Thank you St. Martin’s Press #partner, for the finished copy of Bonded in Death in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Published: February 4, 2025
Summary:
The #1 New York Times bestselling author spins an epic tale of loyalty, treachery, murder, and the long shadow of war…
His passport read Giovanni Rossi. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he landed in New York and eased into the waiting car. And died within minutes…
Lieutenant Eve Dallas finds the Rossi case frustrating. She’s got an elderly victim who’d just arrived from Rome; a widow who knows nothing about why he’d left; an as-yet unidentifiable weapon; and zero results on facial recognition. But when she finds a connection to the Urban Wars of the 2020s, she thinks Summerset―fiercely loyal, if somewhat grouchy, major-domo and the man who’d rescued her husband from the Dublin streets―may know something from his stint as a medic in Europe back then.
When Summerset learns of the crime, his shock and grief are clear―because, as he eventually reveals, he himself was one of The Twelve. It’s not a part of his past he likes to revisit. But now he must―not only to assist Eve’s investigation, but because a cryptic message from the killer has boasted that others of The Twelve have also died. Summerset is one of those who remain―and the murderous mission is yet to be fully accomplished…
My thoughts:
I have been a long-time fan of Nora Roberts, but I haven’t read many of her books written under her pseudonym, J.D. Robb. When I heard this was the 60th book in the series, I had to read it and while I usually prefer to read series in order, I felt that this worked ok as a stand-alone, though I really do want to go back at some point and read this one from the beginning.
I really like the futuristic world that Robb has created here, and I found that while there is a lot of slang that I was not familiar with – and I’m sure had I read more of the books prior to picking this one up, I would know what the words meant – I didn’t feel that lost. The overall plot of the story is really what kept me engaged in the book – the crime fiction/mystery component. This book is all about a group of characters and their past and I think that is why I was able to feel like I wasn’t so lost. The Twelve were part of the Urban Wars and while I am sure this was the subject of a past book or two, I loved getting the insight into who they were, as well as seeing just how important Summerset was to Eve. It really has made want to read more of this series just to see these character’s relationship develop.
This book is part procedural, part romantic suspense and very fast-paced. I could not flip the pages fast enough to find out what would happen next. As someone who loves series, I loved that it was fast-paced – if I’m going to start at the beginning and try to catch up anytime soon, I need the books to be fast-paced!
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
