The Witness by Nora Roberts

The Witness                           

By Nora Roberts

Overview

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

My thoughts

Mrs. Roberts is an expert in drawing her readers into the lives that she creates with rich characters that you immediately believe in. A master craftswoman of the written word who not only introduces characters that you know, but she builds the stories with such finesse that they are tangible, living things. The Witness is no exception.

Elizabeth is a character I recognized from both my days as an awkward teen, as well as today as I see this same unhappy dynamic played out every day in my classroom and on my campus. As Elizabeth struggles to find her own identity in her house with her “perfect” mother, rebellion is guaranteed. She veers so far away from the conformity that her mother has imposed, that the consequences are prolonged and far reaching. She soon finds herself in the unimaginable position of knowing that even law enforcement is untrustworthy. Faced with an uncertain future, she begins to run for – and from- her life.

Brooks is a likeable hero. A hometown police chief who finds himself intrigued  by the reclusive and young Abigail Lowery. Certain that things are not as they seem, he finds himself time and again interrupting her seclusion, immersing himself in her life as his feelings develop from mere fascination into love; if only she would trust him with her secrets. As their “relationship” blossoms, Abigail finds herself trusting Brooks more and more, eventually revealing the truth of herself and what she is running from.

I’m not going to tell you any more because I really do not want to spoil this for you, but I can tell you that this is one story you will not be able to put down.

If you have never read a Nora Roberts story before, this one will make you an addict! Set aside a day to do nothing but enter her latest world, and loose yourself in this story of crime, families, passion, and truth.


Product Details

• ISBN-13: 9780399159121
• Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
• Publication date: 4/17/2012
• Pages: 496
• Sales rank: 22
• Available in harback, and ebook formats from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, iBooks
  
  

Command and Control, a Review

Command and Control (Holding Out for A Hero #2)

by Shelli Stevens (Goodreads Author)

Holding Out for a Hero, Book 2

Megan Asher has a thriving career, looks, self-confidence to spare. It all means little without the love of her life. Trevor has returned from deployment in Afghanistan a haunted man, emotionally distant and unwilling to connect—except in bed. Then even that fragile thread snaps. Brokenhearted, she is forced to call off their wedding and, after a few months’ separation, try to move on.

With every aspect of his life spinning out of his once-legendary control, Trevor Wyatt convinces himself that Megan is better off—and safer—as far away from his demons as possible. Until he comes back to town for his brother’s wedding, and discovers Megan is dating.

Suddenly realizing what he’s thrown away, he vows to breach the fortress she’s built around her heart. They come together in a cataclysm of rekindled passion that unleashes the very demons he never wanted her to witness.

Back to square one, Megan realizes she must take the ultimate risk to slip past Trevor’s defenses. Give him control in the one place she can. The bedroom. The seductive move is one she prays will be the first step in helping heal him and their love.

Let me start by thanking Mrs. Stevens for creating a hero who is so beautifully written and poignant in todays times when we see so many men and women who are returning home after serving in battle and experiencing PTSD. Mrs. Stevens reminds us that even our heros need help occasionally, and not all scars are visible…

I admit that I enjoy a book better when I fall a little in love with the hero.  Trevor Wyatt is that type of man, one you sigh over while simultaneously wishing you could smack him on the head to get his attention.  An Army Captain who returns to his small hometown on leave for his brothers wedding, he his forced to work cooperatively with his former fiancée, Megan with the preparations.  Trevor realizes what he pushed out of his life when he returned from Afghanistan bitter and angry about life, and suffering from the guilt that he returned when others under his command did not, yet he is not ready to accept that Megan has moved on with her life.

Megan Asher is a successful attorney who lives and works in Wyattsvile.  She loves her job, her town, her friends, and is still in love with Trevor. Megan’s only condition for any reconciliation with Trevor is that he gets help to deal with his PTSD. She and Trevor are forced to work together for the wedding, and she devises a plan to help Trevor battle his ghosts and guilt, she just needs to give up some of her own control to succeed.

If you are looking for a good story with a well-written hero, then look no farther, you really should add this to your to be read list!

This story contains scenes with light bondage and spanking,