Favorite Authors: JD Robb

More moons than I want to admit to, I picked up my first JD Robb book Naked in Death. I inhaled it. Then I read it again. Thankfully JD Robb writes fast as a gazelle outrunning a lion. Book two Glory in Death was fantastic.

I don’t remember how I found out that JD Robb was Nora Roberts. It certainly didn’t stop me from reading them. Murder mysteries are my favorite books. Thrillers. Fast-paced and hard-hitting. Give me a decent body count.

Funny story. During a car trip to Niagara Falls, I turned on the audible book for Naked in Death. My husband loved the book. I told him Nora Roberts wrote it. He didn’t care one wit. He has now listened to every one of the novels.

In fact, he liked them so much that when the Golden in Death came out, we drove up into Maryland to get it autographed. They took a picture, and he looks happy as a cat with cream. He was the only male. Nora asked why he loved them. I don’t remember what he said, but he made an impression.

There are so many books. Fifty-one now with another due out this month. I’ve read them again and again. I don’t know how many copies of I’ve bought of the books over the years. For the 50th book, Golden in Death, we bought a hardback copy to be signed, the audible copy, and I bought the kindle version.

There are books in the series that I like better than others. Naked in Death and Glory in death are a couple of my favorites. Golden in Death had a great mystery. The cast of characters she’s put together show up in book after book. Roarke, Eve and Summerset make every book. Others are sprinkled in as the mystery plays out.

The writing is excellent. Good mysteries. She hits the occasional spice of current events and takes on a position. She has no trouble letting you know how she feels about something. Nora Roberts is not preaching, but you know where she stands.

The books are set in a futuristic world in mid twenty-first century. New York is the backdrop. When I started reading the books, no one worked from home or carried a computer in their hand. Today in 2021 we’ve adjusted to an unprecedented global pandemic. Anyone who can is working from home, we have phones in our hands, and we shop online to stay safe. Now we need flying and self-driving cars.

“Friendships were so damn complicated, so bound by sharp edges that could jab a hole through you are any given point.”

— JD Robb

COVID-19 has shown us we can work from home and get things done. We can order food and have it delivered. Socially, I’m not sure our continued isolation isn’t causing more crime. Maybe that’s why Eve Dallas has so many murders to solve. People go crazy.

There have been books that made me cry. Portrait in Death still makes me sad. The novella Portrait in Death makes my stomach drop. Born in Death makes me giggle. Origin in Death surprised me on the first read through. Totally twisted.

Even if you aren’t a fan, read the first book Naked in Death to see how a writer sets up a long series. Her craft makes me weep and hope for my future. Something to strive for.

Are there any books you buy more than once?

P.S. I was thumbing through Naked in Death for a great quote. instead I sat down and read the book again!