Ceremony in Death - J.D. Robb [August/06]

I found this Robb novel harder to get into than the previous ones we have read. It is the fifth book in the series, and the beginning didn't draw me in as others had. Once again, Marg and me are doing a joint review.

Conducting a top secret investigation into the death of a fellow police officer has Lieutenant Eve Dallas treading on dangerous ground. She must put professional ethics before personal loyalties. But when a dead body is placed outside her home, Eve takes the warning personally. With her husband, Roarke, watching her every move, Eve is drawn into the most dangerous case of her career. Every step she takes makes her question her own sense of right and wrong - and brings her closer to a confrontation with humanity's most seductive form of evil...

Marg is in black, I am in my trademark blue.

Anyway, this book opens at the funeral of a fellow police office...a man who has seemingly died of natural causes in the prime of his life. When his granddaughter passes Eve a note to arrange a meeting, Eve starts to get suspicious about why. When the granddaughter ends up dead shortly after she talks to Eve and then another person is killed not long after talking to her as well, Eve is gradually drawn into a world where there are good and evil, witches and wiccans, power and sex, and ultimately danger and death for many people. It sounds like a good beginning, huh? A lot seems to happen in the opening pages, but I started this book, read the beginning and then put it aside for a while. I think Eve annoyed me in this book more than any other. I understand she is supposed to be tough and independent, but she does not back down at all in this book. Sometimes you just want to tell her it okay to believe in something. Her need to fight every thing gets a bit tiring from time to time. It hasn't been bad in others that I have read, but for some reason, she annoyed me in this book. Maybe because she breaks writing conventions and is not open-minded about what happens in this book at all.

It was obvious that there had been a lot of research done into the various practices and rituals of both the Wiccan's and the witches and I guess there were times during this novel when there was a hint of info dump, but for the most part it was well paced and interesting enough. In other words, zoning out periods.

There were a couple of stand out scenes in this book - I nearly cried my eyes out when Eve and Feeney had a falling out. I loved the fact that Eve is gradually realising that despite her terrible beginnings, it is possible for someone to build a family around them. I am not a "cry my eyes out" sort of person (no offense), but I agree that this was an interesting scene. By this point in the book I am getting over being annoyed with Eve's character and have started to once again enjoy the story. I think this is actually touching, with the argument, Eve's reaction to it, Roarke's reaction to it, and then the making up part.

The other interesting development for me in this story was the inclusion of Jamie, the younger brother of the young lady who is killed. He is an interesting character, with his ability with electronics, even being able to short circuit Roarke's security system. I wonder if he will continue to make appearance throughout the series, as there definitely would seem to be some scope for him to be included. He was an interesting character. You were never really sure what to make of him, but the kid has brains. If it wasn't for him, some very bad stuff might have not been prevented. He was determined to get the people that hurt his sister, which made for some interesting scenes. My favourite was when he broke into Roarke's yard, my there were some scenes as a result of that where you got to see other sides of Roarke.

Overall, I would say that whilst this wasn't the best of the series, it was still remarkably consistent in terms of it's quality. Not my favourite by her either, but enough that I will read more of the series. Every series has their slight faults, Robb is no exception. I must say though, was it just me, or does there seem to be even more sex scenes in this book than normal? I hope that doesn't become the norm...

Rating 4/5
Rating 3.5/5