Book Review: Creation In Death by J.D. Robb

Creation in Death by J.D. Robb
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Eve has seen this crime scene before: the artfully arranged body of a young brunette, arms spread, palms up, body marked by the signs of prolonged and painful torture. Carved into her torso is the time it took her to die - in hours, minutes, and seconds. And on the third finger of her left hand has been placed a silver ring. Eve is catapulted back to a case nine years earlier, when a man whom the media tagged 'The Groom' put the city on edge with a killing spree that took the lives of four women in fifteen days.

Eve and her partner Feeney, her friend and mentor, couldn't stop him before he disappeared, only to resurface in other parts of the world to kill and kill again. But now The Groom seems to have come back to where he started. When it turns out that The Groom's most recent victim was employed by Eve's billionaire husband, Roarke, she brings him onto the case. A move that proves fitting when it becomes chillingly clear that the killer has made it personal. The corpse was washed in products from a store Roarke owns and laid out on a sheet his company manufactures. With the Groom's monstrous return, Eve is determined to finish him once and for all. Familiar with his methods, she knows that he has already grabbed his next victim. But his sights are set on the biggest challenge of his illustrious career - an abduction that will test his skills and that promises to give him satisfaction as he's never known.

Time is running out on another woman's life and for Eve.

My review

I absolutely loved this book and it instantly become another one of my favourites. Creation in Death is definitely not the best In Death book in the series so far but is defintely hovering around that top spot.

The novel explores Eve and her team hunting down a serial killer whom the media dubbed 'The Groom' - 9 years ago. The killer seems to have resurfaced to finish what he started - painfully torturing women for prolonged periods of time, carving into their torsos the time it took them to die. On the third finger of their left hand is placed a silver ring. This time, however, the killings become a whole hell of a lot more personal with all the victims being employees of Roarke.

'The Groom' case was an extremely good one for bringing out some variety with how characters react and interact with each other - most particularly the strain it caused between Eve and Feeney. I enjoyed the fact that Roarke got a more hands on approach with this case - being involved every step of the way - and got more of a feel of how cops operate during high-profile/intense cases.

The fast pace of the narrative was a very nice additition, helping reflect the speed the killer ets through his victims as well as highlighting the non-stop buzz within the team as the tried to hunt him down. It would have been extremely interesting to see if Robb was abale to incorporate more twists but the plot worked regardless.

I absolutely loved 'The Groom's' last victim, Ariel. She was brilliant in trying to prolong her life and her interaction/connection with Eve was something that made me smile. I'd love to see her in a future novel even if only mentioned in passing.

In the future of the series, I hope we get to see Eve in a little bit more danger, and by that I mean, where Eve is put into a position where Roarke, Feeney, Peadbody etc have to work hard to get her back. Physically make a huge effort. An effort that may last a few days where we get to see the strain it places on everyone involved. I don't want the team to already be legging it towards the place Eve is being help minutes after she's been captured. Other than that, this was a well written book, with another cracking case and more brilliant characterisation.