The Obsession by Nora Roberts Also by this author: The Liar, Nora Roberts - Key Trilogy: Key of Light, Key of Knowledge, Key of Valor, Time Was (Time and Again: Hornblower-Stone #1), Come Sundown, Year One (Chronicles of The One, #1), Shelter in Place
Published by Berkley, Brilliance Audio on April 12th 2016
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Pages: 464
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0399175164
ASIN: B01DDXXPNE
Goodreads
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.
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Barnes and Noble
#NoraRoberts #SerialKillers #RomanticSuspense #FBI @NRoberts_atHome @shannon_mcmanus
“I’m the daughter of a monster. I’m not afraid of monsters.” Wouldn’t you love to hear a kickass, self-made woman who has survived a horrendous childhood make that statement? Well, meet Naomi Carson. Once more, Nora Roberts has created a heroine anyone would love to call Friend and placed her in a story that will keep you guessing to the very end. I have to say when the villain is revealed, it was the last person I would have suspected, so, kudos, Ms. Roberts! You fooled me! The Obsession starts off with so much grimness, I just didn’t see how the brave little girl that was Naomi Bowes could become the strong, accomplished woman that is Naomi Carson; but she does, and that brings readers to the middle of the book in which Naomi finds a house she loves, a man she doesn’t want to love, and a dog that loves her. I have to confess I am fascinated by construction of any kind. I’ve always wanted to do a makeover on an old house, so when the author spares no detail in describing how Naomi takes an old place with an incredible view and makes it her home, I was hooked. During this portion of the book, readers are lulled into a false sense of normalcy after the opening chapters. Whether it was by design or just my way of thinking, this was a brilliant strategy on the part of the author. Here I am, all laid back just like I was watching HGTV, and the bodies start showing up. From that point forward, the citizens of Sunrise Cove awaken to share a nightmare which, for Naomi, began in West Virginia.
Narrator Shannon McManus is great with her interpretation of the characters. Each one has his or her own voice, including the young Naomi and the mature Naomi. Ms. McManus is an award-winner and, because I am familiar with her work from listening to other books she has narrated, I don’t mind saying, this one just seemed a bit off to me. The phrasing and the cadence made the delivery seem a bit stilted at times. This isn’t anything that’s going to detract from the overall performance. . .just something that created occasional hiccups for me personally.
The Obsession is definitely up to the storytelling standards expected by Nora Roberts’ fans. There are so many likable characters: Naomi’s two uncles, her brother Mason, her contractor Kevin and his wife Jenny, the super hot Xander, and, as I mentioned, two of my weaknesses — lovable dogs and HGTV. I highly recommend this engaging and suspense-filled listen.
About Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. “I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever,” she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.”
Leave a Reply