It’d been a while between Nora Roberts’ books for me. Of course I continue to read her JD Robb ‘In Death’ series but I also enjoy her romantic suspense novels and her latest, Identity, is another great read. It was perhaps a smidge longer than it needed to be but offers great characters and – though not edge-of-your-seat suspense – the inevitability of what’s to come simmers menacingly in the background.

Identity
by Nora Roberts
Published by Piatkus
on 09/05/2023
Source: Hachette Australia
Genres: Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 9780349433974
Pages: 437

Goodreads

Morgan Albright dreams of owning her own bar one day but she's bartending for now - working hard, saving money. Life is hectic but she loves sharing a house with her best friend, Nina, and she is even finding time to date for the first time in what feels like forever.

When a seemingly random attack turns Morgan's life upside down, she must leave the city to return to her family home. She hopes that moving back to a small town where she can feel safe will help her to put the horror of that day behind her but, as Morgan soon discovers, sometimes your past just doesn't want to let you go...

I liked that the backcover blurb of my version of this book (above) doesn’t tell us ‘how’ Morgan’s world is upended so I was suitably gobsmacked when it happens.

Roberts has given us a great lead in Morgan who’s certainly got her life all mapped out. Of course that changes and the ‘thing’ that crushes her soul and dreams is a gift that keeps on giving as she continues to be beleaguered by its impact.

She returns to her family home with her proverbial tail very much between her legs – disappointing herself but not her mother and grandmother. We learn that her mother Audrey did something similar after breaking up with Morgan’s father – tried to go it alone before reaching out to her own mother, Olivia for help. I liked Audrey and Olivia. They’re very different but truly enjoy each other’s company – a close relationship that goes beyond the mother / daughter bond.

Family connections help Morgan get a job managing a bar at a resort and it’s there she becomes involved with the resort’s owners, the Jameson family. Romance blossoms, but of course in the background there’s the inevitability of that ‘thing’ simmering away.

What I really liked about this is that Roberts shows her mastery (and maintains her OG status) by not overdramatising elements. She doesn’t drag out the will they / won’t they scenes and keeps the tension and suspense without descending into melodramatics.  Even the climax isn’t over-the-top or underdone. More like Goldilocks’s chair, porridge and bed choices…. just right.

Identity by Nora Roberts was published in Australia by Hachette and is now available.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes.