Veena’s review of Hideaway by Nora Roberts
Romantic Suspense published by St. Martin’s Press 26 May 20

This story kicks off with so much promise and an absolutely wonderfully diverse set of characters.  The star is Caitlyn Sullivan, who might have been born into Hollywood royalty and treated like a princess, but she sure is brave and resourceful. She manages to fool her kidnappers and successfully escape from captivity and put together the necessary facts to point the finger at the insider who engineered the attempt.   Ms. Roberts is such a fabulous writer, and readers can feel Caitlyn’s determination, fear, and pain as she stumbles in the dark until she sees a light shining in that darkness, promising safety.  But….

Not everyone is happy with the outcome, but sleeping dogs lie while Caitlyn grows into a beautiful young woman on her family’s estate in Ireland. Once she’s back in Southern California, she joins the family business and suddenly she’s getting a storm of media attention and threatening phone calls in the middle of the night. The story meanders while Caitlyn moves to New York, experiments with boys, and discovers herself.  I fell in love with the Sullivans, but the story, unfortunately while fleshing out a lot of background and getting Caitlyn to the next phase of her life, seems to go on too long and without too much direction.

Caitlyn first meets a teen-aged Dillon and his family on that fateful night when the light in the dark was his family’s farm and he discovered a distraught ten-year-old cowering in the kitchen.  Even if readers suspect that all romantic roads will lead to Dillon, it sure takes a long time getting there. In fact, it’s not until the final quarter of the book when Caitlyn evenetually returns to the family estate in Monterey, where it all began, she gets to know Dillon again. Don’t get me wrong, we do have glimpses of Dillon during the time Caitlyn is discovering herself.

The story gathers momentum as the final act approaches. The villain is no longer content to hide in the shadows and plans a final con. As the dominoes from the past start to fall, the police, sheriff, and his trusty deputy have their suspicions but no way to prove the facts.  The author does a superb job of pulling all the threads together and tying up the story with a bow.

All’s well that ends well, and Caitlyn and Dillon, with the supporting cast of both sets of families, make for a lovely picture. Unfortunately, overall, while Ms. Roberts might be one of my favorite authors, this book is not my favorite.

Grade: C

Summary:

A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel, Hideaway.

Caitlyn Sullivan had come from a long line of Hollywood royalty, stretching back to her Irish immigrant great-grandfather. At nine, she was already a star—yet still an innocent child who loved to play hide and seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur. It was during one of those games that she disappeared.

Some may have considered her a pampered princess, but Cate was in fact a smart, scrappy fighter, and she managed to escape her abductors. Dillon Cooper was shocked to find the bloodied, exhausted girl huddled in his house—but when the teenager and his family heard her story they provided refuge, reuniting her with her loved ones.

Cate’s ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a shocking betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years spent away in western Ireland, peaceful and protected but with restlessness growing in her soul.

Finally, she would return to Los Angeles, gathering the courage to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago night—one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance…

No excerpt available.