Jilly's Reviews > Golden In Death

oh yeah, ARC baby!
Okay, so I guess it's back-to-life time, huh? I spent December vacationing and partying like World War 3 was coming or something. Good thing nothing crazy like that is gonna happen, huh?


Dammit, 'Murica! This is why we can't have nice things!

So, assuming you are all still alive by the time this book is released, you should read it. Of course, it's a book 50 in a series, so if you haven't read the first 49, you won't have a clue so you need to read those 49 books first. We'll wait.


I don't know. He's just been sitting like this all day. I think we broke him.

The deal with this series is that it has mysteries set in the future that are written like police procedurals. There is usually a first death, followed by the investigation during which there is another one or two, then the solve. The solves aren't usually some big reveal or twist - at least not in the later books, but we just walk through it with our heroine and it's entertaining. This mystery had a poisoner as the villain. It was decent enough, but not going to blow your mind. I think by book 50 you are reading because you know and love the characters. That's what keeps me around. Because I love the series, I will always read it and enjoy it, even though I can see a few minor problems at this point in the game. What problems, you didn't ask?

Problem #1:
The biggest hook and fun in the beginning of the series was the fact that it is set in the future. The first books included some really fun ideas for future-world. Even some Jetson's level things. You all know you want an Auto Chef that makes your food at the press of a button. Plus, flying cars, off-planet stuff, virtual reality, holograms, floating beds, robot butlers, etc... That kind of stuff was the big selling point for me.


Why don't we have this yet? We have the technology. I've seen those pitching machines at batting cages. Just do that. With sandwiches.

The problem is that the cool future-stuff died out long ago. There have been no new things mentioned for many books now, and even the things that were there earlier are rarely mentioned. It is like the future-world just morphed into boring now-world and we are simply following along with a murder mystery. In todayland! I feel a little cheated here. If I wanted to just read a cop book, I would read a cop book. But, you might notice I don't read many of those. Why? They are boring. If I want cop-stuff, I get it in the only place that makes sense: Brooklyn.


That's right. I said it. Suck it, CSI's!

Problem #2:
Our billionaire book boyfriend, Roarke, has been neutered. Like, at this point, he is just Eve's lap dog who jumps at every opportunity to help her and cater to her every need while she can't even be bothered to ask him what he does for a living. She orders him around like a lackey and he's happy to be her personal assistant. It's like, what the hell happened, man? Why?


We can hope. There's always hope.
*sigh*

In the early books, Roarke was a little bit dangerous. He was cutthroat in business and in his personal life. When someone (view spoiler)[ Eve's mother (hide spoiler)] tried to blackmail him he basically threatened murder - and he meant it. He was forceful in a good way when it came to Eve's crap because he wouldn't let her steamroll him. We even got his point-of-view occasionally. But, somewhere along the line he just laid down and got squished. I don't know why the author decided to do this, or if she just got lazy and decided she was done writing him.


Come on, Roarke. You can walk that off. It's barely a flesh wound.

So, why do I still love the series when it's obvious that it has lost a bit of its magic? Because it had enough magic at the start to carry over for a long time. And, I keep my fingers crossed that some of that magic will come back one day. Plus, I still enjoy the books. Every single time.

Okay, I have to do my arc disclaimer now:

I have received a free copy of Golden in Death, by J.D. Robb from Macmillan in an exchange for an honest review.