Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb Series: In Death #38
Published by Penguin on February 18th 2014
Genres: Mystery
Format: Hardcover
Source: Library
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In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.
The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for abetter life.
Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart.
Liezel’s Thoughts:
One of the things that I enjoyed about it was the fact that there were personal aspects involved. One of which delved deep into Mavis’ life. While we did know a little of her past this story gave more details about life on the street and the people that she met along the way.
I thought it was ever surprising that even all those years and all the success she has obtained that she still remains in contact with this one unfavorable person that made the biggest difference. It was certainly something that I didn’t expect which added a different dimension to Mavis’ character.
Another personal aspect that I thought was great was Roarke’s involvement. You know discovering remains on one of his properties is bound to happen again (he practically owns ALL the real estate in NYC!) It felt like he had a personal claim on the situation as if he needed to find the perpetrator and finally give these lost children their peace.
He took it upon himself to again put his business on hold to assist Eve in any means necessary and while he does this with every single one of Eve’s cases in this book it felt like he was giving more of himself and that Eve was requiring, expecting and delegating more to him as well.
The synergy and their partnership as always were phenomenal. They continue to thrive on each other mentally, physically and emotionally. As I was reading Concealed I was thinking back when they weren’t quite together … how did they even survive without each other?
I loved witnessing Eve progressing in that aspect and you can tell that she has come a very long way in letting people in which becomes more evident with her interactions with Dennis Mira.
About the mystery itself – it had a certain feel of lackluster in my opinion. It just wasn’t as high profile and intense as the previous cases. There was this huge surprise factor since it compromised of a dozen remains that were all children but from the very beginning I already had my suspicions and who might have been the involved. Basically, it wasn’t as suspenseful as the previous books which leads me to rate it as fair.
As always, though, I am still looking forward to reading one of my all time fav couples next book which will take place around Christmas time. As massive as Roarke’s family is, you know something colossal is bound to happen.
The Verdict:
About J.D. Robb
With a phenomenal career full of bestsellers, Nora Roberts was ready for a new writing challenge. As her agent put it, like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and caffeine-free Pepsi, a pseudonym offered her the opportunity to reach a new and different group of readers. The first futuristic suspense J. D. Robb book, Naked in Death, was published in paperback in 1995, and readers were immediately drawn to Eve Dallas, a tough cop with a dark past, and her even more mysterious love interest, Roarke.
The series quickly gained attention, great reviews, and devoted readers. Since the debut of Loyalty in Death (the ninth In Death book) on Halloween 1999 on the New York Times bestseller list, every J. D. Robb title has been a New York Times bestseller. While fans had their suspicions, it wasn’t until the twelfth book in the series, Betrayal in Death (2001), that the publisher fully revealed that J. D. Robb was a pseudonym for bestselling powerhouse Nora Roberts. Unmasked, Nora Roberts fans who hadn’t yet picked up one of the Robb books were quickly playing catch-up.
Robb’s peers in the mystery world are fans as well, with accolades for the In Death series from such blockbuster authors as Stephen King, Jonathan Kellerman, Dennis Lehane, Kathy Reichs, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich, David Baldacci, Harlan Coben, Robert B. Parker, Ridley Pearson, Linda Fairstein, and Andrew Gross.
The In Death books are perpetual bestsellers, and frequently share the bestseller list with other Nora Roberts novels. J. D. Robb publishes two hardcover In Death books per year, with the occasional stand-alone original In Death story featured in an anthology.
