Divided in Death

Author: J.D. Robb
Published: August 31, 2004 (Berkley)
Category: Romantic Suspense
Series: In Death #18
Rating: 7/10

I think this one may be my least favorite of the series.

Roarke's head of security, Reva, who happens to be daughter to his personal admin, Caro, is found at the scene of her husband and his mistress's murder. Rather than calling in the crime, Reva calls her mother, who gets Roarke involved. Eve takes the case for him, because he trusts her over any cop that may have been assigned to it in her place.

The writing is good and it's fun to see Peabody mentioning her new rank every chance she gets.
This time, the mystery bored me. Reva was set up by a rival government agency that was miffed Roarke's company got a government contract. It turns out this same agency was doing surveillance on Eve's father, and witnessed the abuse to the minor on premises. Instead of coming to young Eve's aid, the observers chose not to do anything, because it would ruin their investigation. Their investigation wound up coming to an end, as Eve killed her father, and they have it on record, as well as the identity that was assigned to her by the state when she was found.

There's no reason to skip reading this one. It seems each book is written with some new tidbit of Roarke or Eve's past, or some new development in characters' relationships, increasing the must-readability of each new title. I enjoyed this one for the characters, not the mystery.