with circumstances that change everything and is at a loss. This causes Eve to be challenged too.

For me, when Robb highlights the spectacular love Roarke and Eve have for each other, I am so moved. I will read a passage and just be stopped cold by the beauty of it. The real emotion, stark and clear. No need to make it more than it is as what it is...IS EVERYTHING. Period.

Robb teaches a Masterclass in Writing with every book she does. She crafts so that the reader is able to follow everything, in the moments and be shocked, hurt and loved all by her pacing and care. She has us interested in all that she puts on the page. She wastes nothing.

When reading this series, it is as if I have never left it. Every time I start a new book there is a deep comfort in this. Thank you, Ms. Robb.

~~~~~ Before Reading ~~~~~
n  Back at my Quest to Read All I Can, Roarke and Eve...n

For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
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4.5/5
This is a heartbreaking book for Roarke as he finds out a very important fact from his past, something which makes him rethink the foundation he built himself on. It's emotionally taxing and it's another important milestone in his relationship with Eve as he has to learn to open up about his troubles to her this time, not the other way round. Fabulous book as usual.

So love this series. In this book Roarke finds the truth about his mother and goes to meet his Irish family. Summerset breaks his leg and delays a 2 week vacation much to Eves despair. Peabody is put forward for her Detective exams. Cracks sister is a victim of the killer. Trueheart is taken by the killer.

This was such a great reread for me and I really enjoyed it. We follow Eve as she investigates the murder of a young college girl. I really enjoy the cast of characters that we get in each of the books and the futuristic world is very entertaining to me. I particularly liked the further characterization we got of Summerset, Roarke, and Trueheart. I am looking forward to reading more in the series.

One of the best in a really great series. Love the mystery, Roarke and Eve and everything about this one.

Eve is doing a happy dance all over the bedroom and awesome sex with Roarke is not the reason why, this time. Summerset is going on a three week vacation and Eve can't wait to waive him goodbye. Well, it never pays to get ahead of yourself as Summerset takes a header and breaks his leg. Major ouch.

Nadine, Eve's friend and the ace reporter for Channel 75, received disturbing photos and a note and she contacts Eve. The body of a pretty young woman is found and Eve and Nadine go toe to toe over this case. The photos hold the only clues to this baffling case and Eve is grasping for leads as another body is found.

Roarke receives some information that sends him for a loop and instead of sharing with Eve, he closes up and lashes out at her. Eve is at a loss and since this marriage thing didn't come with a guide book, she doesn't know what to do. She has a case to work, but is not able to give it the undivided attention it needs. Mira and Feeney, as old married friends, help her navigate this rocky patch.

3.5 stars. This wasn’t bad by any means, but this installment didn’t feel wholly satisfying and complete. Roarke’s storyline and its effect on the marriage is the center of the story and carries all the emotional heft, so much so that the murder investigation feels like an afterthought. I liked seeing Eve competently doing her thing, but for the most part the investigation didn’t hold my attention and became tedious; that the murderer is another looney-tunes psychopath with a textbook motivation only further disconnected me from the case.

We get to see deeper layers to Roarke, beyond the perfect swoon-worthy hero: he’s human, he’s flawed, and he has some major unresolved childhood trauma. Eve sees beyond Roarke’s out-of-character behavior and realizes Roarke is in crisis, demonstrating her growth in emotional attunement and stepping up for Roarke in a big way. Eve’s actions reveal the profound expansion of her identity and sense of self: while she’s wholly invested in hunting down the murderer, the case doesn’t consume her; and when she realizes Roarke needs her support, she figures out a way to join him at his side while continuing to lead the investigation (i.e., Eve delegates). We get to see Eve being both a great investigator and a great partner.

Truheart’s presence is a highlight in the story. He must be protected at all costs.

This book had so much Roarke that my swoon-meter almost broke!



It was a blood-boiling, heart-melting swoon-a-thon!

Also, Eve was actually a good wife and put Roarke above her job for a few minutes. That was surprisingly nice to see. Usually it's all about Eve, she treats him pretty crappy, and he loves her like chocolate. We need to see some reciprocation once in a while.

But, as for the mystery? It was a lot about photography which bores the crap out of me.



But, all of the stuff on Roarke, Peabody, and Truheart made up for my hatred of photography, so I am standing behind my 5-star rating. Someone take a picture of me back here.

Second Read: I forgot I'd read this book 4-5 years ago. I still really really like this series. Okay, so this one has to be one of my favorites in the series so far.

Lieutenant Eve Dallas faces a serial killer who offers his victims eternal youth by taking their life… 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 for any pretty young woman starting a modeling career. Except that she wasn't a model. And that these photos were taken after she had been murdered. Now Dallas is on the trail of a killer who's a perfectionist and an artist. He carefully observes and records his victim's every move. And he has a mission: to own every beautiful young woman's innocence, to capture her youth and vitality-in one fateful shot.

As much as the plot was interesting and a bit crazy, what I loved most was the writing surrounding Roarke. We get a deeper look into his past. And while his story has always touched my heart, the part of his past that is revealed here is heartbreaking as well as comforting. Eve's emotions and her strength was heartening. She was a lot more wifely in this book than in others. She tried harder too which I really appreciated. I adore her. I adore their relationship.

All my favorite characters were present too. Beyond Roarke and Eve we have Peabody, McNabb, Mavis, Nadine and Summerset, Mira & Mr. Mira. It gets a little creepy towards the end when the bad guy goes to hit Trueheart. He is so very honest and clean cut, can't help but like him. Then we get more of Webster, Baxter and Trueheart. Each one of these guys’ relationship with Eve is interesting. I can’t wait to see where J.D. Robb takes these characters.

We begin to die with our first breath. Death is inside us, ticking closer, closer, with every beat of our heart. It is the end no man can escape. Yet we cling to life, we worship it despite its transience. Or perhaps, because of it.

But all the while, we wonder of death. We build monuments to it, revere it with our rituals. What willourdeath be? we ask ourselves. Will it be sudden and swift, long and lingering? Will there be pain? Will it come after a long, full life, or will we be cut off -violently, inexplicably-inour prime?

When is our time? For death is for all time.

We create an afterlife because we cannot rush through our days chased by the specter of an end. We make gods who guide us, who will greet us at golden gates to lead us into an eternal land of milk and honey.

We are children, bound hand and foot by the chains of good with its eternal reward, and evil with its eternal punishment. And so, most never truly live, not freely.

I have studied life and death.

There is only one purpose. To live. To live free. Tobecome. To know, with each breath, you are more than the shadows. You are the light, and the light must be fed, absorbed from any and all sources. Then, the end is not death. In the end webecomethe light.

They will say I am mad, but I have found sanity. I have found Truth and Salvation. When I have become, what I am, what I do, what I have created will be magnificent.

And we will all live forever. I love this series. This is a particularly good episode. Good use of characters with the plot. Excellent.

First Read: I'm really enjoying this series. Like the plots, the characters and Robb's writing style. I know it wouldn't be everyone's writing style, I just happen to like it. If you like her style, they are great books.