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danubooks 's review for:
Hidden Nature
by Nora Roberts
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
They got a second chance at life...
...but someone is determined to take it away.
Sloan Cooper is a good cop and investigator. After a chance encounter with a robbery in progress left her with serious injuries and a long recovery, the usually strong and active woman had to take things slow and easy (which drove her crazy) at her parents' home in Heron's Rest. The unexplained disappearance of a local woman gives her something she can use her professional instincts to look into online, which suits her more than crocheting (although she's doing that too). Meanwhile Nash Littlefield, a successful New York financier, has bought a house in Heron's Rest that needs a lot of work...which suits him just fine, because working with his hands is what he actually likes to do. His demanding parents had pushed him into the finance world, but he has finally broken free of their control....he is ready to start leading the life he wants. Turns out his younger brother Theo wants out of the mold their parents forced him into (law) too, and wants to join his brother in starting up a fix-it business. Sloan's informal digging into the missing woman's case unearths something eerie....there are several other cases in the surrounding areas that have some commonalities with that one, and the only thing the missing people have in common is that at some point in the recent past they were clinically dead but brought back to life by medical professionals. Who could want to punish people who have been gifted with a second chance at life? Sloan herself was dead for a few minutes after the incident that left her in bad shape; is she in danger too? As Nash and Sloan slowly draw closer, there is danger lurking closer than either suspects.
When a reader picks up a Nora Roberts book, they can be sure that the female protagonist will be pretty, strong and independent, and the man in her life will be much the same (just in masculine terms), and in Sloan and Nash that's exactly what they'll find. One little quirk in this book is that the two don't officially meet one another until almost halfway through the book; prior to that, the backstories of Sloan and her family, Sloan's injury and recuperation, Nash and Theo's backstory and that of the couple behind the disappearances of area people are rolled out. I knew that their coming together was going to happen, it was just odd for it to take so long to actually begin. That aside, the characters main and secondary are fun to get to know, the town of Heron's Rest is charming, and the relationships within and between the two families is great. Clara and Sam, the villains of the piece, are both weird and annoying to be honest...deadly, of course, but in a dull sort of way. A fun, light, quick read, maybe not my favorite of Ms Roberts' stories but enjoyable nonetheless. Her legion of fans will read it and love it, and readers of Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter and Iris Johansen should enjoy it too. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me access to this romantic thriller that weaves together a crime novel, a family saga, and a double dose of romance in exchange for my honest review.
...but someone is determined to take it away.
Sloan Cooper is a good cop and investigator. After a chance encounter with a robbery in progress left her with serious injuries and a long recovery, the usually strong and active woman had to take things slow and easy (which drove her crazy) at her parents' home in Heron's Rest. The unexplained disappearance of a local woman gives her something she can use her professional instincts to look into online, which suits her more than crocheting (although she's doing that too). Meanwhile Nash Littlefield, a successful New York financier, has bought a house in Heron's Rest that needs a lot of work...which suits him just fine, because working with his hands is what he actually likes to do. His demanding parents had pushed him into the finance world, but he has finally broken free of their control....he is ready to start leading the life he wants. Turns out his younger brother Theo wants out of the mold their parents forced him into (law) too, and wants to join his brother in starting up a fix-it business. Sloan's informal digging into the missing woman's case unearths something eerie....there are several other cases in the surrounding areas that have some commonalities with that one, and the only thing the missing people have in common is that at some point in the recent past they were clinically dead but brought back to life by medical professionals. Who could want to punish people who have been gifted with a second chance at life? Sloan herself was dead for a few minutes after the incident that left her in bad shape; is she in danger too? As Nash and Sloan slowly draw closer, there is danger lurking closer than either suspects.
When a reader picks up a Nora Roberts book, they can be sure that the female protagonist will be pretty, strong and independent, and the man in her life will be much the same (just in masculine terms), and in Sloan and Nash that's exactly what they'll find. One little quirk in this book is that the two don't officially meet one another until almost halfway through the book; prior to that, the backstories of Sloan and her family, Sloan's injury and recuperation, Nash and Theo's backstory and that of the couple behind the disappearances of area people are rolled out. I knew that their coming together was going to happen, it was just odd for it to take so long to actually begin. That aside, the characters main and secondary are fun to get to know, the town of Heron's Rest is charming, and the relationships within and between the two families is great. Clara and Sam, the villains of the piece, are both weird and annoying to be honest...deadly, of course, but in a dull sort of way. A fun, light, quick read, maybe not my favorite of Ms Roberts' stories but enjoyable nonetheless. Her legion of fans will read it and love it, and readers of Sandra Brown, Catherine Coulter and Iris Johansen should enjoy it too. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me access to this romantic thriller that weaves together a crime novel, a family saga, and a double dose of romance in exchange for my honest review.