Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Book Review: Strangers In Death


Strangers in Death

THE ENTERTAINMENT CRITIC BOOK REVIEW, BY JAMES MYERS
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.com/
http://www.theentertainmentcritic.net/
http://www.theentertainmentcriticmagazine.com/
STRANGERS IN DEATH
By Nora Roberts Writing as J.D. Robb
Published by G.P. Putnam, an Imprint of The Penguin Group (USA)
Publication Date: February 2008
Price: $26.00
368 Pages
ISBN-13: 9780399154706
Four Star Rating ****

NORA ROBERTS IS A BESTSELLING AMERICAN AUTHOR OF MORE THAN 150 NOVELS

SINCE 1999, EVERY ONE OF ROBERTS'S NOVELS HAS BEEN A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, AND 124 OF HER NOVELS HAVE RANKED ON THE TIMES BESTSELLER LIST, INCLUDING TWENTY-NINE THAT DEBUTED IN THE NUMBER-ONE SPOT.

INVENTED THE GENRE OF ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVELS

THE FIRST AUTHOR TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA HALL OF FAME

SHE WRITES THE "IN DEATH" SERIES AS J.D. ROBB

AS OF 2006, ROBERTS'S NOVELS HAD SPENT A COMBINED 660 WEEKS ON THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIST, INCLUDING 100 WEEKS IN THE NUMBER-ONE SPOT. OVER 280 MILLION COPIES OF HER BOOKS ARE IN PRINT, INCLUDING 12 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN 2005 ALONE. HER NOVELS HAVE BEEN PUBLISHED IN 35 COUNTRIES

IN BOTH 1999 AND 2000, FOUR OF THE FIVE NOVELS THAT USA TODAY LISTED AS THE BEST-SELLING ROMANCE NOVELS OF THE YEAR WERE WRITTEN BY ROBERTS

BETWEEN 1991 AND 2001, SHE HAD 68 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS, COUNTING HARDBACKS AND PAPERBACKS. IN 2001, ROBERTS HAD 10 BEST-SELLING MASS-MARKET PAPERBACKS, ACCORDING TO PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, NOT COUNTING THOSE BOOKS WRITTEN UNDER THE J.D. ROBB NAME. IN SEPTEMBER 2001, FOR THE FIRST TIME ROBERTS TOOK THE NUMBERS 1 AND 2 SPOTS ON THE PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER LIST, AS HER ROMANCE TIME AND AGAIN WAS NUMBER ONE, AND HER J.D. ROBB RELEASE SEDUCTION IN DEATH WAS NUMBER TWO.
A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE ROMANCE WRITERS OF AMERICA (RWA), ROBERTS WAS THE FIRST INDUCTEE IN THE ORGANIZATION'S HALL OF FAME. AS OF 2006, SHE HAS WON AN UNPRECEDENTED 19 OF THE RWA'S RITA AWARDS, THE HIGHEST HONOR GIVEN IN THE ROMANCE GENRE.

IN 2007 LIFETIME TELEVISION ADAPTED FOUR NORA ROBERTS NOVELS INTO TV MOVIES: ANGEL'S FALL STARRING HEATHER LOCKLEAR, MONTANA SKY STARRING ASHLEY WILLIAMS, BLUE SMOKE STARRING ALICIA WITT, AND CAROLINA MOON STARRING CLAIRE FORLANI. THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT LIFETIME HAD ADAPTED MULTIPLE WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR. HER NOVELS SANCTUARY AND MAGIC MOMENTS HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN MADE INTO TV MOVIES.

TIME MAGAZINE NAMED ROBERTS ONE OF THEIR 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE IN 2007, SAYING SHE "HAS INSPECTED, DISSECTED, DECONSTRUCTED, EXPLORED, EXPLAINED AND EXTOLLED THE PASSIONS OF THE HUMAN HEART." ROBERTS WAS ONE OF ONLY TWO AUTHORS ON THE LIST, THE OTHER BEING DAVID MITCHELL.

AWARDS

As Nora Roberts

Golden Medallion awards
Golden Medallion awards were awarded by the Romance Writers of America.

The Heart's Victory: 1983 Golden Medallion for Best Contemporary Sensual Romance
Untamed: 1984 Golden Medallion for Best Traditional Romance
This Magic Moment: 1984 Golden Medallion for Best Contemporary 65-80,000 words, shared with Deirdre Mardon's Destiny's Sweet Errand
Opposites Attract: 1985 Golden Medallion for Best Short Contemporary Romance
A Matter of Choice: 1985 Golden Medallion for Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
One Summer: 1987 Golden Medallion for Best Long Contemporary Series Romance
Brazen Virtue: 1989 Golden Medallion for Best Suspense

Rita awards
Rita awards are awarded by the Romance Writers of America.

Night Shift: 1992 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Divine Evil: 1993 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Nightshade: 1994 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Private Scandals: 1994 Rita Award for Best Contemporary Single Title
Hidden Riches: 1995 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Born in Ice: 1996 Rita Award for Best Contemporary Single Title
Born in Ice: 1996 Rita Award for Best Romance of 1995
Carolina Moon: 2001 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Three Fates: 2003 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Remember When - Part 1: 2004 Rita Award for Best Romantic Suspense
Birthright: 2004 Rita Award for Best Contemporary Single Title

Quill awards
Quill awards are awarded by the Quills Foundation.

Angels Fall: 2006 Book of the year
Angels Fall: 2006 Romance
Blue Smoke: 2007 Romance

As J.D. Robb

Remember When: 2004 Rita Awards Best Novel winner
Survivor in Death: 2006 Rita Awards Best Novel winner


(Taken from Wikipedia)

STRANGER IN DEATH IS THE 28TH BOOK OF THE IN DEATH SERIES

“Murder harbored no bigotry, no bias. It subscribed to no class system. In its gleeful, deadly, and terminally judicious way, murder turned a blind eye on race, creed, gender, and social stratum. As Lieutenant Eve Dallas stood in the sumptuous bedroom of the recently departed Thomas A. Anders, she considered that.”


In the 28th book in the “In Death” Series, Nora Roberts has written yet another compelling Romance/Suspense novel about Eve and Roarke, death, sex and mystery in her new book, Strangers in Death. Lieutenant Eve Dallas has been called in to solve a particularly juicy murder, a business mogel, Thomas Andrews, who died in his Park Avenue apartment in the midst of a sex act, with a velvet rope tied about his neck. A scandal and titillation for the news, and humiliation for the public, Eve keeps running into brick walls early in her investigation. Fortunately, her billionaire husband Roarke owns the real estate where the Andrews Sporting Goods Empire was located. The answers that come from access start to come faster and easier.

But nothing adds up. There was no struggle. Some one had to be very close to Andrews to even have access around the security in the highly protected apartment. Alibis of the major suspects all check out. Nonetheless, something tells Eve that this was not an accident, or a crime of passion, but a carefully planned execution. This is a first- rate page turner. Another winner in the “In Death” J.D. Robb series.

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