Born in Death

Born in Death is the latest installment in J.D. Robb's In Death series. This is one series I continue to enjoy: 4.5 out of 5.

Technology has advanced in 2060 New York City, but childbirth has been the same since the beginning of time. And despite the brutal double homicide on Lieutenant Eve Dallas's caseload, she has to be there for her pregnant friend Mavis, even if it means throwing the dreaded baby shower . . .

But Mavis needs an even bigger favor how. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in her birthing class, has gone missing, just days before her due date--not even showing up at the shower at Eve and Roarke's place that she'd been looking forward to so much. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family. When Eve enters Tandy's apartment and finds Mavis's shower gift wrapped and ready on the table--and Tandy's packed hospital bag still on the floor--her spine starts tingling.

Normally, this would be turned over to Missing Persons. Eve has more than enough on her plate trying to find out who murdered Natalie Copperfield and her fiance, both employed at a prestigious accounting firm. But Mavis wants no one but Eve on the case--and Eve can't say no. She'll have to track Tandy down while tracing the deals and double-crosses hidden in some of the city's richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against a particularly vicious killer. Luckily, she has her multimillionaire husband Roarke's expertise to help with the numbers crunching. But as he mines for the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all-too-real danger in the flesh-and-blood world.

If you follow this series, you probably know that a long-awaited event occurs in this book, one suggested by the title. It's been a long wait. While the In Death books usually come out every six months, it's been almost a year since the previous book. I was beginning to feel withdrawl symptoms.

I love the beginning of the story, where Eve's discomfort with the concept of babies and childbirth is clear. There are a lot of nice character moments in this book, and they're really the reason I love this series so much.

The mystery is nice, too. I thought it was interesting and well-crafted, a nice change from the deranged serial killers that have been in some of Robb's previous books. I also liked the way the second mystery, Tandy's disappearance, played out.

I'd heard that Roarke wasn't in this story as much, but I didn't notice that he was off-stage (I suppose that should be off-page) as much as I'd expected. He is very much a part of this book.

I'm excited to read the next book! I can only hope it isn't as long a wait.