Are you like me and eagerly anticipate each new In Death book by prolific author J.D.Robb? If so then like me I believe you won't be disappointed with the newest title THANKLESS IN DEATH.

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and Eve and Roarke will be hosting a traditional dinner in their family home, for Roarke's Irish family, and some of their closest and dearest friends. Unlike in previous installments the idea of entertaining doesn't seem upsetting to Eve. I find this Eve who is coming to understand the connection of family and friends to be more relatable. I don't feel that as she comes into her own making a social connection with the world around her, that it keeps her from being the smart homicide cop that she has worked so hard to be.

There is however, a young man who has decided that family isn't what it's cracked up to be, and that if you're friends aren't one hundred percent with you then they're one hundred percent against you. It's this very dangerous attitude that has turned Jerry Reinhold into one very dangerous killing machine. It's also the thought that he wouldn't hurt friends who joked and made fun of him gets those same friends on the short list of people on whom Jerry will exact his own deadly form of revenge.

How many people will die before Eve and her wits can outsmart Jerry and his? For that detail you'll need to read THANKLESS IN DEATH for yourself. What I can and will tell you is that once again as I read I began to feel Eve losing some of her inner hardness and seeing the softer side of life. I really like the way Eve is evolving, and see this evolution as a way to continue the In Death series for many books yet to come.

What I do find missing as Eve grows more self-confident are the secondary characters who I think we have all come to know and love. They seem to take on smaller roles. I can only hope that Eve never outgrows the people who loved and supported her through her long journey to this point in her life. While secondary characters can and often add to the story, with the cat and mouse game being played by Eve and Jerry I believe had they played a stronger part in THANKLESS IN DEATH it might have actually detracted from the story. Overall I was immersed in THANKLESS IN DEATH from page one until I turned the final page and closed the book. In fact I was so enthralled that it wasn't until the cover was closed that I realized so many of those secondary characters I love were mentioned only very briefly at the end. My opinion is that THANKLESS IN DEATH is a strong entry in a long running series with a lot of exceptional books. Well done Ms. Robb, well done.