Book review: Creation in Death by J.D. Robb

J. D. Robb is the pen name of Nora Roberts, author of a series of books including the protagonist Eve Dallas and her husband, Roarke. Eve is a Lieutenant in the NYPSD (New York Police and Security Department) in 22nd century New York City. Creation in Death is the 24th "in Death" novel.

This episode has Eve and her ever-widening team of friends and colleagues hunting a serial killer who has resurfaced after nine years of dormancy. The killer has the same calling card as the one Dallas and her mentor Feeney had been chasing nine years earlier and never caught.

"The Groom," as he's called because he places plain silver bands on his victims' ring fingers after he kills them, considers himself a student of pain tolerance. What he is, is a torturer. Bodies pile up quickly, since he chooses his next victim while still "working" on his current one.

The entire department is invested in capturing this "one who got away," and it's particularly personal for Eve and Feeney.

Roberts does some of her best work in the "in Death" series, and this is one of her better efforts. The protagonist, Eve, has always been a complicated character, who has grown and developed over time. Here she makes significant, if subtle strides. We learn more about her early career, her relationship with her mentor, Feeney, and see more of her soft side. Her partner, Peabody, who had gotten some major development in recent episodes, stays in the background this time out. The last victim of the crime shows admirable grit, and the killer is a little less one-note than some in the past. This is easily one of the strongest episodes in the series.