The riveting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Liar. “She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.” Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi … woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly 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 the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
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Naomi Bowes discovers that her father is a serial killer, a terrifying situation made much worse later in her life when her father is in prison and someone is after her. This is such an intense story, so compelling I had trouble putting it down. Norah Roberts is a fantastic writer and this is proof.
I enjoyed this book but found the constant references to cooking (and recipes) and photography slowed down the narrative.
I enjoy all of Nora Roberts books. This is one of my favorites
I should know better than to pick up a Nora Roberts when I have other things I’m meant to be doing. I couldn’t put this down. I loved it! Nobody writes “woman in jeopardy” like Nora Roberts. Naomi would pull at anybody’s heartstrings. Imagine discovering your father is a serial killer when you’re twelve years old! Imagine rescuing one of his victims and having to live with that for the rest of your life. Xander was just perfect. And as I have a soft-spot for anything to do with old house renovation, that was me sucked-in for a couple of days. Couldn’t recommend it more. My favourite book of the year, by far.
Nora Roberts has been one of my go to authors for years and The Obsession is a great example of the awe inspiring storytelling ability of Ms. Roberts that has kept me addicted to her writing. This book draws you in from the first sentence describing little Naomi Bowes’ inability to sleep due to the humid heat of a summer night and her excited anticipation of her upcoming 12th birthday. The progression from her innocent musing of possible birthday gifts to the horrific find that exposes her father as a sadistic serial killer in the first chapter is astonishing and kept me from being able to put this book down until the very end. There is so much to recommend this story: the evolution of Naomi’s photographic talent, the depth of the secondary characters which includes a lovable dog named Tag, the ins and outs of her love affair with Xander, and of course the impact of another serial kiler on Naomi’s new life in a small town. A truly unforgettable story by a master storyteller!
This was one of my favorite reads! It was actually my first Nora Roberts books and I cant believe I haven’t read more. Highly recommended if you love suspense books that keep you on your toes. This was one book that kept me up into the middle of the night just so I could finish.
Hooked from beginning to end.
Another fast-paced thriller from Nora Roberts. When a young girl learns that her father his a serial killer, her uncles whisk her to New York to give her a new start in life. But the past won’t release her and she has to confront it.
Love most her books
Heart wrenching , but attention grabbing . The book holds your interest and informs you in a non preaching way . A good book .
This is also a really great Nora Roberts book to read. Truly enjoyed reading and had a hard time putting it down
The writing is flowing and beautiful, and the plot is exciting and intriguing to the last page.
Naomi’s character is cold and distant, and she finds it difficult to reveal and talk about emotions in general and her feelings in particular. She doesn’t use many words and seems to be somewhat anemic and lacks sufficient depth throughout the book. In contrast, Xander’s character is much more energetic and adds color to the story. I loved his directness, his confidence and his determination to pursue Naomi, despite all the hardships she was giving him.
I loved the sub-characters and their contribution to the plot.
There were many descriptions of scenery and objects, but for once, this time it didn’t bother me during reading. There were developments in the plot, and it was not dull for a moment. The end, in my opinion, was somewhat predictable, but it doesn’t detract from the quality of the book.
Her characters stay with you long after you finish the last page.
One of my favorite Nora reads. Can’t imagine being in the same situation as the heroine. A must read for romantic suspense readers.
Amazing…It has a great mystery and a great storyline that is twisted but it was a wonderful characters.
This book was awesome couldn’t put it down so much detail, love her books !!!
This was a fantastic thriller, and I had no idea who the villain was, though there were many throughout, until the very end. It wasn’t even someone on my radar. But I found the story exciting from the moment the child Naomi Bowes discovers a dirty little secret through her reinvention of herself. I found the characters to be full and well written, the story to be riveting (Contrary to some, I love the refurbishing moments because I love the history of houses and items.) The fear and horrific pieces were palpable, and the developing interest between Naomi and Xander was steamy. Nothing catches my attention like a story I can’t predict, and that’s one of the things I loved about this one.
That being said, many authors are using what they’re calling an Omniscient POV, which, for those who don’t work in the industry, basically means that the author can change points of view from character to character whenever they see fit. I don’t believe in an Omniscient POV, and was truly disappointed when I found it used by such a prominent author. I haven’t read one of her books in quite a while, but this was my one hesitation to giving this book the remaining two stars. When a point of view is moved to another character without forewarning or in the middle of another character’s POV, it is confusing and requires the reader to read the passage over more than once in order to understand what is happening. To me that is simply sloppy writing and detracts from the story. Though this book was well written and from multiple points of view, tossing in someone else’s viewpoint in the middle of the POV of another character muddled the scenes on more than one occasion, which is obviously one of my pet peeves. There was also some unnecessary and incorrect punctuation, which is another point that can throw the reader off.
The problems need correcting, and a good editor would have noticed them, brought them up with the author, and found a way to correct them before publishing, so the author is not the only one to blame. There were moments that had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath. So I recommend the book for the story which did exactly these things for me.
Never disappointed reading a Nora book. Great story, I loved it and I didn’t see that end result coming.
One of the best books I’ve ever read!
I prefer Nora’s stand alones and this one did not disappoint. The entire beginning hooks you in and won’t let go.