Another amazing book from this author and number 60 from this series.

This book makes us dive a little bit deeper into Summersets past and while we do find out right from the start who Eve is chasing, it doesn’t take away the thrill.

It’s another compelling story in this series and we can see how far our favorite characters have grown and developed. I just love the interaction between the different characters, new and old.

Another great book from J. D. Robb. I can’t wait for the next one.

Arc generously provided via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I had read the other books in this series. I struggled a bit to get into this one. I think the book was pretty good but I did struggle with not being familiar with the characters. Overall not a bad read.

This is the Author's latest book in the Eve Dallas futuristic police drama
I will state that I am not a fan of duel timelines within a story but on this
occasion it did work .
The book starts back in the Urban wars - where a group of Resistance fighters
have set up as the Twelve - a disparate group with what they thought was a common
cause - that is until one turns traitor , all for monitory reward
Back in the current timeline a dead body is found in a limousine - murdered by a
substance long banned . When Eve delves further she finds that the murdered man
has been drawn to New York by a fake message from her butler/major domo Summerset .
Knowing that Summerset was involved in the Resistance comes as no surprise to Eve but
his involvement with the Twelve does , as does his fellow fighters identities !
As Eve , her colleagues and Roarke seek to protect the the remaining Twelve she soon
discovers that the past is very much alive - it soon becomes a race against time to catch the traitor
before he can reach his targets .
This book is more enjoyable and an improvement on some previous books which have felt a little
bland , lacking in intensity with a rush to the finale that was often a damp squib .
I did find the hiding of the remaining twelve in Roarke's home and left to their own devices a bit
of a let down - they seemed a bit ineffectual , especially given their life experiences .
All that being said I did enjoy the premise of the book and the reveals in Summerset's past
I look forward to reading more in this series - especially as we are coming to the BIG HOUSE move
by Peabody and Mavis .

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Bonded in Death by JD Robb opens with a prologue set in 2026 as the Urban Wars neared its conclusion... which started a few year earlier (ie about NOW in JD Robb / Nora Roberts's world so let's hope she's not psychic). We don't spend much time in the past however before moving to the present (40 years later) in Robb's futuristic series. And for those who've been following the series for a long time, it's pretty easy to guess that this book will hit close-to-home for NYPD cop Eve Dallas and her mega-wealthy husband Roarke... given their majordomo-cum-father-figure-to-Roarke (Summerset) often talks about his work with the Resistance during the Urban Wars.

We quickly learn of The Twelve, their respective code names and a little about the expertise they each brought to the Resistance as one of the remaining members is killed with a warning note to the rest. I was surprised Robb unveiled the culprit of this so early, thinking it would have played out more excitingly if we didn't (in fact) know who the traitor was, but guess the twist on offer is that the accused is supposed to be dead... but Dallas delves deeper (accidental alliteration but I've decided to keep it!).

As usual Robb gets the balance right here - between the investigation and the private world of our characters. I often comment on this 'In Death' series being a 'guilty pleasure' but I don't actually feel any guilt about reading them. I think what I mean is that they're a comfort read. I know what I'm gonna get and Robb almost always delivers. Here as well as the very solid (now very developed) Dallas and Roarke, we're offered the usual strong support cast as well as the survivors of the The Twelve, the latter adding some flavour given they're all very healthy 60-80+ year olds in a future world where most people live well past 100!

This is a very satisfying read as good prevails over evil with Dallas bending the rules only slightly to get the result she needs. 

I've missed the last four books in this series but I've mentioned before that Roberts writes them as if they follow on from one another so time moves very slowly in In-Death-land; nevertheless I must catch up as there's a gap in bookshelf real estate allocated to JD Robb.

Finally and for the 60th issue, we are back to reading about the lives of the main protagonists. This is the turn of Sommerset and the Urban Wars. As is often the case, the story this time is more biographical than an actual “detective story,” in that Eve is immediately able to identify the culprit, but he must be found.

Finalmente e per il sessantesimo numero, si torna a leggere della vita dei protagonisti principali. Questa é la volta di Sommerset e delle Urban War. Come spesso accade, la storia stavolta é piú biografica che un "giallo" vero e proprio, in quanto Eve é immediatamente in grado di identificare il colpevole, ma bisogna trovarlo.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

J.D. Robb simply can't go wrong with Eve Dallas.

Fantastic getaway reading, really clever storyline, love the characters of Eve, Roarke and Peabody to name but a few.

Highly recommend. Can't wait for the next installment!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced digital copy in return for an honest review.

5* JD Robb is back to her best with this one. Loved that we got more of a certain character's past...

With some of the more recent Eve Dallas books, they've felt as if the author included extremely minor side characters from Eve's posse of 'friends' - using the term loosely - whether they were organic to the tale or not, just to be able to delight readers who've come to expect to hear about them. It felt copied and pasted, and a bit off-putting.and down-dumbing. Here, there was barely a mention of them, which made for a more solidly relevant tale that had surprising depth and intrigue.

Though the death at the start is sad, it reveals a world of years past that Eve always knew Summerset was involved with, and boy, did we get to see him and his bunch of fellow retiree Urban War fighters come into their own. Not by way of the physical but by working as a team to give Eve and her team vital insight into the mind of their fellow member turned betrayer and avenger. It's a pretty deep, solid tale, one where knowing who the culprit is - the newish M.O. - is relevant and the only logical way to defeat him. It's quite a sad tale, as we learn about Alice, Summerset's late wife, her strength and courage, and how she sacrificed herself. There wasn't much on Marlena, whose death has been hinted at in several books, as that wouldn't have been relevant here, as well as maybe one too many a painful memory.

It's not, thankfully, as gruesome or deadly a tale as most, but it's a good one to reinforce collaboration, loyalty, and that being of a certain age doesn't mean being ready for the scrap heap. And no, there was no thawing of Eve's and Summerset's relationship but he said what he needed to say to her, and about her to the rest of his people (it was refreshing to see him describe her as rude and abrupt, but not in a bitchy or hate'y way, just telling people who, what and how she is and operates). I liked that he made her accept his thanks and gratitude, which she for once didn't balk at or brush off. Maybe Eve is maturing a little. She'll always be on the spectrum to a degree, but this book showed her more as a human, not just a driven cop. I really enjoyed it.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and St Martin's Press/Piatkus, for my reading pleasure.

ive been reading Nora Roberts and her alter ego JD Robb for decades and once again she has delivered a fabulous book. This one goes into the past of Sommerset when he was a young man fighting in the Urban wars. The story weaves between the past and the present with the once young freedom fighters forced to come together once again to finally bury the past.
Its a wonderfully engaging book and I read it in a couple of days.
My one nit pick about this book, and I say this as a British woman, mushy peas have absolutely no business being anywhere near Roast beef and Yorkshire puddings. Just no.

For those who have been with these characters since the first book they feel like family. We finally find out a bit more of a back story on Summerset. A good solid story. Feels like it needs a bit more of a heart pumping adrenaline rush to take it to the next level.
I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.