Review: Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb

Concealed in Death (In Death, #38) by J.D. Robb
Series: In Death #38
Published by Berkley on February 18, 2014
Pages: 402
Genres: Mystery, Romantic Suspense


Amazon B&N

In a decrepit, long-empty New York building, Lieutenant Eve Dallas’s husband begins the demolition process by swinging a sledgehammer into a wall. When the dust clears, there are two skeletons wrapped in plastic behind it. He summons his wife immediately—and by the time she’s done with the crime scene, there are twelve murders to be solved.

The place once housed a makeshift shelter for troubled teenagers, back in the mid-2040s, and Eve tracks down the people who ran it. Between their recollections and the work of the force’s new forensic anthropologist, Eve begins to put names and faces to the remains. They are all young girls. A tattooed tough girl who dealt in illegal drugs. The runaway daughter of a pair of well-to-do doctors. They all had their stories. And they all lost their chance for a better life.

Then Eve discovers a connection between the victims and someone she knows. And she grows even more determined to reveal the secrets of the place that was called The Sanctuary—and the evil concealed in one human heart.

For two decades, I have loved this series to death – no pun intended – but I didn’t think I’d ever finish Concealed in Death. I’d pick it up, read it for a couple chapters, put it down, then come back to it a few weeks later, and repeat. I was surprised that I wound up really enjoying it.

Before starting Concealed in Death, I feared that the series had plateaued for me. The dynamics between characters was stagnant, and some of the characters I adored had been largely absent for several books (Mavis, for one).

The first half seems slow. There are so many victims, and the process of identifying them all and then figuring out where they came from and how they are related to other characters bogs down the plot. Once the story focuses on just a few key players, though, I began to enjoy it more. I’m not accustomed to feeling compassion for villains. This was something I wrestled with and it made me more invested in the story. The last third of the book flies by with changing theories, some wonderful developments between existing characters, and twist upon twist. The ending is distinctly different from previous books.

Dr. Garnet DeWinter, a renowned and extremely stylish forensic anthropologist, is introduced. Things are frosty between her and Dallas as they are forced to work together, but they don’t have nearly enough interaction. There’s potential there so I’m hoping Garnet appears in future books. Robb leaves behind some other nice breadcrumbs that may lead to interesting storylines in the future.

Related Posts