After Vengeance in Death, nothing had a chance of really measuring up. But Holiday in Death came pretty damn close!
The mystery is the one point that disappointed me, because I totally solved it pretty quickly. I was kind of disappointed that Eve didn’t… but her being a little behind was fully understandable. Not only did she come back from her injuries a little sooner than she should have (no big surprise there… this is Eve after all) but the crimes are just too familiar for her. They feel like they’re striking too close to home and that’s clouding her judgement. But it was still a solid mystery and I wasn’t 100% sure I was right until the end.
The slight disappointment I felt at the mystery is completely overshadowed by how great the other elements were. The relationships, which I KEEP saying are what make this series, were fantastic in Holiday in Death. She’s built such a family around her and seeing all these people worry about her and force her to take care of herself was so endearing. I just love watching Rourke take care of her – especially since he often does so against her will, while she protests loudly.
I think that fact that it’s set during the holiday season made all those relationships more profound, because Eve is struggling to handle a season that’s never been so important for her in the past. I loved watching her and Rourke have their first Christmas together. I loved watching her struggle to get gifts. I loved seeing Somerset worry about her. I loved seeing her fight with Peabody. Where the relationships were concerned… Holiday in Death struck absolute gold!
I’m reading the novella next, and since that’s not on audio I suspect it will slow me down a bit. What can I say? Susan Erickson may not be the best narrator, but she’s good enough to enjoy the story at 2x and I’m pushing through so much faster on audio than I ever would reading. And she’s quickly BECOMING these characters I love so much! So I can’t really complain!
I’ve seen this series around for years and it’s kind of been on my radar… but it’s a bit intimidating to start a series when there are already 40+ books in it. LOL Glad this one worked so well for you, Berls, Especially after the previous one was such a hit!
I know exactly what you mean – I was you about 2 years ago. And then I started it and got addicted. What’s crazy is that when I started I was like, but I’ll never read all the books and now I’m kinda like, I hope I never read all the books lol! I went from feeling like I’d never catch up, to dreading the day I have to wait for each new book. I go through phases where I read 3-4 at a time and I’m in the 30s now :/ getting closer! I hope you give them a try sometime 🙂
I need to write this series down so I can look for it at the used book store and give the first one a try…if they have it..I have the hardest time finding the first in series there…lol. Or try and get it on audio.
I think audio is the way to go, mainly because there are so many of them! Also because I’ve grown to really like the narration too though 🙂
This is a series that I started wayyy back when it was first released and then I got lost somewhere along the way. Now I’m afraid I’d have to start from the ground up to catch up. Ugh, I hate it when I let that happen to me.
I hate that too. So I read the first book like 3 or 4 years ago and nothing for a whole year. When I read book 2 though I kind of got addicted. So I’ve read them on 3-5 book spurts since then. I’m way behind in reviews as I’ve gotten to like 32 ir something. I hope you get to return to them soon, I do love them.
The few J.D. Robb noevls I’ve read I really enjoyed. I really want to read th whole series., but it is an intimidating feat! I’m glad that the other elements made up for your disappointment in the mystery 🙂
I know the feeling, when I first got into reading them I was like “there’s how many?!?!” but now I’m in like the 30s and part of me is really sad that I’m almost caught up. I’m not going to enjoy waiting for the newest book to come out 🙁 I’ve contemplated a reread. Point is, go for it, you’ll be amazed how many books you zoom through at a time 🙂