Rating: 
Summary: AN AWARD CALIBER VOICE PERFORMANCE
Review: Under the artful direction of Joyce Bean and with an award caliber voice performance by Susan Ericksen fast forward to the year 2059, the setting for Nora Roberts's latest thriller.Fear of Al Queda are as dry as ancient history some fifty years from now. But terrorism is still alive and threatening - this time in the form of a new breed of hackers or techno terrorists. "Divided In Death," the 18th in the reader pleasing series featuring tough detective Eve Dallas and handsome billionaire Roarke, owner of Roarke Enterprises, are faced with a computer virus that can not only destroy his company but spread like a pampas fire to infect other offices and then the country. Double murder is on the agenda for Eve when Reva Ewing, a former member of the Secret Service, is accused of murdering her husband and her best friend with whom her husband was having an affair. Plenty of motive there. But what triggers Eve's razor sharp mind is the fact that the late husband's commuter files were all deliberately corrupted. This means something more to Roarke: he and Reva were under government orders to develop a program that would protect against a new army of hackers, the Doomsday Group. These techno terrorists are well funded and will take no prisoners in order to achieve their goals. Nora Roberts, the author of 100 best selling novels, and accomplished reader Susan Ericksen raise the bar again with "Divided In Death" - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Long, but entertaining
Review: Well, the book jacket description is completely exaggerated - not unusual. Forget the Doomsday group - the murders here and all the problems stem from the cold and somewhat corrupt Homeland Security Organization [HSO], which conducts its investigations as it pleases in a devious and not at all kind manner. With the vicious and bloody deaths of the husband and friend of one of Roarke's employees, Eve is led to believe that the computer systems were part of the reason why. Hence, lots of electronic and HSO stuff (HSO stuff which the author evidently despises). This first In Death hardcover is not a bad one - in fact, the mystery was impossible to decipher, though that may be because of all the random possibilities that erupted. Most interesting here is likely the disturbing discovery that Roarke makes about Eve's past - just as Portrait in Death revealed an enormous secret about Roarke's life, Divided is the book in which some very, very nasty things are discovered about a past that Eve would prefer to keep buried, and that alone makes it worth reading. The dialogue in this book is once again sharp and amusing, including a fascinating dialogue between Eve and Roarke where she talks about what she'll do if he dies (that is, if he dies having cheated on her). Verry amusing. I'd say the best part of this novel is most likely the characters, once again - Mavis is bouncing with pregnancy (my guess is she'll give birth within the next two or three books), Peabody and McNab are a constant crack up, and the candy thief strikes again. The conflict between Eve and Roarke in this book is an unusual one. I won't go into much detail, but it has everything to do with the dirty secrets in Eve's past, and it's a very uncomfortable feeling that they have with each other. This and the mystery plot drive the story, and sometimes, for the briefest of moments, the novel loses its momentum. But it successfully regains it, and though the ending (action) is a bit anticlimatic, it's an enjoyable J.D. Robb and a good transition from paperback to hardcover.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed
Review: While I loved the book itself, I was disappointed that it was only printed in the hardcover edition. I own all the other 17 books in the series and they are all paperbacks. It is a collection I had planned on displaying proudly but now this last book does not match the rest!
Rating:
Summary: SLY, SEXY, AND SUSPENSEFUL
Review: Fears of Al Queda are as dry as ancient history some fifty years from now. But terrorism is still alive and threatening - this time in the form of a new breed of hackers or techno terrorists. "Divided In Death," the 18th in the reader pleasing series featuring tough detective Eve Dallas and handsome billionaire Roarke, owner of Roarke Enterprises, finds the duo faced with murder and a computer virus that can not only destroy his company but spread like a pampas fire to infect other offices and then the country. Double murder is on the agenda for Eve when Reva Ewing, a former member of the Secret Service, is accused of murdering her husband, well known artist Blair Bissel , and also slaying her best friend with whom her husband was having an affair. Plenty of motive there. It's said Reva went ballistic and committed these crimes in a jealous rage. This is far too pat for the experienced Eve - too cut and dried, the murderer too obvious. She does not believe Reva is guilty. What triggers Eve's razor sharp mind is the fact that Bissel's commuter files were deliberately corrupted. This means something more to Roarke: he and Reva were under government orders to develop a program that would protect against a new army of hackers, the Doomsday Group. These techno terrorists are well funded and will take no prisoners in order to achieve their goals. They're too clever, too quick to kill. Nora Roberts, the author of 100 best selling novels, delivers one more sly, sexy, and suspenseful read. - Gail Cooke
Rating:
Summary: Another great addition to the In Death series!
Review: A cut and dry murder scene turns out to be anything but. Eve must unravel a tangled mess of possibilities in a story that Bond would have been proud of. Homeland Security, espionage, spies... But what really drives this story is the characters. Eve and Roarke reach a divide that neither can cross. Eve's past comes back to haunt them both. Mavis is blooming in her pregnancy. And Peabody is settling into her role as a detective. Page-turning read!
Rating: 
Summary: not one of her best
Review: I am a huge J.D. Robb fan, but for her first stand alone hardback, I found this entry in the wonderful "In Death" series a disappointment. Other reviewers have summarized the plot, so I won't waste time doing so here. In "Divided", the mystery is well-developed, and there is an interesting twist in Eve and Roarke's relationship, but overall I found the book almost tentative and stiff in its writing, far less masterful than the last two paperbacks, "Purity" and "Portrait". In fact, I found this one to be substantially different in the quality of prose than all the other In Death books. The strength of this series is the great characters. Here, the spark of their presence and interaction is dimmed. Some of the dialogue is still snappy, but an awful lot sounds stilted. The disagreement between Eve and Roarke seems too overdrawn, and their inevitable reconciliation somewhat anti-climactic. Some of the more entertaining side characters like Summerset, Mavis, and Nadine seem to have gratuitous walk-ons, rather than meaningful roles in the story. While I find it impossible to hate a J.D. Robb book, I think this is her weakest entry in the series. If you are not familiar with the series, it may read much more strongly. I only hope that "Visions in Death" recaptures the magic.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite so far
Review: Yes, Divided in Death is different from the other books in the series. You have your typical Eve driven investigation of murder with someone she or Roarke knows and need to prove innocent. You've got your people who misunderstand Eve's ways which hurts her but she remains silent. McNab, Peabody, Mavis, Feeney and Trueheart are all there, which makes for a nice continuity. This time we've got spies and government intrigue at the heart of the murder case. But Divided is more personal than the other books. Eve and Roarke have always had heated arguments but have been solid with their marriage because of their love for each other. This time, they each struggle with something inherent to their make up and it's not so easily moved past. A great part of the book, contrasted with the others, Eve and Roarke cannot find their way to each other, they are estranged by their different reactions to some information that comes to light about Eve's past. It's this struggle which makes the heart of the book so compelling because you want them to make it, they are the other half of the other but at the same time, some things can't just be moved past. I won't give spoilers but I found this intensely personal approach a nice refreshing change from the other books and I thought Robb wrote it well and threaded it into the mystery in such a way that you don't get bored with one or the other. There were a few scenes in the book where I must admit I did get a bit weepy. Eve, without Roarke's strength, without his love and support is very empty and sad and it reminds you of who she was in Naked In Death and how far she's come. A very worthy read for those who've followed the series and the growth of the characters and the marriage between these two unlikely lovers.
Rating:
Summary: I REALLY liked this one!
Review: This, to me, is J.D. Robb better than ever. Finally, she writes a mystery in which Roarke's involvement is intrinsic to the plot - he's not just shoving his way into Eve's job. Their conflict was so well-drawn and realistic, it amazed me. I was very impressed with its resolution, in how far Eve and Roarke have come to understand each other. I do have to disagree with the reviewer who said that Eve's response "emasculated" Roarke - she was the wounded party, it's for her to decide if and how she wants to retaliate. If he just jumped in, he would take away her power even more. On a side note, it's a real pleasure to read about people with childhood issues who have to continue to work through them - so often, True Love comes along, and that's just the end of it. The mystery was good and entertaining, with several amusing, well-placed, political "slams." It's also delightful to see Peabody as a detective and to get a closer look at Caro. I am looking forward to Visions in Death and to when this comes out in paperback.
Rating: 
Summary: "Portrait" and "Purity" tough Eve Dallas acts to follow
Review: We've read the entire 18-book "Robb" series and generally enjoy all the stories immensely. As usually happens with long-running characters, we've come to feel intimate with both the leading couple, NYPD Homicide Lt. Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband Roarke, as well as a fine supporting cast of cops Peabody, Feeney, and McNab (among others); quirky friend Mavis; and annoying "houseman"/valet Summerset. The writing and plot crafting skills of Nora Roberts (posing herein as JD Robb) created absolute powerhouses in her recent novels "Portrait" and "Purity in Death", leaving us emotionally stimulated and intellectually entertained. But our hope for more at that level was not to be fulfilled in "Divided". The plot centers around an artist who is caught cheating by his wife, Reva, a security specialist who works at one of Roarke's firms. Reva is found at the scene of her husband and his lover's murder, but it seems immediately to be a frame; and a subsequent murder or two confirms that suspicion. The cop team pretty much takes residence at the Roarke mansion, fearing that security is so sensitive an issue on this case that working out of Police HQ is ill advised. The investigation soon embroils the Homeland Security agency, which is an interesting ploy that allows Robb to comment from the setting of the book at future year 2059 on the "history" and practices of that government entity. A wrinkle about Eve's own troubled past with an abusive father surfaces during the investigation that causes a huge riff between herself and Roarke -- and the resolution of that strain on their relationship is a strong sub-plot to the mystery. In the end, the unscrambling of several dead computers as well as Eve's typical perceptive scrutiny of the clues, leads to identifying and capturing the real bad guys. What left us a little cold about the story was the dominance of the sub-plot. While the exacting nature of the relationship between our two principals is a more than recurring theme in the whole series (Robb admits its part of her reason for writing it), it seemed just a little too overdone and a little too predictable in its resolution -- and thus seemed to drag down the action of the middle book. Additionally, the seclusion of the team at the house left us little or no variety of character interactions and scene settings, and got a little boring ere it was all over. Overall, while we never fail to enjoy each new entry in the "In Death" set, and blessedly do not find the characters getting stale, this particular novel just didn't seem as well composed as many of the others. So Robb fans won't want to miss it, but casual readers might rather enjoy some of the better entries mentioned above.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This book continues to entertain just like the previous "In Death" books. Besides the mystery (others have already reviewed), this book mainly focus on the problems and love Eve and Roarke experience. "Divided in Death" builds on the previous books which are needed to fully comprehend the meaning of this story. Although this book is in hardcover and a bit longer than the other "In Death" books, it's a must have in your book collection.
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