Gwen’s review of High Noon by Nora Roberts
Contemporary romantic suspense, hardcover published 10 Jul 07 by Putnam

This suspense is set in modern-day Savannah, Georgia.  The heroine, Phoebe MacNamara, is a police lieutenant, hostage negotiator, single mom, and the glue that holds her family together.  The hero, Duncan Swift, is a pub owner, entrepreneur, lottery winner, and all-around good guy. 

Here’s the book blurb:

Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age when an unstable man broke into her family’s home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she’s Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, defusing powderkeg situations with a talent for knowing when to give in-and when to jump in and take action. It’s satisfying work-and sometimes those skills come in handy at home dealing with her agoraphobic mother, still traumatized by the break-in after all these years, and her precocious seven-year-old, Carly.

It’s exactly that heady combination of steely courage and sensitivity that first attracts Duncan Swift to Phoebe. After observing her coax one of his employees down from a roof ledge, he is committed to keeping this intriguing, take-charge woman in his life. She’s used to working solo, but Phoebe’s discovering that no amount of negotiation can keep Duncan at arm’s length.

And when she’s grabbed by a man who throws a hood over her head and brutally assaults her-in her own precinct house-Phoebe can’t help but be deeply shaken. Then threatening messages show up on her doorstep, and she’s not just alarmed but frustrated. How do you go face-to-face with an opponent who refuses to look you in the eye?

Now, with Duncan backing her up every step of the way, she must establish contact with the faceless tormentor who is determined to make her a hostage to fear . . . before she becomes the final showdown.

Read an excerpt.

This is a typical Nora Roberts nopvel – well developed characterizations, satisfying story arcs, and excellent dialogue.  And I LOVE Duncan – he’s funny, self-effacing, vulnerable but still a guy, and sexy as hell.  Phoebe, as a single mom, is already a favorite character for me, but she’s also engaging, vulnerable, very capable at her job, and expert at juggling life’s responsibilities and loneliness.

Here’s an example of why Nora Roberts’ writing speaks so personally to me.  In this scene, Phoebe is describing her family – her mom, her “Aunt” Ava, her brother Carter, and her daughter:

There was her family, Phoebe thought…  this was the foundation, the bedrock.  Without them, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t just float off like a dust mote.

How many of us have felt that way about our families?  I know I have, but would never have been able to put it so elegantly and in only three short sentences.  There’s truth and beauty in those few short words.

I loved the romance, all of the characters, and the setting.  The villain is a very bad, sick man, but you still feel sorry for him.  I would have liked more story at the end, describing more of Phoebe and Duncan’s non-crisis-mode life together, but perhaps Nora will bring this couple back for another novel (please, please).  There’s a large cast of secondary characters that are all entertaining and none of them are superfluous or are there for comic relief.  It’s an all-around good story.

This book is very much worth your time and effort to read (it’s long).  One of the better contemporary love stories available today.

Grade:  A