
Berkley - Berkley
Release date: 2005-09-27
Paperback
Author: J.D. Robb
Crime & mystery, Police, Fiction, Fiction - Mystery/ Detective, Romance: Modern, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, Fiction / Romance / Suspense, Mystery & Detective - Women Sleuths, Romance - General, Christmas, Dallas, Eve (Fictitious character), New York, New York (State), Policewomen, Crime & Thriller




It's the 8th in the In Death series, and Nora compensates for the shorter length by leaving out some of the secondary characters, and by having Eve know from the beginning whodunit.
The killer is a psychopath Eve helped put away some years ago, a spiritual heir of Mengele who tortures his victims to death to study their bodies' pain and fear responses. His mission since his escape from prison is both to further his "research" and to get revenge on those responsible for locking him up.
Despite its short length, Midnight in Death is a complete story, and we get some good character insights into the recurring characters. And the killer is a refreshing change from the serial killers who are killing their mothers over and over again.
If you are new to the series, or are reading the series in order, the best time to read this book is immediately after Holiday in Death. The other reviews under this book complain about the re-issue because the rather short book had been published as part of an anthology. But the book is actually an continuation of Holiday in Death. If you have not read the anthology, pick it up. It continues the development of the relationship between Dallas and Roarke through their first holiday season. If you have read Holiday in Death and are unaware of the anthology, you will find yourself disappointed in how Dallas handled the rest of the holiday season which was started in that book. Midnight in Death picks up that thread very nicely and it finishes it out, including how Dallas finishes giving out her Christmas gifts. In terms of the ongoing character development Robb engages in with Dallas, this is very interesting. Dallas is not as socially inept as she believes herself to be and the reader really gets a glimpse of that in this short read. She may not be comfortable with it, but she can do it. The actual mystery may not be up to Robb's usual intricacies, but it serves as the "gluing agent" to finish up Holiday in Death. It's entertaining and works well.