Kindred in Death

In Death, Book 29

By: J. D. Robb

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In this novel from number-one New York Times-best-selling author J. D. Robb, the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious 16-year-old daughter, who stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaits them inside. Deena has been brutally murdered in her bedroom, and her body shows signs of trauma that horrify even the toughest of cops, including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who is specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

The evidence piles up, and Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest the perpetrator. But little do they know that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them, using a variety of identities.

Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes, but for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring the killer to justice.

©2009 J.D. Robb (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Painful to listen to

I quit listening after a few hours. The narration of the main characters partner was irritating. I found the characters melodramatic concerning their work and personal lives. The repeated, detailed desciptions of the brutal crime were overdone and her suppositions as to the criminals actions and intent was overly dramatic. I would not recommend this book.

Love the series but...

I've listened to all of the Death series several times and thoroughly enjoyed them each time. This one is a bit over the top when it comes to the first crime & crime scene description. It almost seemed like the brutality was rehashed and rehashed throughout the book to lengthen the story instead of adding to the plot or suspense.

Good book in a great series

Although I'm a real fan of Eve, Roarke and the other characters, this book was more somber than most--a really awful crime, without much of the usual witty repartee that make these books so enjoyable.

Still a worthy entry in the series, and Susan Ericksen did her usual wonderful job as a narrator, really bringing the characters to life. If you haven't gotten into the ID series, this may not be the place to start, but if you're already a fan it's very definitely worth a listen.

J.D.Robb cleverly keeps up the suspense.

After 29 books on the same theme, and roughly following the same format, J. D. Robb still cleverly keeps up the interest and suspense throughout this book. With it's technical banter which she makes either understandable or gives the reader permission to disregard (by being disregarded by the leading character) she gets across the importance of a phenomenally high technology in crime fighting. She uses subtle and tasteful humor, to develop characters and keep up readers interest. The extremely difficult background of the leading character Eve Dallas, deals with the current real life difficulties of many people who go through a negative foster care experience. Exposing the short falls of this very current issue (and several other socially important issues in other books) which need more airing as done in this series, she encourages more societal introspection into this aspects of our culture. She ably deals with the subject of sex both very distasteful,(as done by perpetrators) and tasteful leaving much to the imagination in more acceptable sexual acts, as performed by Eve Dallas and her Hunk, Oh I mean husband. Another theme, that of a very "Tom Boyish" woman working in a traditionally men's world is also well done and will appeal to many women's righters, as does Eve's sidekick Peabody who with her very feminine style also ably gives another face to this subject. With plenty of action, and intricate plot nuances, regular "who done it" fans are kept busy trying to keep up with or guess about the next move. All in all very entertaining and thought provoking.

"Kendrid in Death" great book!

Loved the book and is a great addition to the series. Loved the series! Each book is a great stand alone piece but reading them in order provides more contenuity and a 3D picture of the characters. It felt like I knew these people personally. Since the setting is only 50 years in the future, a lot of the technology is believable. An excellent escape!

Terrific..as usual

I loved it. Listening to Susan Ericksen narrate is almost as good as watching a movie! She has brought Robb's characters to life for me. I always thought that using my imagination when I did my own reading would be much better than having the novel read to me.That has generally been proven to be correct other than when one of Robb's books is released. MacNab didn't have a big part in this one and I sort of missed his character. I've been looking forward to the release date of this latest episode and now I have already been to the Robb website to find out when the next one can be expected. I highly recommend this series written by Robb if you like mystery and adventure. I also can honestly say that Susan Ericksen really does do the characters justice.

Killer Murders Family Members of Law Officials

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

As in all of the In Death books, the action begins in the first pages and continues right through the last. I recommend all of the In Death books. In Kindred, the real tension builds waiting to see how many victims Eve can save. The challenge is too see how long the reader can stretch out the reading so that it will last more than one day.

What did you like best about this story?

That Jaime comes back in this book bringing his wonderful computer skills to help the electronics squad assist Eve and her detectives catch the serial killer as fast as possible.

Which character – as performed by Susan Ericksen – was your favorite?

Susan Ericksen uses distinctive voices for all of her characters. She made me laugh while narrating the Judge's mother's lines. J. D. Robb's narration makes me chuckle, but somehow, Erickson's reading increases the humor, or tension, or sorrow.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, I wanted to figure out who was the killer and why. But, contrarily, I hate to finish a book that I have anticipated for months, in only one day. If I am lucky, I can stretch it out for two days. Any time I listen to a new In Death book, I have to go back and listen to a couple older ones again. Which is why I re-read Kindred. I re-listened to it after listening to Festive In Death.

Any additional comments?

I would be very disappointed if they ever change the Narrator from Susan Ericksen. Her interpretations of the characters' accents and idioms really bring them to life.

Annoying narrator

Let me first say that I had to give this book at least one star so that my review would post. But if not for that software glitch I would give it ZERO stars, or negative stars. Is that possible? Negative stars? Should be.
I have never stopped listening to an audio book before - but I did this time. The so-called Irish accent of the love interest is unbearably grating on the nerves. I doubt very much that I will read anything by this author again, and certainly I am going to avoid this narrator like Swine Flu.
I can't even tell if the story is any good because the narration is so terrible that I found it impossible to connect to the plot.
I wish I had read the other reviewer's words before I hit the purchase button.
Save your 9.95 - there is a reason this book is on sale. Don't waste your money or your valuable listening time. Life is too short for bad books.

Peabody's coming into her own

I have read most of the Eve Dallas books and listened to them all. I think this book shows growth of character in the Peabody character. It seems as though she is coming into her own as a detective and not just Eve's shadow.

The gathering of information seem to take center stage in this book with the hunt and arrest of the criminal taking a back seat. The initial screw up in arresting the criminal was a good twist and infused a bit of realism in the usually smooth apprenhension plans. I say the book is worth a listen!

Another great book

I love the Eve Dallas Series. The person that wrote the other review must not be a fan of the series. I could listen to a book on the Death Series once a week. I couldn't wait for this book to come out. I was upset it took so long. Once I caught up and listened or read them all I was lost waiting for another book. I must admit either you like the Death series or you don't. I think some people think it should be more futuristic or sci-fi; it is very balance and very entertaining. I have thoroughly enjoyed each book. This book did not disappoint me. I enjoyed every minute. I am impatiently waiting for Missing in Death later this month and hope she has two more to come out in December.

All Cop

The daughter of a police captain in killed and he asks for Eve to work the case. This story was all the case we see very little of Eve and Roarks home life which is a nice change. Although we always deal in death the fact that the death was in house so to speak in that it was a cops daughter made it more intense. We saw a little of Roark doing his computer wizardry but not as much as in other books, this book was mostly Eve working and running the case, we also see less of Peabody than in other books as they split up to run different sections of the case at times. A lighter moment was Charles and Lisa's wedding.

Brilliant!

As always a stunningly well crafted story of murder and mayhem which are Eve, Rourke and Peabodys stock in trade!
Riveting storytelling!
Amazing narration!