*Have You Heard? * Audiobooks For Your Listening Pleasure* Apprentice in Death by J. D. Robb

Apprentice in Death (In Death, #43) by J. D. Robb
Also by this author: Devoted in Death (In Death, #41), Festive in Death (In Death, #39), Brotherhood in Death (In Death, #42), , Echoes in Death (In Death, #44), Secrets in Death (In Death, #45), Dark in Death (In Death, #46), Leverage in Death (In Death, #47)
Series: In Death
Also in this series: Naked in Death, Glory in Death, Immortal in Death,
Published by Brilliance Audio, Berkley on September 6th 2016
Genres: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Pages: 375
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 1101987979
ASIN: B01J8DCTFI
Goodreads

Lieutenant Eve Dallas returns in a fast-paced new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author J. D. Robb. 
Nature versus nurture...
  The shots came quickly, silently, and with deadly accuracy. Within seconds, three people were dead at Central Park’s ice skating rink. The victims: a talented young skater, a doctor, and a teacher. As random as random can be.
Eve Dallas has seen a lot of killers during her time with the NYPSD, but never one like this. After reviewing security videos, it becomes clear that the victims were killed by a sniper firing a tactical laser rifle, who could have been miles away when the trigger was pulled. And though the locations where the shooter could have set up seem endless, the list of people with that particular skill set is finite: police, military, professional killer.
Eve’s husband, Roarke, has unlimited resources—and genius—at his disposal. And when his computer program leads Eve to the location of the sniper, she learns a shocking fact: There were two—one older, one younger. Someone is being trained by an expert in the science of killing, and they have an agenda. Central Park was just a warm-up. And as another sniper attack shakes the city to its core, Eve realizes that though we’re all shaped by the people around us, there are those who are just born evil...

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I keep waiting for the In Death series to get stale or for J. D. Robb to run out of stories or for Eve and Roarke to lose that lovin’ feelin’; I’m delighted to report that Apprentice in Death is not the book where any of those things is going to happen. The plot is probably one of Robb’s best, the story line has a unique twist on serial killers, and Eve and Roarke are more connected than ever.  A fact that might be a negative for some listeners is the perpetrators are identified very early in the story as an older expert marksman and a younger accomplice, a type of macabre apprentice. From that point, the plot evolves as a riveting police procedural and a gruesome psychological thriller while we wait to discover the killers’ motivation, who the next victims will be, and how Eve and the NYPSD will track the killers down. Don’t be too shocked as the story progresses if you begin to suspect that the role of  the apprentice has switched from one character to another! I finally had to ask myself “who’s really in charge?” in this sick and convoluted relationship.

I can’t say enough about narrator Susan Ericksen’s performance of the author’s work. There is so much emotion and drama when Eve learns that many of the people whom she’s allowed to become important in her life may be in the path of the killer. Ms. Ericksen does a brilliant job of interpreting this very gut-wrenching part of the book. We’ve been through some agonizing moments throughout the course of the series, but none more heart-rending than watching our tough cop as she tries to do her job not knowing if she’ll find her loved ones alive or dead. There is no doubt Apprentice in Death is Ms. Ericksen’s best in a series of excellent performances.

One of my favorite things about the In Death series is J. D. Robb’s ability to write some pretty despicable characters and this book is no exception.  While it disturbs me to place a mere child and a grieving husband in the despicable category, sadly, age and family relationships don’t prevent people from being despicable. No spoilers, but if you have problems with children being portrayed as evil, you may want to skip this book. From my perspective, the author had the courage to write these characters and their story is one that captivated me from the chilling prologue to a very satisfying epilogue that will lay to rest any notion that Eve’s character is becoming soft. All is not grim and dark, however. Our favorite cops and civilians make appearances and, even though our Eve is not a party girl, she risks being terrorized by small children and dolls to help a little girl named Bella celebrate her first birthday . ?