ARC Review: Thankless in Death by J.D. Robb

THANKLESS IN DEATH is a raw strike to the gut! It will take you by surprise by its power and emotion. Could you ever expect less from J.D. Robb?

Jerry Reinhold  is an ungrateful bastard. He can’t hold a job. He takes for granted any help his parents, friends and girlfriend send him. And he’s just a disrespectful guy all around. But in his eyes, he sees himself as untouchable. Larger than life. When he stabs his mother for pissing him off the first time, a sense of fulfilment and triumph comes from it. So it does it again and again. 50 times he does this until his poor mother is nothing but pieces. Then Jerry lies in wait for over six hours for his father to come to beat him bloody with a bat.

For Jerry, he is free. No one is telling him that he is worthless anymore. And now, with the world at his fingertips, he has the resources to make all those people in his life pay dearly for hurting him in the past.

THANKLESS IN DEATH is a gritty, unfiltered look into the mind of a mad man. Though this isn’t the first time we know the identity of the killer from the very beginning in the series, it is definitely one of the more recent switches that made this book so good. Robb is an expert at writing police procedural stories, but sometimes, the same routine can get a little old. That isn’t the case here. Robb tells readers the identity of the killer, delves into his dark mind so deep that it’s almost scary that she can depict such madness in her words. It’s a great tool to create adrenaline, to create evil and Jerry’s POV only added a thrilling concept to an already stellar book.

There are also a few career milestones that our favorite heroine, Eve Dallas accomplishes. In true Eve Dallas nature, she tends shy away from all the attention. Yet through this series, you knew this was coming. You know how hard she had worked and now she finally has something to prove her worth. The very end, where Nixie’s letter comes into the picture, I cried. As much passion and as much determination Eve has to close all her cases, she does it simply because no one else can. She wants to punish those bad guys who hurt people. And her promise to Nixie will always ring true for her.

The scenes with Roarke are sporadic at best. But when he does make an appearance, it is always a good one. I just love reading from his POV. You get a sense of how deeply he cares for Eve.

THANKLESS IN DEATH is a raw strike to the gut! It will take you by surprise by its power and emotion. Could you ever expect less from J.D. Robb?

Of course, no In Death review of mine would be complete without my customary Roarke picture. Here you go, ladies. Enjoy!

*ARC provided by publisher

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[about-author author=”J.D. Robb”]