Naked in Death

In Death, Book 1

By: J. D. Robb

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

THE FIRST NOVEL IN THE #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING IN DEATH SERIES

It is 2058, New York City. Technology now completely rules the world, but for New York Detective Eve Dallas, one irresistible impulse still rules the heart: passion...

Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she’s seen it all - and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she’s going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire - and a suspect in Eve’s murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it’s up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about - except the addictive hunger of needing his touch.

Crack another case with Eve Dallas.

©1995 by Nora Roberts. (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

JD Robb one of my favorites

always good to revisit a first in a series. Refreshes characters and each book gets better and brings in more characters you grow to love.

Loved it!!

I have not read these in any kind of order. That being said, it is great finding out how Eve met Rourke.

Simply Amazing

I couldn't put it down. Every spare minute, I just had to listen to more of the story. Extremely easy to listen to and excellent narration by Susan Ericksen.

Almost couldn't handle the futuristic setting

I was almost immediately unhappy with this book when I started listening. The description fails to mention or even hint that the story takes place in the future. Approximately 50 years from now was my best guess by the mentions of "past" events in the nation. This is not in my wheelhouse. I'm okay with present-day fiction, I love historical fiction, but never have I liked futuristic fiction. I almost stopped listening when it got into mentioning the technology and all voice activated computers and appliances, a ban on guns and police issued laser stunners. But I have liked the author in the past, liked the narrator, and wanted to give Lt. Dallas a fair chance. So I kept listening and just gritted my teeth through all the futuristic things. Maybe if I wasn't so attuned to it, it would hardly be noticeable, but I was, so it was.

Great mystery and pretty much what I expected character-wise. Love Roarke. Perfect gorgeous 'rogue with a good heart' type. The romance was certainly there, and the relationship played a key role, but when the scenes became steamy I thought they did so tastefully, nothing crude or poorly written. While I did guess the ending a good few hours before resolution, and at least components of it whole chapters before the major break in the case that lead Eve there, I missed the dark component which related to her own past. Probably good that I didn't imagine that on my own. A warning - Not for the faint of heart, there was some pretty grisly crime and revolting sexual misdeeds and abusive goings-on revealed during the investigation.

Good overall, aside from the year. I actually thought it was somewhat like one of my other favorite contemporary mystery series, starring Nikki Heat by Richard Castle, from the tv show -- the difference being just that this one was a little darker/more disturbing at the heart than those plots. Despite my distaste for the picture painted of the future, I may just have to read the next book in the series.

Great Story Line

I really loved the story and the details were exceptional. The only poroblem I had with this story, was it ended too quickly. I would like to have known a little more about the outcome of the two main characters. But, I guess we can always use our imaginations.

Pretty good

Would you listen to Naked in Death again? Why?

I might if i had the time or ran out of other books to listen to.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

just fine the way it was.

My first JD Robb listen

Excellent book, great characters and the narration by Susan Ericksen brought the book all together.

Eve Dallas fan

Awesome story. I have listened to it 3 times and will probably listen again. Eve Dallas fan and love Mavis.

Graphic but couldn't stop listening.

What made the experience of listening to Naked in Death the most enjoyable?

It wasn't so enjoyable as disturbing.

What did you like best about this story?

The author wrote it so well that I couldn't stop listening to it.

A good compelling detective story

So this is one of those books where the main character’s issues annoy the hell outta you but you love them anyway. That is the essence of Eve Dallas. She annoys you but you are also rooting for her the entire time and can’t wait for her to catch the murder.

J.D. Robb does an excellent job of painting an interesting and vivid image of a future New York City from the transportation, technology and changes in laws. The author also makes sure to let you know that humans don’t change at their essence. They are still evil, greedy, heroic, independent and emotional.

The book has the basic setup – detective with a dark past, love interest who accepts them and a killer. I did find the love story a little unrealistic but so are most book romances. The killer is depraved and a great villain for our hero Eve to pursue. My absolute favorite part of the book is that Eve totally kicks the murder’s ass and her reaction afterwards is so perfect to the personality she has exhibited throughout the whole book.

I admit I had to adjust to Susan Ericksen’s narration. Her interpretation of Eve Dallas is spot on but I had some issues with other characters. There wasn’t quite enough uniqueness that I sometimes got confused as to which character was speaking. I also had to adjust to her Irish accent for Roark – I couldn’t quite decide it if I liked it or not.