Thankless in Death (In Death Series #37)

by J. D. Robb Narrated by Susan Ericksen

Overview

The year 2060 is drawing to a close, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. It's a time for loved ones to come together. But sometimes the deepest hatreds seethe within the closest relationships, and blood flows faster than water....

For Lieutenant Eve Dallas of the NYPSD, the job is a useful reminder of what she has to be grateful for this season. Hosting Roarke's big Irish family for the holiday may be challenging, but it's a joyful improvement on her own dark childhood.

Other couples aren't as lucky as Eve and Roarke. The Reinholds, for example, are lying on the floor of their Downing Street apartment, stabbed and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. Those who knew them are stunned-and even more heartbroken by the overwhelming evidence that they were murdered by their own son. Twenty-six-year-old Jerry hadn't exactly made a good impression on all the bosses who fired him or the girlfriend who dumped him-but they didn't think he was capable of this.

Turns out Jerry is not only capable of brutality but taking a liking to it. With the money he's stolen from his parents, and a long list of grievances, he intends to finally make his mark on the world. Eve and her team already know the who, how, and why of this murder. What they need to pinpoint is where Jerry's going to strike next.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Apart from references to such things as advanced robots and “vids” (the new name for theatrical movies), 2060 New York City is indistinguishable from present-day Gotham in bestseller Robb’s 38th full-length Eve Dallas thriller (after 2013’s Calculated in Death). In addition, nothing in the cookie-cutter plot couldn’t have happened in the present or near past. On impulse, 26-year-old Jerald Reinhold, an unemployed loser, stabs his mother, Barbara, to death in his parents’ Manhattan apartment, where he waits until his father, Carl, comes home so he can bludgeon Carl with a baseball bat. Lt. Eve Dallas, of the New York Police and Security Department, gets on Reinhold’s trail, but the savvy veteran makes a rookie mistake by not warning a clear target of Reinhold’s rage that she could be the next victim. Eve also has trouble assessing her quarry. At one point she calls Reinhold “a fucking moron,” then adds “he’s cannier than I gave him credit for initially.” Readers will have to judge for themselves. Agent: Amy Berkower, Writers House. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

While Lt. Eve Dallas will never be a big people person, her slow evolution to allowing friends and loved ones into her heart and life has been an important subplot of this outstanding series. An interesting twist in this book is that there is no mystery about the murderer’s identity; this story is a race against time to find and stop this vindictive killer before he strikes again.”—RT Book Reviews

More Praise for the In Death series

“Robb is a virtuoso.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“It’s Law & Order: SVU—in the future.”—Entertainment Weekly

“J. D. Robb’s In Death novels are can’t-miss pleasures.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Harlan Coben 

“Anchored by terrific characters, sudden twists that spin the whole narrative on a dime, and a thrills-to-chills ration that will raise the neck hairs of even the most jaded reader, the J. D. Robb books are the epitome of great popular fiction.”—New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane

OCTOBER 2013 - AudioFile

Susan Ericksen, the voice of Eve Dallas, delivers yet another outstanding performance of the futuristic detective. Eve is on the hunt for Jerry Reinhold, a rookie serial killer who rampages through New York on a killing and robbing spree that begins with his parents. Eve is also struggling with her in-laws’ upcoming visit from the Emerald Isle for the Thanksgiving holiday. Ericksen deftly reveals Eve’s mixed feelings about this event: excitement at feeling part of the family and panic at the possibility of feeling gobbled up by the big, happy clan. Ericksen continues to win kudos for her creative characterization of this feisty heroine. E.E.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

2013-09-01
Lt. Eve Dallas goes up against a spoiled kid who's suddenly developed a taste for killing. Lots of families get a little edgy as Thanksgiving approaches. But that's no excuse for Jerald Reinhold to stab his mother 54 times when she nags him once too often, then to lie in wait so that he can take a baseball bat to his father. Some sons would feel pangs of remorse after murdering their parents, but Jerry just feels powerful and liberated--finally he's become a man, the way his whiny mother always wanted him to be--and, financed by the money he's stolen from his parents' accounts, he considers whom to kill next. Since Jerry's nursed a grudge against the whole world since childhood, there are many candidates, but he settles on Lori Nuccio, the girlfriend who got him two jobs he couldn't keep but threw him out when he hit her. Killing's too good for Lori, Jerry decides, and he devotes several hours to torturing her first. Although the kid thinks he's invulnerable, Eve, who's been offered a Medal of Honor and a captain's bars for her tireless work (Delusion in Death, 2012, etc.), is close behind him. The surveillance cameras outside his parents' house instantly make him the leading suspect, and the trace evidence he cavalierly leaves at Lori's apartment confirms his guilt. But his skill is growing with every murder, along with his bankroll. Which of the dozens of people who've crossed him over the years will become his next target, and how can Eve and her squad head him off? Considering how few complications the chase offers, Robb does a fine job of keeping up the tension. Both the cops and the killer make use of more futuristic gadgets than usual.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169875362
Publisher:	Brilliance Audio
Publication date:	09/17/2013
Series:	In Death (Eve Dallas) Series
Edition description:	Unabridged
Sales rank:	756,800

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