Reunion in Death (2002)

In Death 14

After a day at his World of Flowers business, Walter Pettibone arrives home to a “surprise” birthday party. But one sip from a cyanide-laced flute of champagne ends Walter’s life.

NYPSD homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows the woman who killed Walter. She’s Julianna Dunne, a woman Eve helped send to prison a decade earlier. But a reduced sentence for good behavior earned her an early release and now Julianna’s embarked on a killing spree, targeting wealthy older men. Despite her perverse respect for Eve, Julianna’s has her sights set on killing Roarke to punish her. Can Eve put an end to Julianna’s murderous rampage? Can she keep Roarke safe? And can she track down the elusive candy thief?

In this, the fourteenth entry in the “In Death” series, all the expected characters are in place. Peabody’s parents have come to visit and managed to finagle their way into staying with Eve and Roarke. Characters continue to grow, revealing more of themselves, realistic and believable, their relationships intertwining, all of them intriguing and interesting.

Eve’s investigation necessitates quite a bit of travel, including an apprehensive trip to Dallas and a visit to New York City’s seedy underground. The cat-and-mouse game between Eve and Julianna builds the suspense; Eve’s difficult visit to her childhood home town is tense and heartbreaking. As the plot twists and turns, there’s witty repartee, romance, and despair . . . all wrapped up in a layered, nuanced story that reveals its depth as it slowly unfolds.

Readers new to the series will appreciate this narrative as a stand-alone; fans of Eve, Roarke, and the gang will find this to be a perfect addition to the canon.

Highly recommended. ( )

A woman Eve helped put away gets out and wants a rematch with Eve. Eve will find her but the Feds keep getting in her way. Great read, during the investigation Eve ends up facing her past as she has to go back to Dallas.
( )

Holy crap...this book has what has to be the best "Eve takes down the baddie" scene EVER. I literally had to put the book down to punch the air in glee. Then I reread it. It was that good.

There were also some extremely difficult moments as Eve travels back to Dallas and has to face her past. I cried as she relived the horrible abuse and trauma she suffered during her first 8 years of life. My heart broke for the child she was and the incredibly strong woman she is now, and also for Roarke as he watched the woman he loves more than anything go back to the night her--and I hate to call him her father, because he's so utterly vile--father died.

Eve admitting she'd never be able to face her past without Roarke and his steadfast love, and Roarke's helpless fury as he (and we) finally get the full scope of just what Eve suffered had me crying again.

Peabody got some great character development, as she was allowed to work a cold case on her own. We also met her parents.

Above all, my favorite parts of these books remains Eve and Roarke and their ever deepening and ever strengthening relationship. No matter what happens between them or how big their argument is you never once doubt that these two love each other beyond all reason, and they will work things out and be even more united because of it.

(Though, Roarke did irritate me in this one by going over Eve's head to her superior about something, and she ended up getting informed about it in front of her team. Fortunately after Eve--and Peabody in her way--called him out on it, he realized his massive misstep and apologized.) ( )

Reunion in Death
4 Stars

In her latest case, Lieutenant Eve Dallas investigates the poisoning of a wealthy business man. After ruling out the obvious suspects, Eve realizes that the victim was targeted by a newly paroled prisoner - a killer that Eve was responsible for incarcerating. With vengeance in mind, the killer has set her sights on Eve and is determined to fulfill her deadly agenda.

The mystery in this installment is interesting, mainly due to the sociopathic nature of the villain who always seems to be one step ahead of our intrepid heroine. Nevertheless, much of the book actually focuses on the continuing character development and growth as Eve confronts some of her personal demons, Roarke accepts some difficult truths, and Peabody is put to the test when she is given responsibility for investigating a cold case and interrogating a suspect.

The dramatic scenes in which Eve and Roarke travel to Dallas highlight the emotional and psychological depths of Robb's writing as Eve takes the first steps in dealing with the horrific events of her past, and Roarke fully comprehends the enormity of what happened to her.

In addition to this trip down memory lane, the story also includes a visit from Peabody's New-Ager parents. While Sam Peabody is another father figure in the same vein as Feeney, Whitney, Mr. Mira and even Summerset, his wife is another matter. Phoebe Peabody has that protective mother vibe, but she is also somewhat creepy and perhaps even a lot scary. She's not someone you would want to mess with.

All in all, another action packed book in the series, but also one with some intense introspection on the part of the characters. Looking forward to the next one. ( )