From Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller Shelter in Place (June 2018)–a powerful tale of heart, heroism…and propulsive suspense. It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at video game store tended to … together, and the manager at video game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.
The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies’ room, helplessly clutching her cell phone–until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.
But one person wasn’t satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait–and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.
more
Friday, July 22, 2005 – The day it all began. No one would ever be the same. Lives shattered. Lives ended. Innocence lost. Three teenagers brought together in one place & time to maim & destroy. People’s lives changed forever. Only Nora Roberts could write this story at this time & have it so emotionally charged it transcends the paper & words used. From the first word, my attention was completed captivated & my emotions were intertwined with the words on the page. Ms. Roberts prose is so emotionally charged that you feel everything the characters are feeling. I found myself crying for the kids, for the parents, for the first responders. Then to find out that it wasn’t over. The survivors were being terrorized all over again.
Nora Roberts writes the most wonderful emotionally charged books. As a reader, she makes sure you enjoy all of the feels. Instead of treating this as a sensationalized act, she follows the path of the survivors trying to make sense of it all & learning to live again. No one could ever forget or get over this type of tragedy but they learned to go on & create a different future than they had planned. The ultimate terror is to realize it isn’t over & someone is stalking you just because you were there. Be prepared when you read this. Have a box (or two) of tissues handy. Give yourself time. As I was reading, I had to go back & reread segments. All emotions bombarded me on all sides. Now my eyes are sore. My heart is heavy. This is a book I will be going back to read again!
I love Nora Roberts. She did not disappoint with this Romantic Suspense!
In a world where we hear about mass shootings on a weekly basis, this book begins with a horrific mass shooting. Ms. Roberts takes it a step further than expected and the mass shooting becomes an almost unending horror tale over years with an unknown assailant and the ones that walked away being targeted for twisted vengeance. Yes, the story also includes some romance, but for this reader, the suspense-thriller elements made this a true page-turner.
This was a hard book to start. Nora Roberts writes her characters so well that I felt as if I were the fifteen-year-old girl hiding in the bathroom while her friends were shot down in the mall theater. Simone Knox kept her head and dialed 9-1-1, her early response saved lives.
Reed Quartermain was home from college working at the mall and hoping to get a date with the girl at the sunglasses kiosk when all hell breaks loose. Two guys come into the mall and start shooting people. He rescues a kid and hides out in the same kiosk with the girl’s blood pooling at his feet.
A young female police officer is one of the first responders. She takes down JJ Hobart in the theatre. Her quick response and caring changes lives. It makes a huge impact on the college kid, Reed, who because of that night, because of Essie, he decides to join the police force.
Simone doesn’t know how to live. She just wants to forget. Mi-Hi Jung wants her life to mean something, both mourn the loss of their friend, Tish. It is her one constant, her grandmother CiCi, who sees what she really needs and helps her to find it once she is ready to start living her own life.
Cici, a renowned artist, gives Simone the tools to find her own path. Even as she battles her parents and sister, their relationship strained at best, Simone begins to find herself.
As one thing leads to another, Reed makes detective and becomes partnered with his mentor and friend. He is constantly seeking information about that night. He’s always felt there was something missing.
Things heat up when he realizes the three boys were not the masterminds behind the mall shooting, and someone is finishing off the survivors from that night.
Roberts ratchets up the tension as more people start dying and Reed tries to build his case. When he becomes a target, he knows those he cares about could be hurt as well.
As the newly hired chief of police of Tranquility Island, he hopes to stand his ground. When lives are on the line, a simple mistake could be a costly one.
Will they catch a psychopath before other innocents die or will Reed be too late?
A fantastic story that kept me on the edge of my seat.
This is an exciting book with a lot of action and occasional violence. The inciting incident is a mass shooting, which may be too intense for some readers. The hero and heroine are both survivors in all senses of the word. The villain is a surprise and Roberts’ character development is first rate.
While some may find the subject of this book uncomfortable – a mass shooting in a busy mall by teenagers – I thought it a brilliant read. My only slight negative, the teenager characters at the start of the book seemed a little overdone. This was more than made up for by the rounded, adult characters they developed into for much of the book. I was completely drawn into the story and looked forward each evening to read some more.
Highly recommend to thriller and romantic suspense readers. One of my favourite reads of the year.
The subject had me in tears several times, from beginning to end. It was emotionally gripping with a lightness in the romance which reaffirmed life.
Nora Roberts handles the difficult subject of a mass shooting and the aftermath on the lives of some of the survivors without standing on a soapbox.
I have never been disappointed in a Nora Roberts novel, and this one is no exception. Hesitant to read it, given the disturbing content that shaped the lives of many young adults, parents and first responders, I tucked in to give it a chance. It was interesting to read how the MC’s found their way to each other, how they loved, and more importantly, how the author reveals layer by layer, the healing process of surviving trauma. This is a love story, one that is revealed as a true and trusting love, but it is also a love story of friends and family; a concept that absolutely resonates with me. Praise to Ms. Roberts for giving love and care to a difficult, disturbing, and relevant plot. Worth the read.
Highly recommend this fast-paced read.
A book I would read again and again by an author I LOVE!
SHELTER IN PLACE by Nora Roberts had my emotions all over the place, but isn’t that what a good book does? Part psychological thriller, part romantic suspense and part coming of age for a group who survive one of the horrors of present day life, a mass shooter event.
This book starts with a mass shooting perpetrated by three teenage males at a suburban mall.
Simone Knox and her two best friends are in the movie theater. When Simone starts to leave the restroom, she hears screams and gunshots. She returns to a restroom stall and is the first to call 911 as she shelters in place.
Reed Quartermaine waits tables in an Italian restaurant in the DownEast Mall. On his way back from his break, he is confronted by people running the opposite way and pops of gun fire. He picks up a bloodied little boy who appears to be alone and runs for cover.
Essie McVee is a police officer with her partner, dealing with a minor traffic accident in the mall parking lot when they receive the call of active shooters. She is the first on the scene at the movie theater and is able to take down one of the shooters.
From this point on, the story follows the intertwining lives of these three main survivors and how all of the survivors dealt with the trauma of that day and death of their family or friends throughout their lives. What becomes apparent though as time goes on is there is one person who is not finished with that day and is seeking revenge against all of those who survived.
I loved all of these characters! Reed and Simone had such differing ways of coping with their lives after the shooting. Reed is such a strong hero who refuses to let evil win. Essie is the mentor Reed needs at just the right time. Simone runs from the memories at first, but through her art she begins to heal and then begins to memorialize the loved ones lost on that day in the mall. Even all of the secondary characters bring such life to this book. I absolutely loved CiCi, who was the best grandmother character ever.
This book is written covering many years. Ms. Roberts has the characters growing stronger and coming together to fight the evil that has tracked them for execution. I found this book difficult to put down. I love Nora Roberts’ books and characters.
It takes only 8 minutes to take the lives of some and destroy the illusion of safety for everyone else. In 8 minutes, your body goes still, your mind says no and you can’t read what happens without a physical/emotional reaction.
Welcome to a small area outside of Portland Maine.. the beaches, tourists, beautiful homes, the islands and artists. A shooting takes place, you meet the victims and survivors and follow them over a period of years. The three amigos were Tish, Mi and Simone…only two survive. Then meet unlikely heroes like Reed and his buddy Chaz as they hide people from the slaughter.
Warning that the first chapters are hard to read but really important. And the author does a superb job here, just the facts, that in 8 minutes, scary things can happen to anyone.
Meet Essie, a cop, dedicated and compassionate as she takes down a shooter and comforts victims. You’ll see Essie grow and deal with her experiences as she works with Reed and helps him through it. Reed needs his logic and humor and grace and becomes a cop. Bull takes Reed on under his wing training him. Then there is Simone, the first caller for help, her friends shot and her mom and sister also at the mall running from the shooters. Chaz, Reed’s best buddy working in a store…you’ll meet him again. Mi wants to be a survivor, a doctor, but now she’s a victim in a hospital.
These people are shown over time growing, hiding, bitter, hopeful, drinking, and just trying to live. Simone’s mom says to her, “Not everyone can move through and beyond a tragedy.” And that is what this book is about!
There are familiy dramas and I was so impressed with the scenes between Cici, Simone and Natalie. Nat is a brat and even her grandmom Cici can’t get through to her. The talk between Simone and Nat is an eye opener….both dealt with the shooting differently and both hurt each other without realizing why ..till they talked.
Come to Tranquillity Island where Cici, an artist and hippie, lives and helps Simone heal. And Reed moves to the island after the shock of his life…not telling you more. Expect romance, gentle humor, beautiful descriptions of homes and food…it is Nora Roberts. BUT the incident of 8 minutes isn’t over, it seems there was a third person involved and wants revenge on the survivors. By now, you are totally into the characters like Essie, cop, wife and mom and tense up as the dead start piling up. Meet Patricia, mentally unstable, highly intelligent and motivated. Meet deputy dog, Barney, an abused animal fearful of all till given a home, a reason to love. Everyone of these people are trying to just live their lives, some better than others.
Read this book being mindful of the subject matter of mass shootings. This book ends on a happier note but does show realistic ways people react to what life hands them.
Fantastic. Review to follow.
Do not miss reading this book
Nora Roberts mind is a thing of beauty and horror. She weaves terror, horrific characters, and beautiful people into this story. It gives you hope that there are more Reed’s, Simone’s and Cici’s in this world than there are JJ’s and Patricia (especially Patricia). What begins as any other weekend night at a mall becomes a nightmare for an entire community. Yes, it sounds familiar and yes it is tragic. But, there is light. There is hope. There is strength in the characters that live their lives in this novel. Yes, there is a little romance but it is not the focus. The focus is on living your life, dealing with your pain and sorrow, overcoming fear. There are spine-tingling moments as well as heart-stopping and gut-clenching. But there is a laugh to offset these in additions to smiles and tears of both joy and sadness. Thank you, Nora, for taking this hard subject that is too prevalent in our society and giving it that light and hope.
A real life type story. A bit graphic in the beginning but held me all the way through. So well written weaving the story of the characters from one to another. Could not put this down.
I have read other Nora Roberts books and shied away from this one because I was afraid it wouldn’t hold my attention. This book completely changed my thoughts of Nora Roberts. It was filled with thought, action, and humor. The characters were dynamic and interesting. Reviews I read said this book reminded them of when Roberts first started writing. I’ll have to go back to some of her older books because this one was exactly what I like to read.
I received a preview of the first chapter of this book several months ago and immediately put it on preorder even though the release date was further in advance than I usually buy. But, hey, Nora Roberts. This book has a similar format as the Witness which I really liked, although I found the subplots in the witness much more entertaining. (I’ve never really found living in the mind of the killer very compelling, although Roberts manages it with her usual flair.)
There is no real mystery here as we know the killer very early on. The suspense comes from catching the killer. Readers of the “In Death” series will very much enjoy this one.
As an Indi author I find myself getting carried away reading other Indi works. I used to be really good about rotating in classics, favorite authors and big name/best sellers. Any more, though, I’ve slacked off at my usual rotation. Aside from a King book every once in a while as a part of a monthly reading group, and a handful of randoms throughout 2020, I haven’t been reading as many big name authors as I usually like to. The other day I came across a meme on FB that said to treat yourself to an old book for every two new ones that you read. It kind of sunk in that I need to get back to doing this. SO, I picked a recommended read by Nora Roberts that a lady in a book group told me not to long ago was her fav of Ms. Roberts. I’m yet to read anything by this extremely popular, long time renowned writer (Don’t shoot me) so I dove in.
HERE’S MY 5 STAR REVIEW:
Talk about excellent world building and mastering personalities! Shelter in Place is quite the impressive book! There are loads of characters and it’s safe to say that I loved each and every one. The story covers a fifteen year range, and truly shows the strengths and struggles that the characters face over time, which I especially loved. More so than any other with Reed, a boy who becomes cop, who becomes sheriff. His choice of a career in law is driven by the heinous crime that the books starts out in, and his admiration of a detective who showed up at the tragedy.
There was a shooting at a mall, a mass murder that killed and injured several people. Three teenage boys were the culprits, and after they were shot dead on site by the officers on duty, those effected assumed that the three were also the mastermind, and it was brought to an end… but were they?
One thing that I really liked about the book is that Roberts manages to rotate characters and really cover their angles and lives thoroughly. She even ties them all together in memorable ways, so that each of their stories weave together flawlessly. Three of the people, right out the gate, were best friends. Simone and Mee were out to a movie at the mall and their best friend died. Mee was shot a couple times and in critical condition. Simone ran, hid in the bathroom and was the first person in the mall to call 911. Their lives are never the same, and that shooting not only places a plague of guilt on them, but plays a part of every decision they make from that day forward. They cling to one another, and each try to move forward in ways that show their fallen friend honor. Simone, eventually, winds up finding retreat with her grandma CeCe. I love love love CeCe, she’s by far my favorite character. She’s spunky, brave, and cut from a cloth of her very own. CeCe is an artist and eventually helps Simone discover her own passion and talent for sculpting, which really plays a big part in the healing process for dozens of families later on down the line.
Back to Reed. He too was there when it happens. He knows deep in his guts that there was more to that horrendous shooting than three young boys with stolen guns who just decide spur of the moment to go on a killing spree. The motive felt deeper, more personal. So, he pursues a career in law, on the field, and he’s really good at what he does. He dedicates himself to years of watching and studying the survivors, as well as the victims’ families. He looks for patterns and anything that seems a little bit too OFF. As the years pass, and a few more people wind up dying in very strange ways, he decides to follow his instinct and pursue a certain family. When he shows up early to a domestic incident, he runs smack into the actual mastermind of the crimes… in the act! He is unable to save this persons next victims. He’s even shot himself in the act, but he also wounds this person. From here everything spirals, and the guard is let down. One thing leads to another and the mayhem unfolds. Everything is very nicely tied together, and no stones are left unturned. There’s drama, action and emotional turmoil at every turn. I loved this book, and am delighted to have read it!
Psychopath, suspense, romance, true love – what more could you want? Five stars!
I loved this story. Another Nora Roberts book beginning with a scene that could be taken from a nightmarish real life mall shooting. Another book hard to put down to get on with the ordinariness of real life. The scenes of carnage in the mall were well written, without being gruesome, and had me cheering on the bravery of those helping each other to survive.
In the aftermath of the shooting, I was transported to a world of wonderful characters, always with the suspenseful edge of knowing the “brains” behind the shooting is still out there, in this case, a woman with psychopathic hatred, exacting revenge on those who survived. The killer’s cleverness keeps her ahead of authorities, always heading closer to murdering the main characters as they learn to not just to survive terrible events, but to thrive and love. Great story with a great ending!