Review: Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb

Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb


My rating: 8.75/10.0

Publisher: Berkley
Publish Date: March 1, 2003



My Review:

Another enjoyable foray into the world of the future with Eve, Roarke and their friends.

I listened to this on audio and have to say I love the reader. She does magnificent Irish accents - it's like music to listen to her. She also does a great job with the differing voices - I know from the voice pretty much who is speaking.

Now on to the actual book. I think this one concentrates more on the characters and personal goings-on than on the crime and solving it. The usual mystery is there, but it really takes a back burner to relationships and things happening in Roarke and Eve's life. I enjoyed every minute. I think I really like these books because they focus on a married couple, and one that no matter what their problems, they try to work them out in their own way. Their love is great to watch.  The secondary characters play their role in this one as well, but Eve and Roarke are definitely the focus.

Quick moving plot, great growth in the characters and an interesting crime all make this 16th installment in the series well worth reading.

Rating Breakdown:

Characterization:    2.0/2.0
Plot:                      1.5/2.0
Writing:                 1.75/2.0
Attention-holding:   0.75/1.0
Ending:                  0.75/1.0
Believable:             1.0/1.0
Genre:                   1.0/1.0    
Rating:                 8.75/10.0


About the Book:

After a tip from a reporter, Eve Dallas finds the body of a young woman in a Delancey Street dumpster. Just hours before, the news station had mysteriously received a portfolio of professional portraits of the woman. The photos seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary for any pretty young woman starting a modeling career. Except that she wasn't a model. And that these photos were taken after she had been murdered.

Now Dallas is on the trail of a killer who's a perfectionist and an artist. He carefully observes and records his victim's every move. And he has a mission: to own every beautiful young woman's innocence, to capture her youth and vitality - in one fateful shot...