Sandy M’s review of Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
Romantic Suspense published by St. Martin’s Press 30 May 17

Nora Roberts has been a fave of mine for a long time now. She has never once let me down in her storytelling, always honing her craft book after book year after year. Come Sundown is one of those books you will take to heart and remember for years to come. Horrific nightmare and family acceptance and love no matter what are the main parts of this story, along with a slow-building friends-to-lovers romance. Emotional highs and lows will pull you every which way as you follow Alice Bodine through the years and when hope is once again part of her life.

Alice is who we meet first. She left home in the dark of night at eighteen, full of hopes and dreams in Hollywood. It’s three years later and she’s headed back home when she makes the worst mistake of her life. To her family, it’s like she fell off the planet. Ending up a prisoner of sadistic evil, Alice’s ordeal is interspersed as we meet the entire Bodine clan on their Montana ranch and resort. Bodine Longbow is in charge at the resort and her brothers run the ranch, all combined to give guests the maximum western experience. I love Bodine. She’s a strong, intelligent woman, knows her own mind and lives life by it. Life does go on for the Bodine-Longbow family, those of the current generation knowing about Alice only from stories passed down. Four generation of women are front and center in this book, all affected by Alice’s life as it’s revealed little by little.

Another member of the heart of this family is Callen Skinner. Cal also left Montana for California, but after a successful ride, he’s back where he knows he belongs. He’s working for Bodine now, but that doesn’t stop the attraction they both feel now they’re together more. Cal is a no-nonsense cowboy, says what he means and means what he says. He’s perfect for Bodine, and I so enjoyed their banter and the slow walk through their romance as it unfurls page by page. Neither of them is looking for a relationship, but when it sneaks up on them, they worry about each other, know when something is wrong, talk to one another, and love with everything in them. They’ve become another favorite romance couple for me.

After twenty-six years and a small stroke of luck, Alice escapes her prison and eventually returns home and into the open arms of her family. Ms. Roberts is a master at writing the family dynamic. As they all learn about her ordeal, they embrace this Alice who is strong and fragile all at once. They do whatever is necessary to see she’s taken care of, she’s healing, and she’s loved unconditionally. Her trauma is bone deep, and not knowing if she will ever truly recuperate keeps you turning the pages to find out how the entire family will handle everything thrown at them, including two murdered women that throws them and the community for a huge loop.

The beautifully described Montana landscape, a horse named Sundown who does tricks and seemingly reads minds, secondary characters who are as intriguing and open-hearted as the Bodine family, a villain so evil you can’t wait until that particular comeuppance is doled out all come together to complete another masterfully crafted story that will burrow into you and won’t let go until the very last page. I’m so very glad Nora Roberts doesn’t know when to quit giving readers books such as this. As far as I’m concerned, she can keep going and going and going…

Grade: A+

Summary:

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…

When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

No excerpt available.