Betrayal in Death (In Death)

When Darlene French, a maid at the Roarke Palace Hotel, is brutally beaten, raped, and strangled with a silver wire, Eve is at a loss to explain the apparently professional nature of the murder. Who would hire a hit man to kill such an ordinary woman? As she and her team of detectives (with a little grudgingly accepted help from Roarke, whose money, name, and talents can dig up a wealth of information) investigate the evidence, they find themselves in pursuit of Sylvester Yost, a vicious hired gun who's made millions in his bloody pursuit of career excellence. But it isn't until more victims appear that Eve realises Yost's real target is Roarke himself. To discover the driving force behind the murderous campaign, Eve and Roarke will have to delve into their own pasts, which holds secrets and terrors for them both.

Robb is the nom de plume of romance writer Nora Roberts, and this series certainly delivers the same sexually charged tension and improbably gorgeous characters as Roberts's extremely popular romances. But even those readers, who generally try to steer clear of heaving bosoms and ripped bodices, will have little to fear and much to appreciate in Betrayal in Death. Eve and Roarke are impressive physical specimens, but they're also witty, gritty, and often antagonistic, irritably staking out their territories and reluctantly collaborating in the crimes that come their way (think Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd in Moonlighting, or Nick and Nora Charles on steroids and in a mood). Add in Robb's surprisingly light touch with humor, and the 13th instalment in the series is a lucky find indeed. --Kelly Flynn

In this case, Lieutenant Eve Dallas has to face crime again. She finds herself as the primary in the gruesome murder of a maid that happened in one of the hotels of her husband, Roarke, just as Eve was attending a charity party there with him. Thanks to the security cameras, Eve discovers that the murderer is nobody else than Sylvester Yost, a gun for hire for the elite, that has been in the FBI's most searched list for more than 20 years. However, one thing is to know who he is, and another one is to find him. Only a very confident assassin does not mind showing his face.

As if that were not enough, soon afterwards another murder is committed by Yost, and in this case the victim is a young friend of Roarke. All seems to point out to the fact that someone ordered Yost to mess with Roarke, and ultimately who knows, maybe kill him. But why? And is Eve in danger too?.

Of course, there is much more than that in this book. An old friend of Roarke, Mick Connelly, reappears, and Eve cannot help but think he might be linked to the murders, despite Roarke's trust in Mick. Also, there is trouble in paradise for Peabody and McNabb, and more than some squabbles between Eve and some FBI's officers that are also trying to catch Yost.

On the whole, the points mentioned above help to make this a very engaging book, for those who like a good thriller with lots of action. I would like to point out, however, that the murders in this book are specially grim, so take that into account when deciding whether to buy this book. That having been said, I recommend "Betrayal in death" to you.

Belen Alcat


"This one's going to be difficult for both of us"   February 21, 2005
Sebastian Fernandez (Tampa, Florida United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

The quote above refers to the main two characters in this series, Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke, and it depicts well what has been a trend in this series lately. Roarke has become more and more involved in Eve's cases and has been the target of attacks by criminals in numerous occasions. Even though this does not bother me in extreme, I would like Robb to start mixing it up a little more. One of the things that I enjoy most about this series is the development of the characters throughout the different installments, but I do not think it is necessary for Roarke to be so involved in Eve's cases in order for him to be part of the plot of this series.

When the book starts we find ourselves in the spring of 2059, in a world that looks pretty much like ours in several aspects but that also shows both pros and cons when compared to our society. There is still crime and drug abuse as we see nowadays. But there are considerable advances in medicine that make Eve's world better. And also significant difficulties in getting some products, like real coffee, that make it worse. But one thing that remains the same is that criminals never rest, and Eve is faced with a killer that strangled a maid in one of Roarke's hotels after raping her. On the same night in which the murder takes place, Roarke and Eve were in the hotel hosting a party for an actress who has decided to sell the possessions she accumulated throughout her career and start the Magda Lane Foundation of the Performing Arts.

The killer did not care about being caught on the security cameras and is quickly identified as Sylvester Yost, an expensive gun for hire. When another of Roarke's employees is found dead, victim of the same man, it is clear that this is personal. Concurrently, the billionaire receives the surprising visit of an old friend from Ireland, Mick, who Roarke believed to be dead. Right from the start Eve suspects Mick is involved with the killings, but Roarke believes that even though he is a thief and a liar, Mick is not a murderer. It is very interesting to see who was right!

As Robb has done in the previous novels, she provides us with further information on Eve's and Roarke's past, especially on the latter, since Mick is there to refresh the man's memory. There are also development in the relationship between Eve's aide, Peabody, and her "boyfriend", McNabb. Peabody has become one of my favorite characters in this series due to her sense of humor and candor. These elements together with the usual fast-paced action and high suspense level make this book another very good read.


I loved it, but where on earth is Roarke from?   July 5, 2001
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I loved this book, as I love all the In death books, but I just couldn't give it five stars.I'm Irish and I have to say that I have never met any Irish people like those described in any of her books and have never been to the Dublin she describes - and have yet to meet any Dubliner who speaks "Gaelic". However I will continue to read them so keep them coming (but please put some reality in to them)


Isn't anyone brave enough to tell the author?!   May 7, 2001
G. ODonoghue (London UK)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

I bought this book as a fairly random choice based on its good reviews. The plot is clever enough and the police procedures are reasonably knowledgeable but......! Aren't there supposed to be proof-readers and editors whose job it is to make sure that an author doesn't make embarrassing errors? I'm an Irish man and I can promise you that the image of Dublin exemplified by one of the main characters just doesn't ring true. Roarke's background would have been difficult enough to justify if he had been born in the 60's or 70's but he's supposed to be from the early 21st century for heaven's sake and he talks about Dublin as if he had come from a huge slum! The dialogue he comes out with is just totally incredible and I use that word in its literal form. His phrases and attitudes are not the stuff of an ex-gangland boss from Ireland. But then the dialogue of the entire book is sadly embarrassing. On the last page, one of the two main characters refer to an enemy as "him and his bastard son". A half dozen lines later, exactly the same dialogue comes out of the mouth of his wife! And again, earlier in the book.... "People ask me why I'm doing this, why I'm giving so much of it up. Do you know what I say." You have to turn the page to get the comment from the hard-bitten female cop and this, I admit, adds to the leaden disappointment of what she says....."No, what?" !!! (Even if she had said, "No, but I suppose you're going to tell me.") Having said all of that, I finished the book to see the end so it "held" me in that sense. I do think that Nora needs to get herself some honest proof-readrers and/or editor, then her imaginative plots might have a bit more literary and realistic merit.


Another GREAT book!!!   March 29, 2001
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

I love all the in death series and this book certainly live up to all my expectations. The great thing is that you are able to follow the lives of both Eve and Roarke since they met in the first book, Naked in Death, their romance, marriage and learning to trust each other with their pasts. I enjoyed reading in this book all the other characters introduced in the previous books like Peabody, Summerset, MacNab, Freeney and Dr. Mira. This is a must read...like all the other 'in Death' series.