Creation in Death – A Book Review and My Participation in a new Reading Challenge

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was on the lookout for a good thriller series and I was hoping that reading Creation in Death by Nora Roberts (writing as J.D.Robb) would hook me enough to read the rest of the books in the series, and I am happy to add that it has successfully done so.

Done so very well in fact that I have decided to sign up for the In Death reading challenge hosted by Christine from The happily ever after. I am a little late joining in this challenge, but I am pretty confident I will be able to catch up in time 🙂

So, what’s the story?

In a nutshell, Lieutenant Eve Dallas works for the NYPSD (New York Police and Security Department) in the year 2060. Nine years ago, a serial killer called “The Groom” successfully carried out a series of killings and managed to escape detection. Now he’s back to his murdering ways in New York and Eve is determined to capture him this time. With the help of the other detectives in the squad and her husband Roarke, Eve manages to track down and nab the killer.

OK, so what differentiates this book from the other run-of-the-mill crime thrillers out there?

Well, the first thing that sticks out at you is the science-fiction aspect of it. Apart from Asimov’s “Robot” series, I have never read any book that combined science fiction with crime successfully. Also, the sci-fi aspect is done very subtly in a believable manner, without being very over-the-top.

Apart from that, I like Eve. She’s one hell of a tough cookie in this book – very smart, and always on the ball. So many times I read books where the smart and tough ladies make some really dumb choices and end up having to get rescued by the men. Not so here…she is always in control throughout.

I also liked how the data and the clues were gathered and how the investigation proceeds in an orderly and systematic manner gently leading the reader through the process of finding the killer without holding back any information.

What could be improved?

I found the relationship between Eve and Roarke to be rather boring; they seem to be a very comfortably settled happily married couple, which is nice and all that…but it makes for very boring reading. There did not seem to be any friction at all even under the most trying circumstances, something I found rather strange. However, after visiting the challenge blog, I realized that I am reading book 30!! in the series…no wonder they seemed such a settled down couple. Probably, the earlier books would have all the interesting bits – the courtship and the adjustment issues.

The rather slow start to the book is also somewhat challenging. The book really doesn’t gather steam until after the first 100 pages or so, which kind of sucks in such a novel.

However, in spite of these flaws, I liked this book. I also anticipate liking the rest of the books in this series – far more than her romance novels, of which I have never been a big fan 🙂

So, this book has been an unexpectedly engrossing read. Isn’t it really nice when a book pleasantly surprises you? When have you last been surprised by a book? I would love to know.