Holiday in Death: In Death, Book 7

FINAL DECISION: My favorite of the holiday mysteries. This one is a good crime mystery. Creepy and strange and what is better than a murderous Santa?THE STORY: It's almost Christmas time and Eve is struggling with getting gifts for all the people in her life and wonders if it was better when she was alone. At the same time a murderer has decided to make victims of people searching for true love. Taking inspiration from the song the Twelve Days of Christmas, the killer is hunting for a true love, killing them and leaving them decorated for Christmas with tokens of love. Eve has to work fast because this killer is quickly working through twelve loves.OPINION: This is one of my go-to holiday reads. The story is really creepy and sinister in its crimes but it is nicely balanced by the innocence of Eve getting Christmas gifts. Although she has a hard shell, she is quite sweet when trying to do her holiday shopping.I also enjoyed this one because the sexual violence brings more development of Eve's personal story. She is growing and changing and healing from the horror of what happened to her as a child. While violent and horrible as crimes, this is a very intriguing and intense crime. The days are going quickly and the pace of the killers crime is especially draining for Eve who is fighting her personal demons along with trying to solve the crimes and stop anyone else from dying.There is also quite a bit of chemistry between Peabody and McNabb as they are circling one another.For me, I really enjoy the iconic characters involved in this case. The characters and the crimes are one that are memorable and the situations and solutions feel important and high in tension.WORTH MENTIONING: The novella MIDNIGHT IN DEATH is a companion to this because it also occurs during this same holiday season and is closely related to this book as it deals with the aftermath.CONNECTED BOOKS: HOLIDAY IN DEATH is the seventh book in the In Death series. The mystery is entirely separate and can be read as a standalone. Because there are overarching character story lines, I think it is better to read these in order, but this is one in the series that works on its own.STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

“[Peabody:] "Bite me."Though Eve managed to swallow a chuckle at her aide's use of her own standard response to annoyances, she didn't quite make it over McNab's cheerful, "Where?”― J.D. Robb, Holiday in DeathReview..9/19/2020What a read this was! I originally wrote a few short lines about this book but I am adding to it because I did a reread and found it better or as good as the first time.This was the first "in death" book I ever read and it was such a good one. How could any mystery lover resist a book about a killer masquerading as Santa? And targeting people who use a dating service? Around the Holidays? It absolutely caught my eye.So I originally read it many years ago and after I joined GR, I decided to find it only I could not even remember the name of the book! Luckily, GR library pointed me toward it. I have not been all that familiar with the "in death" series and only read one other.So I was thrilled to find it again. And how I adored it! This was a fast and furious read for me. It is still great. And I sort of forgot who the killer was. I did not guess it the first time I read this either.It's a gritty read,a crazy page turner, with the gritty street fell combined with Holiday Festivity that Eve cannot feel due to the tinge of horror at a killer roaming free.You feel right there in the streets, trying to solve the murders with Eve, with the blinking Neon signs all around and the frantic pull of urgency as more bodies pile up caused by a deadly killer playing a deadly game. And the killer is turning Santa into a nightmare for many, back lit against the touching story of Eve and Roark and a quirky cast of characters.So for a mystery fan? Great reading. Very clever writing and a wonderful to read a second time. Highly recommended.

This book, Holiday in Death is about number seven in the series which numbers in the 40s as this review is being written. It is nice if you can read this series in order of publication but honestly, each book can be read as a stand-alone as the author is pretty good about placing tidbits here and there keeping the reader informed as to what is going on...for the most part.The work being reviewed here has Eve, Roarke and the rest of the regular crew going up against a serial killer during the Christmas season. The killer dresses as Santa and strangles women and men in their homes after he brutally rapes them. Ugly premise for a story I grant you and I must warn readers that there are parts in this one that will be just a bit upsetting to most readers.Some of the books in this series are great and others not so great. This one falls sort of in the middle. I suppose that this was not my favorite of the bunch due to the fact that the author seems to have lost her way in this one as to characters; in particular that of Eve and Peabody. Eve, to be quite frank, is not all that likeable in this brutal tale and in fact we see a side of her that is pure bully. Peabody has become sort of a shadow of herself and acts more as a whipping boy – or in this case girl, than anything else and is at times just a bit silly.I had to agree with a couple of other reviewers here that Eve has taken on the characteristics of individual suffering from a bi-polar disorder in that she can switch from an adoring wife madly in love with Roarke and then on a turn of a dime act like Conan the Destroyer when dealing with him both mentally and physically. It is difficult to follow her thinking and thought process.Bottom lime is that I would have not liked being around the Eve in this book and would have sent Peabody back to Jr. High.The story was well developed though and this one kept me reading straight through to the end. Most of the novels written before this one were better and many, many of the novels following this one were also better. That being said I did enjoy this one and found it difficult to put down once I got started.

Two JDRobb books down in as many days, so that tells you just how much I enjoy these books and find myself unable to put them down. I NEED to get to the end and see who did it!!But that’s only part of the attraction of this series, the relationships that we see build and change throughout the series are so well crafted, it feels like you know each of the characters personally. Each story brings new scenarios for the Characters to navigate, both personally and professionally.This one on particular, to be quite honest, had me confused as to whether I was seriously creeped out or wanted to snicker at the storyline. Considering the Month and how close we are to Christmas, this was certainly apt for the season.That being said. Wow. Creepy. Santa Serial Killer 😳I have to say that even READING that in my own review, sounds slightly ridiculous, but the way this has been done is very clever. It’s just the right mix of incredulity and amusement at the choice of scenario, whilst maintain JDRobbs usual flair for creating a believably horrific murderer.True to form, the revelations towards the end of the story are surprising in some ways, but entirely believable. The how and why is cringeworthy for it’s conclusory information, but admirable for the way in which the story is brought to a close.I enjoyed reading this even at the times it made me flinch, and I liked seeing the friendship Peabody and Eve start to flourish a bit more, as well as that of Mira and Eve. I adore the friendships we are gradually seeing come together, and how these each have their own hurdles and imperfections.I can’t wait to read the next book!! No really. I mean that literally.If you enjoy Crime Fiction with a dash of Romance, Dystopia and believable life drama, with kick ass characters that go through terrible ordeals but pull through in believable ways, then you need to read this series.About The Author:Under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts published her first Robb novel in 1995. With the In Death series, Robb has become one of the biggest thriller writers on earth, with each new novel reaching number one on bestseller charts the world over.

Holiday in Death By J.D Robb (book 7 of the In Death series)*potential spoilers ahead*I’m so glad I managed to time my reads so this one fell over the Christmas period! This was the perfect Christmassy read if you enjoy thrillers/crime books. What do you do when Santa is the killer? How do you find him in a sea of Santa’s over the Christmas period?We see a lot more of Roarke’s caring side and we learn more of Eve’s past as she deals with issues that are close to home for her. This book was thrillingly brilliant and another 5 star read for me from a fantastic author!5/5 ⭐️Recommend ✅#jdrobb #holidayindeath #indeath #noraroberts#thereisalwaystimeforbooks #bookworm #booklover #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookdragon #read #bookreview #crime #thriller#booknerd #books #reading #mummyreads #goodreads #detective #ukbookstagram #ukbookstagrammer #evedallas

What can you say about Nora Roberts, the author behind the J.D. Robb 'In Death' series. She is a publishing phenomenon with over 200 books to her name under various aliases. She's racked up around 40 'In Death' novels since the early nineties and Holiday In Death is one of the earlier ones. You can see some of the inevitable production line tricks throughout the series - there will be steamy scenes between troubled cop Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke; all the usual supporting characters will play their familiar roles; the banter between Dallas and her cop partner Peabody etc etc. Always central to the series is the relationship between Dallas and Roarke yet Ms Roberts seamlessly marries that to all-action plots. In some ways it reminds me of the early Anita Blake vampire hunter novels of Laurell K. Hamilton, also started in the early nineties. Both series featured kick-ass heroines at a time when they were few and far between. Both have relationships with powerful male figures but are not dominated by them. Both feature a sci-fi/urban setting - Ms Roberts a New York set 50 years in the future and Ms Hamilton an alternate US where vampires and werewolves are real. The 'In Death' series is even a little subversive as Ms Roberts' future US has gone through a never-explained Urban War and has now banned capital punishment and guns - a brave suggestion considering contemporary America's death cult relationship to firearms. Anyway, while all of that is in the mix Ms Roberts never forgets these books are meant to entertain and that they do. Holiday In Death has all the comfortingly familiar elements attached to a plot that sees Dallas aiming to catch a bad guy who is killing people in the run-up to Christmas. The bad guy dresses as Santa Claus to deliver death door to door. What's the connection between the victims? Can Dallas find out in time to stop the killing? You know how this goes. This might not be my absolute favourite in the series but it's never less than good. Long may the series continue.

This is the 7th book in the series, and there is a particular formula that the author uses, one that I was clearly aware of well before this book, but such an awareness has in no way diminished my enjoyment of the books. It’s the unfolding relationships between the characters, their bonds, that make this series so appealing and so addictive, J.D. Robb has done wonderfully in creating characters you come to care for, and characters you want to know more about.In this book it's Eve and Roarke's first Christmas together, and well the holiday season isn't going to be a quiet one. Again, seeing these two interact was fab, as was the development we see of secondary characters like Peabody.

Only JD ROBB could think of turning Santa into a serial killer. This book sees Eve in one of her most trying cases so far, hindered by her own memories she finds herself out of step unable to focus in on the identity of the killer. Not that he is leaving her much to work with that is, disguised as Santa and cleaning up after himself Eve has nothing to go on in her struggle to find and stop Santa from spoiling Christmas.