Pre-numbered label used for registration.

If you've never read J.D. Robb - Nora Roberts by another name - then I suggest you start over way at the beginning, with "Naked in Death." Basically, it's the late 2050s, and tough-as-nails cop Eve Dallas simply won't put up with unsolved murders and criminals not getting justice. She's edgey, has a massively dark (and yet, character-building) past, and she's the most anti-girly character out there.

By now, the "in Death" books have me hooked as much for the support characters than anything else - do I really care about the mysteries? Not really - though sometimes they are quite good. It's more that I want to see Peabody (Dallas' able and affable partner), Roarke (her shady past uber-billionaire husband), Mavis (preggo vid-star sensation of scandalous outfit), and Nadine (journalist extraordinaire). Many other characters also nab your attention and bring you back, and the pacing of the novels (often only a month or so passes between each book) means that their lives are evolving without the jump-ahead-two-years effect that many series have.

In "Survivor in Death," Dallas ends up caring for the single child witness to a horrendous crime, and in many ways, this triggers flashbacks to her own experience as the sole survivor and instant ward into the harsh and often uncaring world of the 2050s child services system. The scenes with Eve attempting to handle discussions with a crying/upset child are hilarious and touching all at once, and the further exploration of Eve's past is always welcome - Robb is really good at drawing out the details, giving you more without completely unravelling the tale.

So, yep, I enjoyed it. High literature? Definitely not. But fun.

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

As always, I try to set my books free once I'm done with them... and hopefully make some room for some new ones in the house!

I'm incurable.

I'm going to tuck this on top of one of the free newspaper boxes underneath the transit-way.