In her latest romantic suspense, Nora Roberts takes us to Whiskey Beach, an idyllic village on the ocean, outside of Boston. Attorney Eli Landon has been accused of murdering his wife, but without enough evidence, prosecutors are unable to charge him with the crime. Harassed by police and the media,  fired from his job and depressed, Eli heads to Whiskey Beach and his family home Bluff House. The most recent resident was his grandmother, who is recovering from serious injuries from a fall in the house, but Landons have lived in the huge old house since the 1700′s. Eli meets the quirky and beautiful Abra–a local woman who teaches yoga, is a housekeeper and cook and a jack-of-all-trades in the village. Abra and Eli slowly develop a relationship and Abra encourages Eli to fight back–to regain his confidence, believe in himself and his new writing career and to try to prove his innocence. On the hunt for his wife’s murderer, they discover the stories of hidden treasure and try to solve the mysteries of an unknown attacker and the murder of a private investigator. Likeable characters, a plot with twists and turns, an intriguing mystery and a sweet romance combine to make this another winning story by Nora Roberts.

In Nora Roberts’ latest suspense novel The Witness, Elizabeth Fitch is a teenager with a very unique upbringing–she is a genius, ready to enter Harvard Medical School at 17, and has been raised by her controlling and distant mother. Resentful that she has never expperienced any kind of teen lifestyle, Elizabeth rebels against her mother’s directives and when left alone at home, she heads to a nightclub with a friend. After dancing, drinking and meeting a handsome Russian nightclub owner, she leaves the club with him and faces a terrifying experience that will change her life forever.

Twelve years later, she is living as Abigail in a small town in the Ozarks, where she keeps to herself and works from her home designing security software. She is an object of speculation by the local residents, and her reserved manner sparks the interest of the local police chief, Brooks. He suspects she has a hidden past and as he comes to know her, hopes she can learn to trust him with her secrets. As Abigail opens up to Brooks, she must face her past and decide whether she wants to just live or to have a life.

Roberts has created a novel with well-drawn, likeable characters that the reader comes to care about. The details of small-town life, the contrasts drawn to show the differences in families and the suspense created as Abigail must contend with her past in order to move forward with her life all combine to make this a gripping and intense story.

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Fans of romantic suspense by Nora Roberts will be pleased to find that her latest novel Chasing Fire is available at the library. Roberts explores the world of elite smoke jumping fire fighters in this story of adventure and intrigue. Rowan Tripp, daughter of a famous smoke jumper, has also trained to become a skilled smoke jumper. She loves her work but is haunted by the death of a fellow jumper in a fire during the last season. She trains a new crop of jumpers for the Missoula, MT group and over the season they are bonded into a close knit, efficient unit whose lives are dependent upon each other. Gull Curry is a new member of the team, intelligent and capable, and attracted to Rowan. Rowan is a strong, competent female character who fights her attraction to Gull. As the fire season progresses, the team is plagued by troubling incidents, arson, murder and life-threatening sabotage. The interplay between Rowan and Gull is entertaining and touching, and both are very much equals in the relationship. The smoke jumping crew is filled with vivid and believable characters. Roberts has done her research on smoke jumping and her descriptions of parachuting into forest fires and fighting the fires are exciting and enthralling. This is an absorbing mystery as well as an homage to the bravery of the dedicated people who work as smoke jumpers to save our forested wilderness areas.

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