I may be hanging myself with a short rope (yes the death pun is intentional) by using the almighty Ms. Robb (AKA Nora Roberts) as my first review. Then again taking on a series of books that number 30+ in novels and short stories is a tall order no matted how you look at it. I orginially started these books a number of years ago then wandered away around tale #20. About a month and a half ago I decided, with the help of the friend who first got me into the series, to attempt to forge my way through the entire series. And I have. And boy did we have our ups and downs.
I'm not going to go through book by book and give you the low down. Instead I'll give you what drew me into the series as a whole. What we have is a series about a NY police Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her devoted significant other Roarke in the relatively near future (wikipedia lists it circa 2058). Both of these characters have traumatic backgrounds that lay the foundation for the wonderfully witty, devoted, and determined people we meet in the books. Eve with the help of Roarke and her trusty sidekick Officer Delia Peabody work in Homicide to solve whatever murders fall in their keeping.
I'm sure thats information you can get anywhere...including wikipedia. But here is my take. While I love Eve and Roarke and their dynamic it is the secondary characters, their evolutions, and their interactions with Eve that pulled me through these books. I wanted to see Peabody as she grew under Eve's guidence (not gentle by any means...more snarky and saracstic). In the same vein I wanted to see Eve grown as a person because of her relationship with Peabody. There is a number of other supporting players, Detective Ian McNab with his bright flamboyant style but true (slighty perverted) heart, Captain Ryan Feeney who is Eve's trainer and the father of her heart, Dr. Charolette Mira who knows Eve better than Eve does, and lastly but certainly not leastly Mavis. Ahh Mavis. I can't even go there. Read for yourself.
If you haven't guessed by now I adore these books. Its true like any series some books are better than others but as a whole it is all engrossing. My only issue is the fact that so many of these high porfile murders happen on Eve's watch and there is always a swift (literally almost always within a few days) wrap up of the case. There isn't much to show the reality of juggling cases and the reality of cases going cold. But even with this one bit of slight dissatisfaction I can't help but feel sad that I am nearing the end of the most current book. I will have to wait till fall for any new Eve adventures, but you can start from the beginning now and truly enjoy!
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