Faithless in Death by J.D. Robb

Welcome to Mini Reviews!

We are bringing back our 2012 “flash review” concept as “mini reviews”, with 150 – 300 word posts to express our opinions about the writing, plotting and narration, with the addition of the publisher’s blurb to outline the story. With hundreds of new releases every month, we can’t keep up with all the good Romance audiobooks, so we plan to supplement our longer reviews with this shorter-form article.

Our first Mini Review is from Kaetrin – her quick take on a 2021 addition to the In Death series by J.D. Robb, Faithless in Death.

Would you be interested in submitting a Mini Review for publication at AudioGals? Let us know in the comments!

Narrated by Susan Ericksen

What looked like a lover’s quarrel turned fatal has larger – and more terrifying – motives behind it…

The scene in the West Village studio appears to be classic crime-of-passion: two wine glasses by the bed, music playing, and a young sculptor named Ariel Byrd with the back of her head bashed in. But when Dallas tracks down the wealthy Upper East Side woman who called 911, the details don’t add up. Gwen Huffman is wealthy, elegant, comforted by her handsome fiancé as she sheds tears over the trauma of finding the body–but why did it take an hour to report it? And why is she lying about little things?

As Eve and her team look into Gwen, her past, and the people around her, they find that the lies are about more than murder. As with sculpture, they need to chip away at the layers of deception to find the shape within–and soon they’re getting the FBI involved in a case that involves a sinister, fanatical group and a stunning criminal conspiracy.

After a long break between In Death listens, I’m right back into the series. Faithless in Death is a strong entry into the series, with awful bad guys and a message about acceptance and a rejection of bigotry that hit the spot for me. Mavis and Leonardo are buying a house and there are updates with Peabody and McNab as well as the usual (welcome) interludes with Roarke and Eve. Susan Ericksen’s narration embodies the In Death series for me. Even if I read a book, it’s her voice(s) I hear in my head as I do. She’s consistently reliable and has a wide range of character voices – which is necessary with such a large recurring cast.

Kaetrin