From the first word to the last word, J. D. Robb weaves a story that is astonishingly good. It's a tale of a virus that can be transmitted from machine to man by means of sound and light. Provocative sci-fi fantasy only? The thing is in the realm of possibility, and that adds tremendously to the cachet of the plot. It is possible. For once, the villain of the plot is not immediately apparent until the end, and that's a departure from the previous ... in Death novels. The end of the novel is stunning! Eve makes the right media play and, who knows, she might wind up a captain in the near future.
Many of the characters from some of the previous novels are there, and so Robb maintains a certain consistency of character use and through that manages to develop further the characters of Eve and Roarke. There's Jamie Lingstrom, lovely cocky young thing; Mavis takes a brief whirl through with exciting news that sparks an extremely comical reaction in Eve -- will Eve be next?! MacNab and Peabody are there, in part as victims of the latest criminal mind. The reactions of Eve and Roarke to the situation in which MacNab is thrown is revelatory of the continued weaving of the fabric of relationships that is so much a hallmark of this series.
Again, with J. D. Robb, dialogue wins the day. Witty and character revealing in many places. Indeed, at times I found myself laughing out loud as I haven't since I last read the often-hilarious Geogette Heyer. Robb has that same laughter inducing Heyer quality, which is an excellent thing in a series so preoccupied with murder.
To say more would be to sell out the plot, and I don't want to do that. Would that Cahner's Business Daily would employ a review who has a proper sense of the series. Purity in Death won't win J. D. Robb any new fans? Somebody needs their head examined.
Bring on Portrait -- I hate to rush the years, but I can't wait for March to come! Great reading, folks. Enjoy!
No real fights w/Roarke in this one. Mainly it is interpersonal developments with Peabody & McNab, Feeney & Eve, Eve & Mavis.Also we got Jamie Lindstrom. I think that we have everyone in this book. Alot more character development in this one with Trueheart, and (gasp) Mrs. Whitney and Eve get along again.
If stuff like this keeps happening, I think that Eve and Roarke will be having children soon!!!
Definately a keeper! Don't hesitate, go buy it!!
There was no growth this time, just a lot of recylcing of catch Dallas phrases.
Actually I felt as if she wrote it on a template. There were the usual Dallas ... moments, Dallas can't accept the softer feelings, Dallas fly's off the handle when confronted by conflict, etc..., but very little real interaction between she and her friends / collegues. We are TOLD (and not shown) so often that Eve Dallas feels certain these ways, with the same stock expressions, that the book it reads more like a write by the numbers than a book put out by the ever prolific, but usually engaging. Nora Roberts. Also, since this case was so focused on people who prey on children I would have expected a bit more actualization in regards to her scarred childhood.
I gave it 3 stars because the plot is engaging - and if anyone else but Nora Roberts had written it I would have given it 4, but this feels phoned in. The plot is interesting as usual but she fails to create a connection with between reader and charecter.
I'm sure that we can all pick out special scenes and situations in Ms. Robb's novels that are memorable, but in "Purity" the most hilarious (in my view) involved Mavis' announcement to Eve that she's pregnant. Poor Eve (and it's hard to think of Eve as being poor in any sense) has no clue what to do with her emotions even as she tried with difficulty to tell Roark and Dr. Mira about Mavis. We will all likely be in stitches when the stork finally visits Eve and Roark. Though I thoroughly enjoy Robb/Roberts as a seriously "mag" literary talent, that "In Death" episode when Eve finally becomes pregnate will fly off every global best seller list. Let's hope that it comes soon.