ARC Review: Framed in Death by J. D. Robb

September 02, 2025

ARC Review: Framed in Death by J. D. Robb

Manhattan is filled with galleries and deep-pocketed collectors who can make an artist's career with a wave of a hand. But one man toils in obscurity, his brilliance unrecognized while lesser talents bask in the glory he believes should be his. Come tomorrow, he vows, the city will be buzzing about his work.

Indeed, before dawn, Lt. Eve Dallas is speeding toward the home of the two gallery owners whose doorway has been turned into a horrifying crime scene overnight. A lifeless young woman has been elaborately costumed and precisely posed to resemble the model of a long-ago Dutch master, and Dallas plunges into her investigation.

For me Eve, Roarke and the gang are a comfort read. This series just relaxes me. You know, like going to sleep watching the ID Channel. I love the characters we get to visit with book after book. Plus whom doesn't enjoy watch Eve kick butt?

The ego of some is kind of crazy and that's how I felt with this killer. I will say that this story murders were lower key than some of the other books. But I really liked that. The author still kept the same energy as with prior books, but you also got a very good balance of the friendships of Eve and Roarke.

I will say that the mental gymnastics that the killer did within his own mind to justify killing people are just off the wall. I really couldn't stand him. I spent most of the book looking forward to the killer getting caught.

What I loved about Framed in Death is how fast the book moved I didn't feel like we got any drag in this one. Everything written worked perfectly to make a good story. I will say that there is so much sadness within the story and not maybe in the way you'd think at first. It's really a story that everyone matters no matter who or what they do for a living. They are loved and cared for or at least they should be.

So, like with all the other books in the series this one stands on its own. You have a beginning and an ending. But and this is a big but to me at least if you're a fan of series and like the growth of character that you get from them then this is a perfect series to start from book one. The novellas add but aren't needed. You will thank me when you get to meet the characters when maybe their confidence levels aren't' as high and they start to make their way through life.