Name: Julia Aker
Job title: Director of the Jackson County Public Library
What’s the name of the book and author you are recommending?
The In Death series by J.D. Robb (a pseudonym of Nora Roberts); #52 “Faithless in Death” came out Feb. 9.
What made you want to pick up these books in the first place?
I have read Nora Roberts’ books since the 1980s. I like how she writes a series of books with the same characters featuring a different one in each book. When I saw she had published a series of books under a different name starting in 1995, I picked one up partway through the series. I don’t think I have read all 51 titles in the series, but I have read most of them. Since I had some time off in December and January, I decided to get caught up on my list of “books to be read” that dates back to January 2017. It was interesting binge-reading the last eight books to find that they happen within days or weeks of one another. Cases from the books that I recently read that all result “in death” range from serial killers, blackmailers, stabbings, suicide bombers and vigilante castrations.
Once you got into the series, what made you want to keep reading it?
I usually read romances or general fiction novels, sometimes read thrillers and never read science fiction. The In Death series is set in 2061 in New York City. Eve Dallas is a homicide detective for the NYPSD (NYC Police and Security Department). While there are some science fiction elements to each story, i.e. her mag car, tubes of Pepsi and magic coat, the characters are why I keep reading them.
Once you finished the series, what did you like about it?
Having lived in Seymour all of my life, it’s nice to read about what happens in an urban setting. Finding out what latest thing Eve, her “Dreamcake” husband Roarke, cat Galahad, partner Detective Delia Peabody and other co-workers and professional friends have been up to is like a family reunion each book. She, Peabody, her butler Summerset or rockstar friend Mavis always do something to make me laugh in the midst of the seriousness of the story.
What is the series about?
The futuristic series set in New York City and sometimes “off-Earth” after the fictional Urban Wars is a police procedural with a focus on the romantic relationship between Dallas and Roarke.
Why would you recommend this series to others?
No book is ever the same, but most of the characters are. Once you start the series, you can’t quit because you need to see what’s going to happen to them next.