Book review: Identity by Nora Roberts

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 Permalink

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.

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four-stars

Book review: Forgotten in Death by JD Robb

Wednesday, September 29, 2021 Permalink

JD Robb’s In Death series is a go-to read for me. I’ve not missed any and own most of the series. Forgotten in Death is number 53 and Nora Roberts’s creations – Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her mega-rich hubby Roarke are still going strong.

I hate the ‘guilty pleasure’ phrase as it implies there’s something wrong with what you’re enjoying but (as I’ve said before) these are akin to a comfort read. There’s a predictability – or rather reliability – about the characters and their behaviour as well as the overall story arc, but Robb / Roberts always offers readers a whodunnit that’s a bit different, though I’m not sure how she manages after so many.

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three-half-stars

Book review: Hideaway by Nora Roberts

Friday, June 5, 2020 Permalink

I really enjoy Nora Roberts’ romantic suspense novels. She generally offers a great balance between the two genres. Her latest, Hideaway, is no different. She also gives us some delightful characters. Some less-delightful as well obviously. And the novel unfolds over a couple of decades so we get to know some of the players well by the end.

This was a little longer than I probably would have liked, but it certainly hooks readers from the opening pages.

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three-half-stars

Book review: Golden in Death by JD Robb

Thursday, February 6, 2020 Permalink

JD Robb’s ‘In Death’ futuristic cop series is one of my ‘go-to’ reads. The arrival of a new instalment leap-frogs anything else in my to-be-read pile or reading queue. Golden in Death actually arrived on its publication day so I was completely justified in delving into it straight away.

Embarrassingly I really didn’t twig (for some time) that the book’s title was a nod to the fact that this is the 50th in the series. D’oh!

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three-half-stars

Book review: The Sleepover by Samantha King

Saturday, November 16, 2019 Permalink

Thrillers or psychological suspense novels featuring missing kids aren’t a rarity.  I went to a session at Bad Sydney Crime Writers Festival about ‘missing children’ in books and they touched on a something I – as a non-parent – found interesting.

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three-stars

Book review: Vendetta in Death by JD Robb

Saturday, October 12, 2019 Permalink

I participated in some Q&A thingy on Twitter the other day. Someone asked a range of questions for followers to answer. One was: which author’s books do we own the most of. (And I’m sure that sentence isn’t grammatically correct, but #whatevs!)

Mine was pretty easy. Thirty-two (32) JD Robb books from the In Death series, I said. And number 33 arrived the day after.

Of course, her latest Vendetta in Death, is in fact the 49th in the futuristic cop series and I’m fairly sure I just requested the next for review – the aptly named Golden In Death – out in February 2020.

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three-half-stars

Book review: Under Currents by Nora Roberts

Wednesday, July 10, 2019 Permalink

I love Nora Roberts’ romantic suspense novels. They usually offer up a good balance of the two, which is important given my love of thrillers and suspense and antipathy towards romance. (As such.)

Interestingly, though this includes some suspense, it’s kinda short-lived. It grapples with some unpleasant themes (domestic violence and family violence, so trigger alert for some), but the thing I enjoyed most about this book was, in fact, how the romance played out and the relationship between our two lead characters.

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four-stars

Book review: Little Liar by Lisa Ballantyne

Tuesday, August 7, 2018 Permalink

My version of Little Liar by Lisa Ballantyne is not actually out until February 2019, but as I’ve had a copy sitting in my e-reader for a while I decided to go ahead and read it. And I’m certainly glad I did.

I was going to hold off on the review as one’s not supposed to review books too far in advance, however…. then I noticed the book’s just been released in Australia, so here we go….

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three-half-stars

Book review: Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts

Friday, June 1, 2018 Permalink

There’s something unfortunately timely about this book, which centres around a mass shooting in the US.

Although Nora Roberts sticks to what she does well – romantic suspense wrapped in personal drama – here she also explores the impact of such an event on the survivors, and lasting effect it has on their lives… both good and bad.

Tragedy doesn’t necessarily change us. More often, I think, it brings out more of who we are – or were – all along. p 214

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four-stars