Sandy M’s review of Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
Romantic Suspense published by St. Martin’s Press 27 May 25
I always enjoy Nora Roberts’ characters and plots. They’re charming and intriguing, then suspenseful and romantic. This time around all of that is there as anticipated – and then some – but it’s the villains that very nearly steal the show.
Only because they are the most the most evil I think I’ve ever read. Sloan, our heroine, has no idea what awaits her as she investigates missing persons cases, once she’s home after suffering a near fatal injury while on duty. Her convalescence is slow, but she makes a comeback when doctors resuscitate her while on the operating table. Moving back home to heal, she decides to stay with her family and work as a Natural Resources officer. Amid the off-duty investigating, she meets Nash, the older brother in a new local business, The Fix-It Brothers, and that slow build-up to romance Ms. Roberts does so very well begins. Nash and his younger sibling are starting a new life, away from a horrible upbringing. It’s almost fortuitous Nash and Sloan come together after such happenings in their lives
Now those villains. They believe themselves to be anointed to help folks they stalk go to their eternal home. But, believe me, when you read exactly how they believe and what they do to get to their own eventual reward, it’s unbelievable. But they are written to perfection, and you can only hope Sloan and Nash survive when they cross paths with these psychos.
I also enjoyed the secondary romance between Sloan’s sister and Nash’s brother, who is the first to jump on the romance train with no hesitation whatsoever. More really can’t be said without giving too much away, because you definitely have to read all the evilness for yourself. Thank goodness for the lovely romances that counterbalance all that. If you’re a fan – even if you’re not – of Nora Roberts and haven’t started this one yet, don’t delay any longer before digging in.
Grade: A
Summary:
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.
She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.
