J.D. Robb – Celebrity in Death

The 34th book in the In Death series, published February 21, 2012.



Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she's managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It's a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody - drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director's luxury building. Talented but rude, and widely disliked, K. T. Harris had made an embarrassing scene during dinner. Now she's at the center of a crime scene - and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster, to step into the role she was born to play: cop.

After the Icove mystery, Nadine Furst wrote a book about it, starring Eve, Roarke and Peabody. And now that book is made into a movie, and Eve and friends are invited to the set to meet the actors and everyone. Peabody is thrilled of course, she is a big fan of the actress who is playing her, but Eve could not care less. Unfortunately, there is no getting out from the obligations. That evening, there will be a dinner party. It still feels creepy, meeting her double, or the actor that plays Roarke, especially when he hits on her. But he is just a weak copy of the original.
The actress playing Peabody, named KT Harris is a mean character however. And when she ends up dead in the pool on the roof of the apartment, there are suspects galore. She picked fights with everyone, trying to get a bigger part in the movie, give herself more screentime, and did not hesitate to blackmail whomever she could.
And as the actors starring in the movie are very good ones, it is difficult to tell who is lying, or why. They all seem to have something to hide, but Eve will find out eventually. With three cops at the scene, a crime reporter, a psychologist, the murderer still is getting away with it. How come no one admits to having seen someone else go up to the roof, while they were watching some kind of promo film?
So Eve and Peabody will have to dig deep, to find the truth at last, and then to find the evidence to convict the person responsible. Even though KT was a horrible person, she did not deserve to get murdered because of it. And of course because of all the celebrities involved in this new murder case, the press has a field day, and Dallas and Peabody will have to face them. To Eve’s surprise, the new media liaison is actually some one she can work with, instead of pushing all the wrong buttons.


As always I loved this book, and read it in evening. Which made me way past my bedtime on a Wednesday evening, so today I was a bit groggy at the office. Still, no regrets, the book is worth it.
All the usual crew is there, Eve and Roarke, Peabody and McNab, Mavis, Leonarda and their Bella, even Trina makes a threating call to Eve about what to do with herself before the party. Mr and Dr Mira, Nadine Furst, Feeney and Whitney and Reo. It is just like visiting friends you don’t see all that often, immediately nice and cozy to catch up with them, but of course the book has its moments of suspense and action. Some nice love scenes between Roarke and Eve, some new toys to play with, but also a very beautiful moment with Peabody and McNab.

A good murder mystery, against a cast of great main and secondary characters you will grow to love over the course of this very long series. But they don’t bore me for a second, never do I have that same old, same old, feeling. Somehow, the mysteries stay fresh, and the personal relationship keeps evolving, getting better. JD Robb is an awesome author, and I can predict I will still be reading her books, this series, over 10 years.

If you are new to this series, I think you can read almost all the books as stand alones, but to get to know the characters best, and get a feeling for their relationships, I do recommend to start with book 1. You won’t regret it, even though I know it takes a lot of time to catch up with the series, and to stay catched up.

9 stars.