Review: IMMORTAL IN DEATH

Immortal In Death by JD Robb
Book 3 of the In Death series
Narrator 1: Cristine McMurdo-Wallis (CD)
Narrator 2: Susan Ericksen (iTunes)
Genre: SciFi murder mystery, police investigation, crime ficiton
Format: paperback, audiobook CD

About Immortal In Death:

It is 2058, New York City. Lieutenant Eve Dallas uncovers a world where technology can create beauty and youth, but passion and greed can destroy them.

She was one of the most sought-after women in the world. A top model who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted -even another woman's man. And now she's dead, the victim of a brutal murder.

Police lieutenant Eve Dallas puts her life on the line to take the case when suspicion falls on her best friend, the other woman in the fatal love triangle. Beneath the facade of glamor, Eve finds that the world of high fashion thrives on an all-consuming obsession with youth and fame-one that leads her from the lights of the runway to the dark underworld of New York City, where drugs can fulfill any desire, for a price.

Source: Info in the About Immortal In Death was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/238126.Immortal_in_Death on 26/02/2012.

Review:

The copy I borrowed from the library was a bad copy. Disc 7 was truncated and lost a big chunk of the story. Bummer! Consequently I had to download from iTunes to continue listening to this audiobook. The Library copy was read by Cristine McMurdo-Wallis while the iTunes copy was read by Susan Ericksen. So I listened to this book as read by two different narrators. And I have to say that I like Susan's reading better than Cristine McMurdo-Wallis. This is the first time I've had the chance to compare two readers reading the same book. I think I prefer to listen to one reader all the way through. I also prefer a reader whose voice is easy to the ears like Alyssa Bresnahan and Johanna Parker.

I think this is the best book yet in this series. Of course, I haven't read the rest of the series yet, so I might change my mind as I read further. But so far, this one beats the rest of them. What I like most about this book is the layering of plot. There wasn't just one bad guy. And the journey to the resolution is twisty. However, there is still that itty bitty tiny bit of predictability factor... I suspected who the culprit was at the start but changed my mind as I listened along and then to be proven that I was right the first time. It wasn't as predictable as Book 1 though. Gotta give this book credit for that. And I like the twisty-ness of it. I still think the covers majorly failed as marketing tools for this book. Both on the paperback and audiobook CD.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 4.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 4.5
Ending = 4.5
World building = 4.5
Cover art = 2
Pace = N/A (9 CDs: 11-hours) (iTunes: 9 hrs and 46 mins)
Plot = 4.5
Narrator 1 = 2
Narrator 2 = 4.5

Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 cherries

Review: GLORY IN DEATH

Glory In Death by JD Robb
Book 2 of the In Death series
Narrated by Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
Genre: SciFi murder mystery, police investigation, crime fiction
Format: paperback, audiobook CD

About Glory In Death:

It is 2058, New York City. In a world where technology can reveal the darkest of secrets, there's only one place to hide a crime of passion-in the heart.

Even in the mid-twenty-first century, during a time when genetic testing usually weeds out any violent hereditary traits before they can take over, murder still happens. The first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Police Lieutenant Eve Dallas has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk of the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects-including her own lover, Roarke.

Source: Info in the About Glory In Death was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/268601.Glory_in_Death on 26/02/2012.

Review:

There are two main things I like about this series: One, is that Eve, our main protagonist, is NOT too stupid to live (TSTL). Second, there is a layering of plot. Or maybe I'm just reading too many Charlaine Harris books.

Like Book 1, I borrowed this audiobook from the Library even though I already have the paperback edition in my TBR shelf. I am glad that I have the paperback because I find Cristine McMurdo-Wallis' narration slightly confusing at times. She sometimes does not give out any indication in her voice, in an inflection of tone or pauses or diction or whatever, that the characters talking has swapped. Or that chapters has changed. Or the scene has changed or something. Sometimes this requires rewinds and a few re-listens. When that happens, I am ever so glad to have the paperback to fall back on.

The baddest downer with Book 1 was that it was slightly predictable. It seems that it is also true with this book (Book 2). However, the road to get there is quite twisty that I doubted once, before going back to my original suspect. And damn if I was right!! Hopefully it would not be so predictable in the next book because I kinda like this series. And like I said, the plot is not "2D" but complex with layers of sub-plots with an over-arc-ing main plot which scores lots of brownie points with me!

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 3
World building = 4
Cover art = 2
Pace = 11-hours audiobook/9 CDs
Plot = 4
Narrator = 2

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this audiobook!!

FTC Disclosure:
This audiobook was borrowed from the library. The paperback edition was bought by private money. No money received for this review.

Review: NAKED IN DEATH

Naked In Death by JD Robb
Book 1 of the In Death series
Narrated by Cristine McMurdo-Wallis
Genre: SciFi murder mystery, police investigation
Format: paperback, audiobook

About Naked In Death:

In hardcover for the first time, here is the novel that started it all-the first book in J. D. Robb's number-one New York Times-bestselling In Death series, featuring New York City homicide detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas and Roarke.

It is the year 2058, and technology now completely rules the world. But New York City Detective Eve Dallas knows that the irresistible impulses of the human heart are still ruled by just one thing-passion.

When a senator's daughter is killed, the secret life of prostitution she'd been leading is revealed. The high-profile case takes Lieutenant Eve Dallas into the rarefied circles of Washing-ton politics and society. Further complicating matters is Eve's growing attraction to Roarke, who is one of the wealthiest and most influential men on the planet, devilishly handsome... and the leading suspect in the investigation.

Source: Info in the About Naked In Death was taken from GoodReads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/268602.Naked_in_Death on 18/02/2012.

Review:

The paperback edition was given to me by my bookblogger secret santa about three christmases ago but I never got around to reading it... until I found this book again in audio format in the Library. When I got tired of Charlaine Harris's Aurora Teagarden's series, I started listening to this one. I think one of the major deterrent for me from reading this book was that it got such an uninspiring cover. Yeah, I'm a visual person and my reading habit is influenced accordingly. Specially with authors whose work I haven't tried yet. I've scanned the CD jacket cover art but I haven't uploaded it with this post because it was just that ugly.

I find that Cristine McMurdo-Wallis's voice is not as easy on the ears as Therese Plummer's voice is, nor Johanna Parker's. But eventually, I got used to her voice.

It took a while for me to get into the story. I am not sure whether it was a story telling quality flaw or if it was the quality of voice of the narrator...

For some reason, there are times when I could not distinguish when the narration changes in characters thus I sometimes got confused when the story line does not make sense to me. That is when having the paperback comes in really handy. I could read back and determine that Feeney is now talking and not Eve anymore. This probably also contributed to my confusion when characters seemed to be suddenly thrust at the reader without so much as a preamble... and me wondering who was Feeney again? Had to rewind back a few times and listen again. When that didn't work, I try to find the page in the paperback and read again. This made the pace of this book considerably slower than the 11 hours the audiobook is suppose to be.

The plot. I like the secondary plot of a romance in it. I also have to say that it was just slightly predictable. I knew who the perpetrator was and I was right. Dang!! But after listening to the Aurora Teagarden books' "2D" and "1D" plots, this book is decidedly "3D" plot-wise. Have to give kudos to a murder mystery with a layering of plots and twists even if it was kinda predictable.

Empirical Evaluation:
Story telling quality = 3.5
Character development = 4.5
Story itself = 3.5
Ending = 3.5
World building = 4
Cover art = 2
Pace = 11-hours audiobook
Plot = 3.5
Narrator = 2

Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 cherries


Thank you to the RCT Library for letting me borrow this audiobook!!


FTC Disclosure:
This audiobook was borrowed from the library. No money received for this review.