Book #3 Immortal in Death

In a weak moment, at the end of Book #2, Eve agrees to marry Roarke. He’s taking care of most of the arrangements, and that’s OK with Eve.

All she wants is to pick out her own dress, and pay for it, as a point of pride. Her friend Mavis, who’s taste runs to garish, bright colours and a barely there style, takes her to meet her new love interest, LEONARDO, an up and coming designer.

I like how Eve and Roarke’s past are revealed in different ways with each book. This is the issue with writing a continuous series, each book must be a stand-alone read, so the back story is necessary, but for those readers who are going in sequence, it cannot seem to be repetitive.

This time, Eve is driving through the streets of New York and reflects on how her childhood made her want to be a cop. It was all about being her having been a victim, and wanting to stand for others.

Not to get into the details of the murder and the investigation...bottom line...Mavis is the prime suspect and Eve must arrest her.

The stress of trying to solve multiple murders and prove Mavis innocent takes its toll, and with Roarke out of town Eve falls into an exhausted sleep, has a horrific nightmare and finally remembers how she came to be found abandoned in the streets.

Eve and Summerset have a tense relationship, as she feels his constant disapproval and his disdain for her profession. When he is the one to go to her aid after the nightmare, it is uncomfortable for both.

With the new memories fresh in her mind, Eve wants to cancel the wedding to deal with the past. Roarke tells her the story of how he and Summerset met, which discloses more of his troubled past. Roarke may look like a successful financial wizard, and that he is, but he is not without his own moments of self doubt and haunting memories.

Everyone wants their ‘happy ever after’ but not all can achieve it. That’s why people like romantic stories; they get to live it vicariously. But sometimes, in romantic stories, all that perfection can be too much.

I like the fact that Eve is flawed, that it’s a struggle for her to let herself be happy. Working through this case, with its personal connection, Eve gains a better understanding of the meaning of love, friendship and trust.

As I read the books in sequence, I find I like seeing Eve’s character change and grow, and enjoy her continuous amazement at the turn her life has taken.

New characters are CHIEF TECH DICKIE BERENSKI at the crime lab, and TRINA, a hairstylist friend of Mavis’. Officer Peabody, who first appeared in Book #2, is first on the scene at the one murder. Eve has her temporarily assigned to homicide for the case, something new for Eve as she has always worked alone.