"New York to Dallas" is the 33rd (I believe) book in J.D. Robb's In Death mystery series. I will stop what ever I'm reading as soon as I have a new In Death book in my hands. I recommend this series whole heartedly, but just start at the beginning. The author takes all my genres and mixes them up into a fantastic combination. Nominally a mystery series, it is set about 40-50 years in the future, where the main character Eve Dallas is a New York police officer. Roarke is the gorgeous, rich, reformed bad boy who Eve marries by the 3rd book. Here comes my romance genre sneaking in. One of the things I love is the married relationship between Eve and Roarke. Neither had a happy childhood and watching the author have these two characters develop and build a life together is a testament to the series. I also love a good mystery and while it's hard to not have themes get repetitive with 33 books, I never feel like she is recycling stories. There are stories that stay with me from all points in the series. The futuristic element plays out in easy, but not too unrealistic ways. Like Eve being able to hit the vertical lift in her car to take her up and over traffic while in pursuit. They have stunners and blasters instead of gun. She also uses a specific slang that helps set the dialog apart. It takes some getting used to, but it's not too bad. Over the course of the series, there have been great supporting characters introduced and I love seeing who's going to show up in a book. Another thing I love is that Robb always makes room for character beats and development. Time passes, life goes on, and people mature. With too many other mystery series that doesn't happen.
"New York to Dallas" is like the season finale of season four of your favorite tv show. You been with the series awhile. You know who the players are. You watched them work through the beginnings and build some history. You've been through a few twists and turns and you have a solid sense how they might behave given a particular situation. The story starts with a particularly nasty abuser and murderer of young girls, Isaac McQueen, escaping from prison. He escapes with the thought of revenge on the rookie cop who put him there, Eve Dallas. This brings Eve back full circle to her beginnings as a cop and when McQueen sets up shop in Dallas, it brings her back to her past. Eve was found as an abused child alone in the streets of Dallas. It's interesting to see Eve and Roarke basically on their own again working in an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar people. I really liked it. It reminded me how much I like them. It was also interesting to watch Eve's struggle to cope with her past while pursuing this killer in the present. There is one scene with her cat that nearly made me cry. Of course, my cats have done that for me in the past so I can relate. This book does deal with some strong subject matter, murder, rape, and pedophilia, but it fits within the context of the story and I never feel it's used gratuitously. Did I feel there were a few "take this with a grain of salt" situations, yes. Did I care, nope. There is some unexpected resolution for Eve that took me by surprise, but left my satisfied. All in all, I liked the book and thought it was an excellent addition to the series. For those who don't know, J.D. Robb is Nora Roberts.
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