There are so many great scenes in this book. Where do I begin? I had forgot that Patrick Roarke shows up in one of Eve's dreams. Major creepy. I love a killer in plain sight. It's one of my favourite scenarios. I may have a wee beef as to why facial recognition was not used when they had the killers name, but I will forgive JD as there is just so much to love in Portrait. Peabody gets some great lines and really comes into her own as her relationship post Purity injuries to McNabb solidifies. Add one of my favourite action filled endings and Portrait remains in my top ten favourites list.

Possibly my favorite In Death...but it is so hard to choose. I. Love. Them. All! Eve landing in the field of cows (you're telling me) and Roarke's reaction to her (you must really love me) and Roarke's Aunt's reaction to all of it...priceless! Possibly my favorite scene...but it is so hard to choose. There. Are. So. Many! The case really is secondary in Portrait which is not a problem for me. Loved the advice and counsel that Eve got from Feeney, Mavis, and Mira during Roarke's "breaking of the marriage rule concerning telling your life partner important stuff." Also, who else thinks that Eve still doesn't know what Cribbage really is?:) Lots of tension at the end which served to bring the case back to the forefront after Eve and Roarke were back in sync. There is so much awesomeness in this book!

The first time I read this book, I didn't like it - the plot was too much like n  n Holiday in Death for me, right down to a serial killer with a conveniently dramatic if not especially believable pathology,


Hannibal Lecter Has a LOT to Answer For...!

Lt. Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke on the outs with each other for a portion of the book, and one of Eve's protégés getting abducted by the serial killer in the climax! A recent re-read after having read twenty-five books ahead made me change my mind, though, because I realized this book wasn't about the crime Eve was solving at all - it was about Roarke uncovering a secret in his past that was, in its own way, as Earth-shattering as any Eve had discovered about hers. It was also about Eve finally, actively bending herself to help Roarke - and Summerset, amazingly! - when they needed her.

A day before he's supposed to go on vacation, Roarke's Majordomo/Surrogate Father Summerset


And the Bane of Eve's Existence!

trips over their cat Galahad


Their Very Chunky White Cat With Bi-Colored Eyes

on the stairs and breaks his leg. Summerset's pain and embarrassment is nothing compared to Eve's, who had hoped to spend two Summerset-Free weeks at home with her husband! Worst off of all is Roarke, who really doesn't handle seeing the n  othern of the two people in the world he loves more than life itself hurt - so he's not in a very good mood once he storms into his office, after having ensured that Summerset gets the best of care at home. That may be why when one of the women hired to work at his Abused Women's Shelter, Dochas, sets up a meeting to inform him that the woman he always believed to be his mother, Meg Roarke, wasn't at all - that his mother was a sweet lass from Irish Farm Country who'd mistakenly fallen for his father, and who she suspects killed his real mother and disposed of the body?


Roarke Doesn't Take the News Very Well.

4.5 stars**

This story was pretty emotional to read. Another great book in a great series.

Hooray for a Roarke-centric In Death book! We got to learn so much about the intergalactic dreamboat as he dealt with his grief both in New York and his roots in the Emerald Isle. It was refreshing to see his perspective while our favorite chocolate-loving cop Eve Dallas was solving a case. Roarke is a complex man who hasn't completely given up his shady past as an extremely wealthy businessman. He has quite the technical prowess and it doesn't seem very fair when he's always lending a hand in Eve's cases, on his mega-illegal computer. Anyway, we saw a different side of Roarke and hopefully there will be more visits to Ireland to showcase his new darling family.



The case was photography-heavy, considering the title was Portrait in Death. I know absolutely nothing about cameras and I couldn't care a fig about this aspect. It was also interesting that all of the victims were college age like myself and they showcased different personalities of that crowd. I didn't guess the murderer, which was nice, and the author decided to make him mentally unwell, which felt like a cop-out. These cases do apply to serial killers when they have warped view of reality instead of murdering on purpose. It seemed like a weak end but I'm glad she switched it up.



Peabody is getting sassier and hopefully her detective license. I'm tired of McNab but there was a Dr. Louise sighting! Louise is one of my favorite reoccuring side characters and I'm happy whenever she pops up. She's the perfect mix of sassy and cerebral. More Louise please!

Given my interest in serial killers and true crime, I loved the premise! Also, yay Peabody!!!!

By far my fave book in the series

this was just okay. not much tension for a murder mystery.
I didn't realise I'd come into this series at such a late date-it's book #16! There is a lot of backstory that I don't know.
It's supposed to be set in the near future, but some of the tech off. And it's been hard for me to get a picture of what it looks like in NYC in 2059. But after fifteen books, I guess an author can let the world building slide a bit.
I don't think this is a stand alone novel. There are major developments in MCs character arcs that lack some of the punch since I didn't have the backstory.
I was okay with this novel as a police procedural until about page 290 something when the MC is waiting for a witness to finish working with a sketch artist so she'll have an image of the killer. Except, MC knows the name and address of the killer. It's 2059. Doesn't the local Motor vehicles department issue driver licenses with photo ID? Does the killer have such a low profile that images of him don't exist online: high school, college, workplace ID or professional bio, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter?? Lost me here, Ms.Robb ( or Roberts). I finished this under duress and because it was the last book on the last day of the 2016 book challenge!

The one where Summerset falls and breaks his leg.

“I need you to get in touch with Roarke, find out how Summerset’s doing.”
“He went on vacation today. You had it set on your calendar, with a trumpet fanfare and shooting stars.”
“He broke his leg.”
“What? When? How? Jeez.”
“Fell down the damn steps this morning. I think he did it to spite me. I really do.”

The one where Roarke finds a shocking discovery about his mother.

Who knew better than he that you couldn’t live your life joining hands with yesterday’s ghosts?

The case is murderer who is crazycakes and has the papers to prove it. He kills people he stalked and photographs them. But the case takes a back burner to all the personal drama in this one.

Roarke takes a discovery about his mother pretty badly. He’s shocked and he shuts Eve out. But Eve sees the other side of Roarke - worried after Summerset hurts himself, frustrated and hurting over news of his mother. This book really shows their marriage isn’t one sided. Usually Roarke is the protective one, but when he’s vulnerable she really steps up as his wife and supports him.

He rested his forehead on hers. “I can’t do without you. I don’t know how I ever got by before you.”
“We’ll just go from here. You’ve had a rough couple of days, so I’ll try one of your favorite sports and make you eat something.”
He smiled, finally, when she rose to go to the AutoChef. “Tending to me, are you?”

And finally, Eve continues amusing me with her maternal instincts.

“Aww, can you believe that? Is that too cute for words?”
Eve saw something that looked, sort of, like an underdeveloped, hairless monkey with a really big head.
“Wow.”
“See, you can even count the tiny, little fingers.”
Which, to Eve’s mind, made it all creepier. What did it do with those fingers inside there?

3rd read: 20 July - 19th August 2021

2nd read: 23 July - 6th August 2015

1st read: 15-19 May 2013
I forgot to add one of my favorite quotes from the book:
"What's that? Is that chocolate? Real chocolate?"
"What?" Panicked, Eve shoved the hand behind her back. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm working here."
"I can smell it." To prove it, Peabody sniffed the air like a wolf. "That's not chocolate substitute, that's not soy. That's real goods."
"Maybe. And it's mine."
"Just let me have a little—" Peabody's gasp was shocked and heartfelt as Eve stuffed the remaining chunk in her mouth. "Oh, Dallas." She swallowed hard. "That was very childish."
"Uh-uh. And delicious," Eve added with her mouth full. "What've you got?"
"I don't have chocolate breath, that's for damn sure." At Eve's arch look, she pokered up. "While others, who will remain nameless, were stuffing their face with candy, I diligently pursued an angle in the investigation that I believe might be of some interest to the incredibly selfish candy-hog primary."
"It was dark chocolate."
"You're a mean person and will probably go to hell."
"I can live with that."
[I would have done the same thing as Dallas =))]

Always love the in-death books! This one was so great! Love Trueheart in this one. If you have not read any of these books, start with the first and read them in order. There are so many but you will be happy to start with the early books because the characters grow and you love them.