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.

Police Procedural with a Dash of Romance

Set in a not unrealistic future where violence and murder has been greatly reduced through education, government legislation and social engineering. Eve Dallas is a cop who gets the job done and does so by following the book.

During this case she meets a love interest which J.D. Robb intricately weaves into the plot of murder mystery. Two parts CSI/Law and Order with a dash of the Silk Stockings this is a great book for the beach, park or a long weekend because you will be riveted to it.

The narration by Susan Erikson is nearly flawless with a good range of accents, characterizations and an amazing range of emotional inflections. At one point in the reading she reads a scene where a female character is crying and a male character was consoling her and both were done flawlessly.

If I have one complaint the sex scenes in the book are a bit derivative and somewhat distracting from solving of the case. That being said it was an immensely satisfying listen and highly recommended.

Even blend of romance and detective novel

It's a cross between a romance novel and a detective novel (it involves nearly equal parts detecting and romance). It's set in the future, but there's nothing unfamiliar about it.

It has some graphic language and adult concepts (prostitution, incest). In a couple scenes Eve's very unpleasant childhood is explored and the author attempts to tie it into the story but it feels forced and is overall an uncomfortable topic.

The romance is mostly okay. At least it's mature and not some teenage drool fest - though in real life nobody is as perfect as Roarke.

The narration is very good, nice accents and no over-dramatization. The voicing of the characters is distinct.

Not Bad

This is my first of the JD Robb series with Lt. Eve Dallas. I found the story light and somewhat entertaining. If you can get past a bit foul language and diffidently a leftest wet dream, you'll enjoy it. I may try the next book to see if Robb can win me over as a fan.

Pringles series; book 1 is reverse Basic Instinct

This has aged well for a book at the quarter century mark (1995, I think). This book 1 has the feel of the movie Basic Instinct with the genders reversed: Michael Douglas’ rough cop with a tortured past is played by Lt. Eve Dallas and Sharon Stone’s rich, sexy, maybe killer is played by Roarke. The murder mystery similarly involves kink and the rich and powerful. While this is set in 2058, there’s surprisingly little future-talk, aside from the scarcity of firearms compared to laser weapons.

After book 1, you can skip around the 50+ books for the equivalent of a TV episode… but this is cable TV, with occasional F-bombs and Basic Instinct level violence rather than Murder She Wrote. I enjoy the romance side-action, but wouldn’t call these romance books (in this book, there’s only one full on scene and the rest tends to fade to black). The supporting characters, while tropey, are colorful and fun.
Wait for a sale, but these are great Pringles listens; tasty but not very filling.

A mystery book even non-mystery readers can enjoy

If you could sum up Naked in Death in three words, what would they be?

Emotional, Intriguing, Intelligent

What was one of the most memorable moments of Naked in Death?

There are many memorable moments and turning-point scenes, but I suppose one of the standout ones for me is the scene where Eve tells Roarke about her childhood and you can just feel the raw emotions, and the pain that she's denied and kept buried. But you can also tell that speaking about it finally is rather cathartic for her and has probably been the start of real healing.

What about Susan Ericksen’s performance did you like?

I loved all of the different voices she does for the different characters, the way that she makes each one distinct and the way you can tell a lot about the character's personality based on how she does their voice. I was also impressed with her ability to make you forget that this is a female narrator doing voices for mostly male characters, because none of them sound like a woman doing a man's voice. With Roarke in particular you forget it isn't really a man talking, and the way she handles his accent is nothing short of brilliant, giving him just a hint of an Irish brogue when he's talking normally and calmly, but thicker and rougher when he gets upset or angry just the way a real person would.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I certainly felt the often raw emotions right along with the characters, and the story and the performance became so captivating at times that I didn't want to turn it off.

Any additional comments?

I thought the book moved along at a good pace and maintained a good balance between plot progression of the murder mystery, development of the budding relationship between Eve and Roarke, and the character development of Eve, Roarke, and various of the secondary characters. I never really felt like one aspect was receiving more than its fair share of attention nor like progress in one area was stagnating due to the attention given to others. The main problems I had with this book had to do with the futuristic setting and some of the attitudes that still existed. I feel like some of the things that were apparently still an issue, like birth control, should have/would have been so commonplace and accepted by that point that no one would really think to question the morality of it.

Good Series

At first I hesitated reading this series, because there are so many, but I'm glad I took a chance. I like the strong heroine, Eve Dallas & Roarke. The narrator was good also. I recommend this series.

My Thoughts on Naked in Death

This is the kind of book that you could listen to again and again. The characters are not just well developed, they’re intriguing. They make you want to get to know them better. They make you become more involved with their progression and growth with every word. And it certainly was just a bonus to have those words brought to life by such an amazing narrator. I couldn’t get enough and can’t wait to continue this series and also to come back and relive where it all started again and again.

start of something good

This is probably my 6th read through of the series and I love coming back here to the place that started it all for me.
Reading in order isn't necessary but I do advise it, you get to know the characters as they come in and develope their personalities.

Eve dallas

I loved this story and how it unfolded. Very well written . it wets ones appetite for the rest of the series.

Superior Storytelling

This is really great storytelling. JD Robb set a series of police procedurals in the future. There is a damaged main character who manages to grow and work through her pain while solving crime. Sounds simple, doesn't it? However, she manages to make her characters totally human, intriguing and engaging the listener thoroughly. The narrator is simply superb. I've been unable to listen to some stories because narrators have totally messed up accents, but Susan Ericksen has clearly developed voices for each character in the series. I am within a day or two of my third time through the entire 45 book series and I can heartily recommend it. “AUDIBLE 20 REVIEW SWEEPSTAKES ENTRY”