Divided in Death

DIVIDED IN DEATH is J. D. Robb's eighteenth book in the In Death series. There is the ubiquitous murder mystery Eve must solve, and Ms. Robb even adds a little spy thriller to the plot. But I will remember DIVIDED IN DEATH as the one where Roarke learns the art of compromise.

Every book to date sees Eve or Roarke losing a little more of their rough edge, which is a fabulous thing to happen and one of the main reasons why the series is so compelling. Sometimes, the changes are slight, and sometimes, like in DIVIDED IN DEATH, the characters take a huge step forward in healing from past trauma. Roarke is that character this time, and his struggle to let go of his anger and need for vengeance is powerful. After all, that anger and the show more doling out of revenge is who he is.

At the same time, we see Roarke struggling to make peace with certain knowledge, Ms. Robb captures that sense of loss when a good relationship turns upside-down. At times, watching Eve muddle through that pain and loss is more troubling than her recovered memories. If you are an Eve and Roarke 'shipper, DIVIDED IN DEATH is a tough read.

The spy plot in DIVIDED IN DEATH, however, is so much fun. It adds another level of complexity to the murder. Not only that, but it allows Ms. Robb to speak her mind about the NSA and certain powers it can use in the name of protecting the country. Now that the NSA is over twenty years old, we can say that in some regards, what Eve rails about has come to pass. Hopefully, the rest will remain fictional.

DIVIDED IN DEATH is another strong novel in the series. We see some excellent growth in the characters. At the same time, we continue to see Eve and Roarke demonstrate and overcome marital difficulties. With the addition of a spy plot and corporate espionage, DIVIDED IN DEATH becomes more than your average murder mystery, and I loved every second of it. show less

This is probably one of my favorites in the series, and, if I'm being honest, I didn't think it would be. I knew going in that there was going to be a big "Issue-with-a-capital-I" between Eve and Roarke, and I didn't want to read it. Even though I knew it'd all be alright in the end.

But, I did, and ended up loving it. Stayed up past my bedtime last night to finish it.

A cheating husband and his lover are found brutally murdered. The man was married to an employee of Roarke's. She immediately comes under suspicion, but both Eve and Roarke believe she's innocent. In the course of their (Eve's and Roarke's) investigation, information is discovered about Eve's heartbreaking past. What to do with that information is where the division between show more Eve and Roarke begins. And this, to me, is the heart of the story.

I like that while they were both angry and hurt, and confused and unsure as to how to resolve their differences, you never once doubt their complete and total love for each other. And the resolution, when it did come? I will admit to getting teary eyed and then rereading it once more after I got home from work today. show less

I didn’t give a flying fig about mystery in this one, mostly because I found the relationship stuff between Roarke and Eve so fascinating. I absolutely love the fact that JD Robb plays with what happens in a long term romantic relationship so beautifully – I love the fact that we can watch the tensions and impact of events on the way that Roarke and Eve relate to each other, that although they each are have a very strict moral code; that the different APPROACH they each have to justice and ethics causes tension. I found it utterly believable and completely compelling. They love each other, but this isn’t happily ever after. Hooray for a romantic series that looks at what happens after you fall in love!

Divided in Death is the eighteenth book of the popular In Death Series, featuring Lt. Eve Dallas. Former Secret Service agent, Reva Ewing, left the service to become a security specialist for Roarke Enterprises, owned by Eve's billionaire husband. When Reva is found standing over the dead bodies of her husband and his mistress, she definitely looks guilty. Because Reva was integral to one of his highly classified Code Red Projects for Homeland Security, there's now a danger to Roarke's business. Roarke is convinced of Reva's innocence and persuades Dallas to help him prove it.

When Roarke is personally involved in one of Dallas' cases, it's always cause for trouble. When he illegally hacks into Homeland Security, he also discovers that show more Homeland knew about Eve's situation in Dallas when she was a child. He wants to find those responsible and kill them, even though it is something she doesn't want. This causes such a terrible rift between them, so much so that they barely speak to each other.

I'm slowly making my way through the entire series and I'm so glad I still have lots more ahead of me. Eve can be annoying but I really love the relationship she and Roarke have. The love and romance between these two extremely independent characters is sexy without being explicit. The secondary characters, especially Dallas' partner, Detective Peabody, are also exceptional. It's a great series to read when you want to relax and enjoy a good police procedural. Divided in Death was one of my favorite books in the series and I'm anxiously looking forward to the next one. show less

The 18th in Death novel starts out with Roarke's admin Caro's daughter Reva walking in on her cheating husband and best friend and finding both of them messily dead. Then she's knocked out. When she comes to, she calls her mother who calls Roarke. It doesn't take much for Eve to see the scene as a frame up but figuring out the who and the why will take a while.

Because Reva works for Roarke in computer security and has been working on a program to protect computers from being hurt by a virus that can kill networks, Homeland Security gets involved. It seems both the husband and best friend were HSO agents sent to become part of Reva's life in order to find out what Roarke's company knows.

While using Roarke's unregistered, they discover show more that HSO has extensive files that go back to the time in Dallas when Eve was an abused child. They knew what her father was doing to her and did nothing. What to do about the knowledge almost causes a break in Roarke and Eve's relationship. Their basic difference in regard to the law is almost too much for them to overcome. But love wins.

We learn so much about Eve's past in this one. We also get to see Roarke learn how to grill after attending a picnic at the Mira's. show less

The 18th in Death novel starts out with Roarke's admin Caro's daughter Reva walking in on her cheating husband and best friend and finding both of them messily dead. Then she's knocked out. When she comes to, she calls her mother who calls Roarke. It doesn't take much for Eve to see the scene as a frame up but figuring out the who and the why will take a while.

Because Reva works for Roarke in computer security and has been working on a program to protect computers from being hurt by a virus that can kill networks, Homeland Security gets involved. It seems both the husband and best friend were HSO agents sent to become part of Reva's life in order to find out what Roarke's company knows.

While using Roarke's unregistered, they discover show more that HSO has extensive files that go back to the time in Dallas when Eve was an abused child. They knew what her father was doing to her and did nothing. What to do about the knowledge almost causes a break in Roarke and Eve's relationship. Their basic difference in regard to the law is almost too much for them to overcome. But love wins. show less

3 stars. This is another one I don't recall reading the first time through. Beyond hilarious it was on my bookshelf though. This book follows one of Roarke's security specialists, Reva, being accused of a double homicide. Reva was rightfully angry when she found out her husband and best friend were having an affair. But Eve and Roarke both think someone could be setting her up.

One of the things though that this book brings up is that government (HSO) knew what was happening to Eve back in the day with regards to her father Richard Troy sexually abusing her, and they did nothing. So yeah. There's a lot of animosity going on with Roarke in this one and it ends up driving him and Eve apart. Honestly I was kind of over Roarke. Him talking show more about murdering federal agents was not endearing at all. I jus shook my head. There is a heartbreaking moment though when everyone at NYPD almost finds out what happened to Eve back in the day, and what she had to do to save herself in Dallas, but in the end it is Eve confronting the POS bureaucrat from HSO with Whitney by her side.

In the end, the case is solved, but I am glad that I re-read this one because New York to Dallas gets more into Eve's past and you have to read all of the books to even get to where Robb was going with things. show less