Customer Reviews

The Divided Child

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Newcomer Ekaterine Nikas arrives on the scene with a sure hit. I read this book in one sitting. If you like suspense, romance, action and tantalizing characters, then "The Divided Child" will fit your bill. The masters, Mary Stewart and Phyllis Whitney would be proud. I look forward to many more reads from this author. WTG, Ms. Nikas.

If you like romance, if you like mystery, if you like intrigue and fast-paced suspense -- you will LOVE this book. Set against the lush and beautiful backdrop of Greece, THE DIVIDED CHILD is a breathtaking novel that kept me turning pages far into the night. Full of twists and turns and startling revelations, I was torn between wanting to reach the end so that I could at last unravel all the secrets, and hating to reach the end because I wanted to keep reading. I'm amazed to learn that this is the author's debut novel -- she's a pro. Ms. Nikas, I'm waiting impatiently for your next book!

I could not put this book down!

If you like Barbara Michaels, you will love The Divided Child! It has the perfect blend of suspense and romance, and I couldn't figure out exactly who the villain was until the very end. To me, that makes a great story!

Miss Nikas's book is very much in the tradition of the incomparable Mary Stewart, and indeed she even uses the same setting, the Greek island of Corfu, that Stewart did in This Rough Magic. Her heroine is even surnamed Stewart which seems a sort of homage to her literary ancestress. However the books falls a bit short of Mary Stewart in her heyday. Corfu is a setting that came alive in This Rough Magic, but which falls flat here for for some reason. The setting never seems to come to life and Miss Nikas does not have Miss Stewart's gift for descriptive narrative.

And as others have said, much of the plot is far-fetched, especially for a 21st century setting. The heroine's meeting with the young boy at the center of the plot is forced and unlikely. Modern children should know full-well that they should not speak to strangers, rather than cozy up to them and become their tour guides.

Additionally, the boy's reason for being at the spot where the heroine meets him is far-fetched and unlikely when eventually revealed. It was a difficult feat for a 9-year-old to accomplish to be there, and the person who asked him to do it should have known such a thing would be very diffcult and have suggested a far easier and more convenient meeting place.

As others have said, no 21st century woman would be very likely to force herself into the home of a complete stranger who dislikes her and a playboy who lusts after her. A silly and odd thing for a young woman to do. And the way the heroine treats the purported hero of the book makes me crazy to the point of wanting to slap her upside the head.

But despite some serious flaws the books moves along excitingly if you are willing to suspend belief a little bit. The plot is complex and satisfying. I can't rate this book at highly as I would the books of Mary Stewart, but I enjoyed it quite well enough that if Miss Nikas produces another I would certainly give it a try.

Although I'm not much of a "romance" reader, I thoroughly enjoyed The Divided Child from cover to cover and found it difficult to put down. The setting is gorgeous and inviting, the chacters well drawn, the "who done it" portion intriguing; but the real treat is the beautiful writing of Ms. Nikas. Her words flow effortlessly and warm the reader like the sunny beaches of Greece itself. I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy romantic suspense, and look forward to more from this talented author.

Ekaterine Nikas is an extremely talented writer who weaves the many strands of this intriguing and suspenseful book together in a thoroughly satisfying story. Set in Greece, the whole story seems to shimmer with the beauty of this country which the author obviously loves and knows well. Ms. Nikas has a gift for drawing characters that are both interesting and real. Her dialog is crisp and believable, and the banter between the hero and heroine is entertaining.

What more can I say? I loved this book.

For fans of Phyllis Whitney, Mary Stewart, and Barbara Michaels, reading Ms. Nikas' debut novel will be like curling up with a familiar old friend...at first. The lush settings, gorgeous language and fully realized characters make this book an absolute joy to read, and soon the clever twists and turns of the labyrinthine plot have you too busy guessing what will happen next to think about comparisons. Ms. Nikas makes a stunning debut and I look forward to more murder, mystery and romance from this very talented author.

A real page turner! The characters were so vivid. Easy to have a mental image of each and every person. I was in suspense from beginning to end, with lots of twists and turns. I am looking forward to the next book from this refreshing new author!

this admirable first novel follows the successful formula derived by Mary Stewart: the fabulous setting, a child in distress, a well-meaning heroine, a slightly tarnished hero and an insiduous villan. The story races along with the same breathless apprehension of an adrenaline saturated bloodstream; the reader reads quickly wanting more, moving from chapter to chapter happily engrossed on the moment's focus until sadly the ending is reached too soon and the entire experience is over.

For this sensation, I commend the author. However, the satisfaction I garnered from the story fell short. Although the plot and its twists were worked out to an almost mathematical satisfaction, I found that for the most part the actions of the characters did not make much sense. The heroine's insistant blundering into the life of the child and his questionable family could not be attributed just to her famous father's lack of attention. Her childhood problems are mentioned by the author, but never fully explored; I suppose the relaying of this information is meant to provide motivation, but I did not think it explained the heroine, Christine's perilous and seemingly thoughtless activities. Someone burdened with the black-hole-absence of a parent's nurturing would not necessarily be so clear and insightful when working through the Herculean chore of distinguishing truth from falsehood as analytically as Christine manages to do. I also think that in as much as the author wanted to conjur up the same magical experience combining danger and romance that were Mary Stewart's trademark, she forgot that her heroine was not the late 50s, early 60s narrator from the post WW2 United Kingdom. With this in mind, I do not think that any modern 21st century woman would invite herself to the home of a virtual stranger--indeed a stranger with the label "playboy" and not expect "other" consequences. Ms. Nikas needs to remember that the Stewart heroine stumbles onto things, she doesn't force her way in with a crowbar. Perhaps for this new century, the old formula needs to be altered a little. What worked for Stewart worked for Stewart. What works for other authors of this genre needs to be tweaked and played with by them to make their stories as fully satisfying as those by Stewart. "The Divided Child" needs a bit of massaging to make it a fully believable, memorable and delectable experience.

Nevertheless the book is far better than others of its kind; the author has done a fine job of recreating the same "Stewart" excitement and I look forward to her next offering.

Wonderful love story! Ms. Nikas blends the element of mystery with her romance, capturing readers to the last page! A must have for your keeper shelf.