In her eighteenth (or is this nineteenth?) novel featuring the
acerbic lieutenant Eve Dallas, J.D. Robb (or is that Nora Roberts?)
entertains us once again with murder and mayhem in New York City, a
New York City of the 2050s. Things have changed from the early part
of the century, and technological gadgetry has advanced beyond our
wildest dreams. It is obvious Robb has had fun imagining what the
future could hold for all of us.

NYPSD Lieutenant Eve Dallas is back, armed with an attitude and all
sorts of cool weapons we haven’t seen yet. She continues to
spurn anything feminine, actually cringing when her famous friend
Mavis comes at her with assorted gels, dyes and polishes. She is
still referred to by her partner, the newly dubbed
“Detective” Peabody, as “Sir.” Yet she is
head-over-heels, weak-in-the-knees gaga over her wealthy husband,
megabusinessman Roarke.

However, her latest case involves one of Roarke’s most loyal
employees. Technogeek Reva Ewing is found with blood on her hands
at the scene of a double homicide involving her husband and a
trusted friend, the two locked in a naked embrace, apparently
killed in the very throes of passion. It certainly looks like the
jealous wife did it. Unfortunately, those aren’t the only
bodies that turn up in Lt. Dallas’s jurisdiction, and they
all have connections to the dead husband.

As Eve digs deeper into the case, she turns up some curious clues.
What began after the terrorist attacks in 2001 as the Homeland
Security Organization has morphed into a scary federal department
run amok. Just what is their connection to this series of murders
the Lieutenant is investigating? And why are all the computers on
the scenes fried? While she works hard to solve these crimes, she
learns some interesting truths about the horrific abuse she
suffered as a child. The brutal memories of that time threaten to
derail the investigation. Her nightmares return with a
vengeance.

And Roarke, fiercely in love with her and plagued by his own
demons, can’t look the other way. He sets his sights on
revenge, thereby pitting his interests against Eve’s. The
odds seem insurmountable for husband and wife. Where once they were
spooning between the sheets, they now sleep alone, assiduously
avoiding contact with each other. The rift looks irreparable.

This book is filled with action and technical inventions: scanners,
blockers, stunners, what have you. As long as you don’t take
it all too seriously, you can have a great deal of fun reading
DIVIDED IN DEATH.