Sandy M’s review of The Obsession by Nora Roberts
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by Berkley 12 Apr 16
When you first meet little Naomi, you’re just as excited as she is that perhaps she’ll get that bicycle she wants so very badly for her birthday. Then as she creeps through the trees to see where her father is going and maybe spend some time with him, you are right there with her, silently stepping through the dark and eerie woods until she trips upon the horrible hiding place of a man bent on doing unspeakable things to women. Next you live with her as she assists a helpless victim and tells the authorities what she found and that her father is behind it all. After it’s all over and before you move on to the next part of her life, you hope against hope that little girl really can move on and live life in any way possible.
Fortunately, with the love of her uncle and his husband, she and her brother Mason do quite well, even when the past keeps intruding on their lives over the years, causing anguish anew in the reliving of being the children of Thomas David Bowes. Their mother is another story altogether. Though she tries to live the new life her brother has given her family, she can’t stay away from Thomas and visits him in prison now and again. The man has some hold over her that I don’t think anyone can understand, turning her into a woman so different from who she was before she married him.
After changing her name and finishing school, Naomi eventually becomes a photographer and is an exceptional talent. It’s seventeen years after that horrible night, and she ends up in Sunrise Cove, Washington, where an old, beat-up house calls to her and makes her think, for the first time, about putting down roots. She buys the place and begins renovations, turning it into a home step by step.
She also meets Xander Keaton, local mechanic. Xander is definitely a romantic hero, over the top, sexy, alpha when necessary, and I love him. He’s a bookworm nerd, a business owner, and a weekend rock band member. He does it all. And he’s kind and generous, an all-around take-care-of-everyone guy. From their first meeting when he stops to help Naomi and the wounded dog she’s found on the side of the road, he knows something is going to happen between them, and I love the patience of the man as he waits for Naomi to catch up.
Her new and happy life isn’t to be mystery free, though. Suddenly the town is experiencing missing women, who are later found dead around the area. Little hints pop up that begin to place Naomi into the thick of it all, which brings Mason, who is now an FBI agent due to their past, to her doorstep. Mason has taken that past and tried to understand it better, in the end to help others in similar situations. Naomi has always tried to keep the past a secret, not wanting people to know who she is. So it’s a heartwarming scene when she finally realizes she fully trusts Xander to tell him the whole ugly truth, even though he’d already figured it out on his own.
The secondary characters are as equally interesting and charming as Xander and Naomi. There’s all the construction and gardening folks working on the house. I love the friendship that blossoms between Naomi and Jenny, who’s married to the lead contractor. Jenny helps Naomi find vintage pieces for her home, and she’s great at restoring them, working it all together with Naomi’s photographs here and there. Then there’s Uncles Seth and Harry. Absolutely love them. Especially when they deal with the older Naomi and Mason.
I have to say I didn’t figure out who the villain is. I was totally surprised when it was revealed. Naomi is the typical Nora Roberts heroine: strong, independent, and fights for all she’s worth. With the help of that nearly dead dog who has become a loyal friend, said villain didn’t last long. Another wonderfully written story from Ms. Roberts. Full of mystery, suspense, romance, and most of all, love.
Grade: A+
Summary:
“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 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.
No excerpt available.
