First, it’s obvious for my readers to know that I am a big fan of this series. After all, Random in Death is the 58 book in the In Death series. You don’t make it this far in a series if you don’t enjoy it. The last few books I was starting to get annoyed with Eve. I really fell for her take charge attitude and no BS or sh$ts to give. She’s softened and changed in the 58 books… just like a person would over the years especially after getting married and settling into that. However, I felt like she was leaning a little too hard on the hubs and wasn’t holding her own as much. I really felt like she redeemed herself with Random. Roarke was still there but he wasn’t a forced in partner and frequently taking Peabody’s spot. He was more like a cheerleader this time. I liked it.


I am very curious, where has our infamous chocolate thief been? It’s been a few books I believe since they have been on seen robbing Eve of her goods. It always makes me laugh and I’m very curious who the culprit is! I adore the supporting characters and keep waiting for McNabb to nab Peabody already. I’ll continue to enjoy the series and eagerly away every single title. Keep it up JD Robb! I really don’t know what I’ll do when this series concludes or somehow ends. I’ll honestly be devastated, like I lost my best friends!

Random in Death (An Eve Dallas Novel) by J. D. Robb
Narrated by Susan Ericksen
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre: General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers
Expected Publication Date: January 23, 2024

Random in Death is the 58th book in the In Death series by by J. D. Robb and features Detective Eve Dallas. I had not read the previous books, and while I found that a challenge at the beginning of the book, I ultimately enjoyed this as a standalone mystery.

Random in Death takes place in future New York so the sights are familiar but the language and technology have evolved. Just like today, there is slang, and it took a little while to figure out what some of the words mean.

Initially I thought this was a young adult or teen book because the story opens before the first crime is committed and we get to meet the victim and her friends. Listening to their conversations was very annoying, especially since I was not familiar with the author’s format. Once the murder was actually committed and we get to meet Detective Dallas things got going and a lot more interesting for me.

Overall, I thought this was a great story. Having it set in the future gave it an interesting dynamic. I enjoyed following the police in solving this crime. This was actually a quick read and very fast paced!

The narration by Susan Ericksen was great! I loved how she brought the story to life!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Random in Death was a fantastic addition to the In Death series. If you’ve never heard of the series, there are 60+ books when including the novellas. They all have the same main characters. Each book is a new case for Lieutenant Eve Dallas who runs a homicide department in New York City. She is married to Roarke, a wealthy businessman with amazing computer skills. Both grew up with very difficult childhoods. Their love is something that I want for myself and is a part of it, but not the main focus of the story. It’s a crime thriller with a romance/love subplot. Over the series the number of supporting characters has grown and honestly all of them have a place in my heart.

Honestly you could start the series here and understand what is happening because the author, J.D. Robb, is great at refreshing previously mentioned information that is significant to the current story. However, to truly connect with all the characters I highly recommend starting from the beginning. I found the series in early 2023 and have made it through twice this year. I really did enjoy the series that much.

The series is set in the future, but not so far out that the world is unrecognizable. As with any futuristic story the world has grown and so have weapons, drugs, with cars capable of self-driving and even some flying, terminology, etc. It’s just enough to take me out of my current world and put me in Eve’s.

Random in Death will pull on your heart strings. I am not a crier, but there is something about death involving children and/or teens that pulls at your heart strings. This case was harder to solve because as the synopsis says there were no obvious clues. It kept me guessing through most of the book!

I, also, wanted to note that I absolutely love this narrator. She has made each character their own person. You can tell by her voice exactly who she is referring to or who is talking. It’s really helped me to visual each character!

I have to thank MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook. I, also, want to note that I had actually already preordered this audiobook before receiving this copy.

WHAT a THRILLER! It's been a few years since I picked up a JD Robb - still does not disappoint.
Eve is called to the scene of a club - a famous rock band performing for their old neighborhood. A young, talented girl injected with a massive amount of drugs. No reason. No sense crime.
The next night - it happens again. No connection. Random.
I love Roarke and Eve, Peabody and McNab and all the other characters. They are like old friends.

Another amazing book in the Eve Dallas series!

I feel like it's hard to write a concise review without giving anything away since we are on BOOK 58 of this wildly dark, twisty, and emotional scifi/romantic suspense series! So all I'll say is that each book continues to grow on the book before and while the plots are always based around twisty crimes around NYC, what keeps you reading book after book is the characters and the amazing found family they've developed over the course of the series. I love this series to bits - it's basically a comfort read at this point!

Tons of TW so please be aware before going into this book (and series) in general!

The mystery in this is so good (I love the science angle) but the near-future setting and unintuitive language changes pulled me out of the narrative. If the setting were contemporary instead, this would be a 4 star read!

Premise - a girl is stabbed with a dirty needle at a concert and dies minutes later. When Dallas investigates, she can’t see any reason why this particular victim would be targeted. Soon, other young women begin to fall and it becomes clear that it’s a serial killer targeting teenage girls at random (within a set type). Dallas races against the clock to solve the crime before more girls die.

The premise is intriguing, the writing compelling, and the pacing makes this impossible to put down. Great! But it’s set in the mid 21st century and while that changes the language people use (link instead of cell phone, illegals instead of drugs, etc.) it doesn’t change the tech itself or the world much either… the things that changed and how didn’t seem to make sense. Ex: robot housekeepers are commonplace, but not self-driving cars? Parents don’t chip their kids (or some other tech way of keeping track of minors)? Overpriced personal shoppers are a thing, instead of just AI populating your wardrobe via online shopping?

Also a real bummer that, with how much language has changed, incels are the exact same as ever. Sigh…

Thanks, NetGalley and St Martin’s Press, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.