In Death Book Series by Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts is one of today's top female authors. Famous for her romantic, heart warming love stories, that include Angels Fall, High Noon and Northern Lights.

All three of these novels have made their way onto the big screen, starring a handful of Hollywood A-Listers, including Heather Locklear, Miley Cirus, Dean Cain and LeAnn Rimes.

Nora Roberts was born in Maryland, USA. She started her working career as a legal secretary, and soon after her sons were born, decided to stay home to try to find a creative outlet that she could do while looking after her children.

In February 1979, a blizzard forced her to stay indoors with her two young children. She pulled out a pencil and a notebook and began to write notes, and this led to a full story. Though, the story was rejected, this is where her career was born and only two years later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred was published.

Nora hired Bruce Wilder to build bookshelves for her. In July 1985 they were married, and since then they've opened a bookstore together and have travelled the world.

Nora has won countless awards in the writing industry, and recently The New Yorker named her "America's favourite novelist."

1. Naked in Death (July 1995)
2. Glory in Death (Dec 1995)
3. Immortal in Death (July 1996)
4. Rapture in Death (Oct 1996)
5. Ceremony in Death (June 1997)
6. Vengeance in Death (Oct 1997)
7. Holiday in Death (June 1998)
8. Midnight in Death (Nov 1998)
9. Conspiracy in Death (April 1999)
10. Loyalty in Death (Oct 1999)
11. Witness in Death (March 2000)
12. Judgment in Death (Sept 2000)
13. Betrayal in Death (March 2001)
14. Interlude In Death (Aug 2001)
15. Seduction in Death (Sept 2001)
16. Reunion in Death (March 2002)
17. Purity in Death (Sept 2002)
18. Portrait in Death (March 2003)
19. Imitation in Death (Sept 2003)
20. Part Two [Remember When] (Sept 2003)
21. Divided in Death (Jan 2004)
22. Visions in Death (Aug 2004)
23. Survivor In Death (Feb 2005)
24. Origin in Death (July 2005)
25. Memory in Death (Jan 2006)
26. Haunted in Death (April 2006)
27. Born in Death (Nov 2006)
28. Innocent in Death (Feb 2007)
29. Eternity in Death (Nov 07)
30. Creation in Death (Nov 2007)
31. Strangers in Death (Feb 2008)
32. Salvation in Death (Nov 2008)
33. Ritual in Death (Nov 2008)
34. Promises in Death (Mar 2009)
35. Kindred in Death (Nov 2009)
36. Missing in Death (Dec 2009)
37. Fantasy In Death (Feb 2010)
38. Indulgence in Death (Nov 2010)
39. Possession In Death (Nov 2010)
40. Treachery in Death (Feb 2011)
41. New York To Dallas (Sept 2011)
42. Chaos In Death (Sept 2011)
43. Celebrity In Death (Feb 2012)
44. Delusion in Death (Sept 2012)

The name might be off-putting or grab your attention immediately, but either way Nora ensures that she captivates the attention of her readers from the first page in each book in this series.

I started reading the In Death series about 5 years ago, and have been hooked ever since.

What is the In Death Series About?

The first In Death book of the series - "Naked in Death" - was released in 1995, and her latest book from the series - "Delusion in Death" is due out in September 2012.

Set from the year 2058, in New York City, the In Death series centers around Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who works as a tough no-nonsense homicide detective for the New York Police and Security Department. The series also revolves around the cases she works on, and her billionaire Irish husband, Roarke.

My first taste of this series was with the book, "Strangers in Death." I was hooked from page one, as I was introduced to Eve Dallas and her husband. What I found the most fascinating and where Nora Roberts has my utmost praise and respect, was her ability to transport the reader into the fictitious technologically advanced world some 40+ years into the future. She's managed to do this perfectly with each and every In Death book.

In the series, you will discover that world as we know it today, doesn't exist. The world changed drastically after an outbreak of warfare - known as the Urban Wars, and this led to mass destruction and death throughout many countries across the globe. Cities were built up again and focused on renewal and revitalization after the wars had ended.

The ability to live on other planets exist, and we are introduced to the riveting notion of off-planet vacation spots, resorts and prison populations on these other planets. In fact, Eve's husband Roarke has purchased quite a number of holiday houses on these planets, and we're transported on a journey when he decides to take Eve on an out-of-this-world vacation!

Other high-tech gadgets from the 2050's set in this period include the AutoChef - a kitchen appliance that cooks meals (anything from pancakes and blueberries, to a medium done burger and fries, to a fine steak!), and brews coffee - all with a touch of a button. Towels are a thing of the past as the dryer allows people to step easily from the shower, and into a drying tube. Cars no longer only travel on the road, but are also air-borne. Another piece of high-tech equipment frequently used by the characters in this series is the link - a type of videophone that is not only used as a means of communication, but also used to transfer data and hold information.

Eve has quite an interesting story. Throughout the series, Roberts makes reference to a traumatic experience that Eve survived as a child. Eve is portrayed as a tough, aggressive and no-nonsense woman, and she dedicates most of her waking hours to working her cases - often barely eating or sleeping until a case is solved.

Seldom, we are lucky enough to experience the compassion and warmth that Eve keeps so well hidden underneath her armour, and she only allows those very close to her to experience this. Few people have managed to crack the walls around her, but those that have include her husband Roarke, her punk-rock friend Mavis, her partner Detective Peabody, Captain Feeney and Dr. Mira, a therapist who plays both a professional and personal role in her life.

Eve's traumatic childhood memories haunt her in her nightmares, and when she does eventually let Roarke in and let down her guard, he helps her overcome the feelings of anger, guilt and pain that she's been forced to live with since the age of eight.

Eve Dallas is described as long and lean, with short dark hair, golden-brown eyes, to be somewhat flat-chested, with legs that go on forever. She's beautiful, but she's not vain. She never seems to care how others perceive her or what she's wearing - much to Roarke's amusement most of the time.

Roarke was born of Irish decent, and is portrayed in the series as being extremely rich, tall, dark and handsome. He was first introduced to Eve as a murder suspect in the first book of the series, "Naked in Death". After he was no longer a suspect in the case, he seemed to catch the eye of Eve, and became intrigued with her aloofness and the fact that she was unlike any other woman he'd ever met.

Growing up in the slums of Ireland, with an abusive father and a mother that "abandoned" him, Roarke quickly learnt what he needed to do in order to survive. He spent the first part of his life making a living as a criminal, lying, stealing and cheating to get what he wanted.

Roarke left behind his shady life shortly before meeting Eve, and throughout the series he too lets down a part of himself to let love in and begin trusting those closest to him.

A billionaire in his own right, Roarke purchases buildings and businesses - one after the other, and continues to build up his empire. He is one of the most powerful and richest businessmen in the world.

While Roarke has become quite accustomed to the finer things in life, such as high quality clothes and fine dining, Eve continues to enjoy the simpler things and is happy with a regular pizza and cola.

When Eve gets lost in one of her cases, it's engaging to see how he takes care of her, making sure she's well rested and de-stressed, whether that includes food or love-making, as well as the occasional trip to one of his holiday destinations, on or off-planet.

Roarke is often recruited by Eve as a consultant on her cases, as his personal expertise involve hacking into computer databases.

Eve and Roarke continue to fight the demons of their past and work together at trying to solve cases and build their lives together in order to embrace their future.

Nora Roberts has confirmed that there are no plans as of yet for the storyline to include Eve and Roarke having children, however there has been speculation that the series will end when Eve eventually does become pregnant.

Melanie Chisnall is a freelance writer from Cape Town, South Africa.

She is an avid novel reader and was hooked on the "In Death" series after first reading "Strangers in Death". Her favourite characters of the series are Eve Dallas and Summerset, the rather opinionated butler, and the two continue to wind each other up in every book. Another factor which makes her books in this series so successful.