The Obsession by Nora Roberts
Penguin Publishing Group – Berkley
Publication Date: April 12, 2016
Date Read: April 19, 2016
Source: First to Read
★★★★☆
The riveting new novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Liar.
Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.
Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
I really enjoyed reading this book. More than I thought I would to be honest about it. I have read Nora Roberts before but it has been years since the last time I picked up one of her stories. For some reason, this book’s description really appealed to me so I decided that it was time to try Nora Roberts once again. Were her books always this good? The opening part of the book really grabbed a hold of me in a way that I did not expect. When I think Nora Roberts, I think of romance but this book was so much more than that.
The story focuses on Naomi beginning when she is just a young child. Naomi follows her father into the woods one night hoping to get a peek at her birthday present. Instead, she finds a young woman locked in a cellar that her father has been holding captive. She helps the woman escape and her father is sent to jail as a serial murderer.
Naomi was such a strong character from the very beginning. She immediately decides to do what she knows is right regardless of what it will cost her and her family. Her uncle Seth and his partner, Henry, take in Naomi, her brother, and their mother but their life is far from easy and they soon suffer another major loss.
As an adult, Naomi is a successful photographer. She buys a large house on the west coast in need of major remodeling. She soon connects with many of the local residents and starts to really make a home for herself. There is an instant attraction between Naomi and Xander and they seem to fit together well. When the town that she has moved to is struck by murder things become intense.
I did figure out who the murderer was fairly early in the story but it didn’t take away from the suspense for me. Even though I had a good guess, I wasn’t positive that I was right so I kept turning the pages. I enjoy a bit of violence in a story so those parts of the story worked very well for me even though they may be too much for more sensitive readers. I really don’t remember this kind of violence in a Nora Roberts book before but I have to say that I liked it.
I really liked the psychological aspect of the story more than anything. I never have given a whole lot of thought to what it must be like to be a family member of someone like Naomi’s father. The impact on how she lived her life and thought about things was significant. Xander’s personality worked well with hers. He was very patient and seemed to know just what she needed. I really liked them as a couple. The romance didn’t overtake the story at all and I thought it was really nicely balanced.
I would highly recommend this book to fans of romantic suspense. I have read quite a few books by Nora Roberts and am looking forward to picking up more in the future.
I received an advance reader edition of this book from Penguin Publishing Group – Berkley via First to Read for the purpose of providing an honest review.
About the AuthorNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including The Liar, The Collector, Whiskey Beach, The Witness,
and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death
series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500
million copies of her books in print.
I can count on the one hand how many of her books I've read (including JD Robb's books – which is a different beast altogether). The last full length novel of hers that I read was too unnecessary long for me. I must say that I do like the psychological thematics of this one. Worth a look-see, for sure.
I was hoping this one would be good. I had my eye on it for my first Nora Roberts book. Yeah, I haven't tried her books yet. 😉
oh yay, so glad you enjoyed this one!! I have been thinking about picking her up again since it has been a little while.
I've actually never read Nora Roberts but this one definitely appeals to me. Glad you enjoyed it – Great review!
I enjoy some of her books but like you, it's been several years since I read one. This does sound rather interesting and great review!
I've only gotten a taste of Nora Roberts in that recent magic series but for some reason never got to finish the fist book. She's a great storyteller. This book seems pretty intriguing. I like that female character is strong, and I love stories like this where someone who had experienced horror in the past tries to move on but ends up facing horror again. I'm getting a lot of suspense and that alone has piqued my interest. Great review. Glad you liked it.
Great review sadly I haven't read a Nora Roberts book yet, but now after reading your review I really want too check out her books soonish. I heard nothing but amazing things about her books and this one looks and sounds absolutely amazing! Thank you for your awesome post.
I'm glad that you enjoyed this book. I absolutely love Nora Roberts and am starting this one today! I usually gravitate towards her romantic getaway, finding yourself type of books but I'm sure I'll love this one. Great review!
Miranda @ Miranda's Book Blog