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Review: Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb

By Cheryl Wassenaar

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We review J.D. Robb’s Apprentice in Death.

Before we even get into this, J.D. Robb also writes as Nora Roberts, she who has written hundreds of romance novels. And, like many of her romance works, the …In Death series of mysteries has its own formula. The latest novel (the 43rd in the series), Apprentice in Death, finds Lieutenant Eve Dallas up against not one, but two killers, who pull off long-distance kills. She, her billionaire husband, Roarke, and the rest of the NY Police and Security Department have to stop both the master and the learner before it’s too late.

This one is set in January of 2061, so yeah, it’s also a futuristic procedural. Like your typical TV procedural, though, you can read this series out of order, as each novel contains a self-contained story. While there are relationship developments from previous books that play out here, it’s not tough to get a sense of how characters relate to one another.

As Apprentice in Death plays with the general set-up, pulls off a suspenseful race against time, and still manages to get in the usual beats of the series, it gets a solid recommendation from me.

The Good

Many of Roberts’ works have some seriously strong, snappy banter, and Apprentice in Death is no different. As per usual, Eve and Roarke play off of each other wonderfully, and even Delia Peabody, Eve’s partner, gets in on the snarking fun here and there.

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Furthermore, the typical formula of this series gets scrambled in a good way. By now, I’ve learned to expect two to three love scenes, spaced roughly equally through the book. In Apprentice, the first one comes quite quickly, and the second doesn’t happen until about two-thirds of the way through. This is not a bad thing, for reasons I’ll explain shortly.

Furthermore, the typical formula of this series gets scrambled in a good way.

Moreover, catching the killer (or killers) tends to be the start of the denouement in this series. Here, it plays out a bit differently. No spoilers, but it leads to interesting places, and I like the way Eve interacts with both criminals. Roberts does a wonderful job of showing that, in fact, the lieutenant is incredible at her job without telling us. (Of course she is, because it’d be very boring if Eve did not succeed.)

Also as per usual, the interludes featuring the killers remain chilling.

The Not-So-Good

As someone who has read a not-insignificant portion of Roberts’ oeuvre both as Nora Roberts and as J.D. Robb, I have read both of the aforementioned love scenes in different forms many times throughout the years. I suspect she could, in fact, write an Eve/Roarke scene in her sleep. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but for a long-time fan of the series, they’ll feel very familiar.

Once or twice, the dialogue does get a touch unclear as to who’s speaking, but never for more than a line or two.

Perhaps my least favorite scene in the book featured Summerset, Eve and Roarke’s butler. For reasons I can’t reveal, he becomes involved in one of the attacks. While I enjoyed the fact that the scene humanized him in some ways, the usually-strong dialogue failed a little here.

I also feel that the cast has become slightly unwieldy at this point. However, that’s almost to be expected when you’re likely going to reach 45 books and beyond.

I cannot speak on the accuracy of the New York geography in general, but I did like the use of familiar landmarks. I know what they look like, and I can picture an ice rink, and then I can mostly ignore the other details like the general vicinity of the killers’ hideout.

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But, like pretty much every In Death book I’ve read, I enjoyed it thoroughly, as much for the familiarity of the world and setting as for the mix ups in the plot arcs. The next entry already has a title and release date of February 7, 2017.

You can find Apprentice in Death wherever books are sold.

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