Romantic Suspense Annotation

Naked in Death

by J.D. Robb

Synopsis
Someone is murdering prostitutes. New York City Police detective Eve Dallas seeks justice for all, regardless of their social status, but when the murderer taunts her by sending her videos of the killings at her home, it becomes personal. And when she becomes intimately involved with her primary suspect, her objectivity and her integrity are questioned. Can Dallas find the murderer before another is killed? And can she keep her emotions and passions from interfering?

Characteristics that fit into Romantic Suspense

• Pacing: The pace is relatively quick, with the events happening in a few weeks from start to finish. Scenes move along rapidly, with little time for lingering or introspection, except for moments that build the characters and these are placed strategically for maximum impact.
• Characterization: Eve Dallas is much like the hard-boiled private eyes of Hammett and Spillane: independent, tough, stubborn, and closed from others. She has a true sense of justice and we feel she will continue pursuing it until she gets it, or is killed.
• Storyline: Without the sex scenes, this would still be a good suspense story, as Dallas is kept in the dark, as we are, about the killer's identity. The sex scenes tend to tell us more about Dallas and her history, which is important and related to the crime she's investigating.
• Tone/Mood: The tone is gritty, as this is set in a futuristic, but not Utopian, New York City, and Dallas lives in a run-down apartment, battling broken-down appliances and vehicles. There is a sense of being on-edge throughout, as Dallas is targeted personally by the unknown killer and she doesn't know how the killer knows her.
• Style/Language: The style is straightforward; there's not a lot of descriptive passages, but we still get a sense of the setting. The dialogue is snappy, with plenty of witty repartee between Dallas and Roarke, her primary suspect.
• Setting: A future New York City is familiar enough to not need much explanation, but different enough that Dallas can observe the differences for us so we can get immersed. Robb can therefore make NYC into anything she needs it to be for the story, but is remarkably consistent in where things are placed. While it's futuristic, it's not sci-fi.

Read-a-likes

• "Chasing Fire" by Nora Roberts (J.D. Robb is Nora Roberts' pseudonym)
• "1st to Die" by James Patterson
• "Postmortem" by Patricia Cornwell
• "One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich
• "A is for Alibi" by Sue Grafton
• "Dream Man" by Linda Howard

Personal Note

We used to record this series at the Talking Books studio in Denver. I came into the series many books in, so it was interesting going back to read the very first in the series. The series also just reached its 50th book, "Golden in Death." I kept hearing the narrator and her character voices as I read. This is one of the genres I don't read, mainly because sex scenes all tend to blend together after a while and I just skip on to the actual story. Outside of the romantic scenes (which aren't too bad, really, compared to others I've suffered through), the story moves along at a fast pace, keeping you in suspense about the true identity of the killer. Eve Dallas is a strong and independent character battling her own demons and is supported by a range of likable characters, each distinct and interesting.