Review: “Apprentice in Death,” J.D. Robb, Nora Roberts

Pros: Enjoyable story and characters; thank heavens that Eve and Roarke are not mixed up in this one.
Cons: Nothing terribly new
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

In J.D. Robb’s Apprentice in Death, New York is in a panic. There’s at least one sniper taking out targets, and that sniper seems to realize that if he takes out extra targets, it’ll be a lot harder for the police to figure out who the real target is. In most “in death” books, Roarke, Eve, or one of their close friends is wrapped up in the plot. There’s some reason for that–Eve and Roarke are high-profile people so they catch attention. On the other hand, it’s nice to have a volume in which they are not the main targets.

I enjoyed this volume quite a bit–once the killer gets unmasked, the police still have to catch that killer. The cops also have to figure out whether their killer is just after a few specific people, or is essentially a serial killer. The pacing is great, and the characters are fun. It’s everything fans of the series have come to expect, even though it isn’t at the top of the series. Eve and Roarke’s relationship is at their supercharged best, with delightful semi-abstracted sex. The killer(s) are interesting too, especially as the good guys try to figure out the motive. This obviously seems based (generally) on the DC sniper tale, but the characters and motives keep the story from being a knock-off.

I’m not entirely sure what more to add to that. It’s what the series fans want (although the snarky dialogue still isn’t as reliable as it used to be). There’s plenty of danger, lots of bright personalities when it comes to Eve’s friends, and so on. I think it’s a great buy for fans, but definitely not a book for new folks who want to find out what the series is like.

NOTE: Book provided free for review
Expected publication date: September 6, 2016