Connections in Death by J. D. Robb

Here are twenty-three terrifying tales, dark reflections of the silver screen from both sides of the camera. James Dean gets a second chance at life, and death. The Wicked Witch is out of Oz, and she's made some very unlucky friends. When God decides reality needs an editor, what, and who, gets cut? These award-winning, bestselling authors will take you to the darkest depths of the theater and beyond.

Somewhere between 3.75 stars and 4. I struggled with this one a little. For the first time in this series, I got the feeling that I had already read this book. Didn't seem like there was any development in the core characters.

It was....fine, I guess. There wasn't a lot of mystery about the bad guys, or much personal resonance to Eve Dallas' life, which made it kind of flat for me. Unless you are really interested in the reappearance of Crack, the big black dude first introduced in [b:Glory in Death 268601 Glory in Death (In Death, #2) J.D. Robb https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1526477295s/268601.jpg 3241481] and get a kick out of him calling Eve “skinny white chick.” Also if you love the interrogation scenes in which Eve tries to get her suspects to confess or turn on each other, you're in luck because this book focuses heavily on that part of the case. There were a few cute moments including an uncharacteristic Eve gesture, but not a standout entry in the series to me.

I think the regular JD Robb formula has finally lost its luster for me. This was boring, boring, boring. I wanted to scream the third time Eve and Peabody had to talk out “how it went down” and that “yeah, that plays, that plays” Of course, the murder was tragic and maybe it was nice to see this side of Crack, but I can't count how many times Eve talks about how dumb all the criminals were and honestly, the gang plot holds no interest for me.

Everything just was so repetitive and it went on for so long for no reason. Reading about all the interrogations.....why?

I did appreciate how Eve felt a little hopeless. How everything sort of caught up with her this time and she showed much more vulnerability. Sometimes, her grouchiness gets old. Yes, we get it, you are tough as nails and don't like fixing your hair or picking out clothes or holding babies. So it was nice to see her take the time to appreciate her detectives and remind Roarke of all the good he does as well. It was nice to see her think of the others who are always thinking about her instead of acting like supporting her friends is such a chore.

Now I'm wondering if maybe Eve is my least favorite character in this series now.....