5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 21/09/2006

J.D. Robb’s books are all “keepers” for me, and loaned only to very special friends after I receive either their guarantee (written in blood) to return the book or the pledge of their firstborn. So I’m thrilled to bits to be able to introduce you to Naked in Death, the first book in the In Death series.
Twenty years prior to the beginning of this book the police discover a young girl wandering the streets in Dallas, Texas, bloodied and abused. She does not know who she is or anything about her past. They can find out nothing about her so they give her the name Eve Dallas and place her into the Child Protection system.
Eve grows up hating that system and determined to make it better. She decides the best way to accomplish this is to join the police force. When she does so, the Police Force becomes her home, her surrogate family. Her identity.
At the time Naked In Death begins - in the middle of the 21st century - daily life has evolved from what we know currently. There are no guns (they were outlawed sometime after the Urban Wars). Lasers are used instead, but rarely to kill. Droids (human looking robots) are everywhere. Cars have the facility for vertical takeoff and flight. Food is synthesised and produced ready-made out of something called an AutoChef.
Eve Dallas is now a Homicide Lieutenant in the New York Security and Police Department. She is brusque, cold, calculating … and utterly brilliant when it comes to street work. Her “bedside manner” sucks. But she has an affinity for the dead; nothing gets in the way of her finding and pursuing the murderer until she catches him or her – and she can get extremely creative!
The morning after Eve has had to kill in the line of duty she is called to the homicide of Sharon DeBlass, the granddaughter of Senator Gerald DeBlass. Sharon’s body has three gunshot wounds and is arranged carefully on her bed. Underneath the body is a note saying “one of six.”
Sharon has the bad taste to be a licensed companion – a prostitute in other words – which drives her straight-laced grandfather crazy because he is trying to put a Morals Bill through Congress.
There are a lot of suspects - every person in Sharon’s appointment book, Charles Monroe (another licensed companion who lives in the apartment complex), family, friends. And Roarke.
Roarke is Irish-American, as handsome as the devil, and a man with more money than God. He owns the apartment building Sharon lived in. He dated Sharon just prior to her death. He has no alibi for the time of the murder. When Eve learns he also owns a huge gun collection she decides to pay him a visit.
Roarke enjoys his money and the power it gives him. He also enjoys beautiful women. He finds himself fascinated by Eve, by her fashion sense (she has none), her social graces (she has none of those either) and her total focus on the crime (she has plenty of that!) He is determined to get to know her better and begins to pursue her.
In spite of herself Eve is drawn to Roarke. She fights it, hating the attraction. When another licensed companion is killed Roarke’s name gets closer to the top of the list of suspects. But Eve cannot reconcile the man she is getting to know with the style of murder. She has no doubt he is capable of killing. Her gut feeling is that he would not use that particular method.
In police work, however, gut feelings are not enough, and when a third woman is murdered Eve has to place everything she has lived and worked for on the line.
If you like romance this book is for you. If you enjoy strong female heroines you’ll love Eve. If you’re partial to the alpha male hero with a tender heart and a wounded past you’ll find Roarke unbeatable. Even if you dislike sci-fi don’t let the futuristic aspect of the story put you off finding a potential favourite author. J.D. Robb truly is a master storyteller.
J.D. Robb is the pseudonym of New York Times best-selling author Nora Roberts. She says her writing career began during a blizzard in February 1979 when, snowed in with a three-year-old, a six-year-old, no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate, she was forced to find another creative outlet.
The In Death series has been optioned by Fox 2000 for Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey's Icon Productions as a full-length feature film.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 17/11/2008

Awesome book! Started reading some of her later novels from the series but really happy to have finally got my hands on the first few through Fishpond. If your into crime stories of all kinds with a little bit of romance thrown in I highly recommend the 'In Death' series of novels by Nora Roberts under the pen name J.D. Robb.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 24/05/2007

This book is the startpoint of my addiction to 'in death' series. I have collected all of her books so far. I consider this one is the best among all the stories. I've fallen in love with Eve instantly. If you like romance, detective stories, hard-ass female character and rich and hot male character, you will get the whole package in this series.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 24/04/2007

I love J.D. Robb's "in death" series, especially this first book. I think it's one of the best stories in the series.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 10/01/2007

JD Robb's "In Death" series is absolutely amazing. A must read for everyone who loves a good murder and fabulous characters. Eve Dallas is a futuristic murder cop and Roarke is a billionaire suspect. The first in this series, Naked in Death will have you rushing out to find the rest of the stories. Any Nora Roberts fan will have to agree that her best work is done in this series. Brilliant!

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 15/10/2006

This is the first book in what has got to be THE best series I've ever read. Nora Roberts, under the pen name J D Robb, does a brilliant job with each individual book in the series, and keeps the characters realistic and developing through time. In this book, Eve Dallas - a tough-as-nails homicide detective - finds herself in the uncomfortable position of falling for Roarke, a suspect in her latest murder investigation. She's sure he isn't guilty - but not so sure that she can trust her own instincts...I'd heartily recommend this for anyone who enjoys romance and/or mystery novels.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 13/10/2006

a Fantastic book and series to sink you teeth into.. Well done for Nora to write and create more magic for all to read. A definite set of books for Keeps but then all her books are.

5.0 out of 5 based on 8 reviews. – Customer review on 28/09/2006

A recent fan of Nora Roberts, I'm just devouring her books at the speed of light. So I am so wrapped at discovering her In Death series under her pseudonym JD Robb. Yes I've started my collection. As someone wrote before definite keepers. I just love romantic suspense and this is so well done with the In Death Series. The future is such a great setting for this series and we are given a strong-no-nonsense female lead and definitely an alpha male lead who just happens to be a billionaire. Naked in Death full of suspense, twists and turns and some good sexual tension to complete the package. Naked in Death is a great introduction for this series.