Book Review: The Witness by Nora Roberts

The Witness
Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: Putnam Adult (April 17, 2012)


Description: Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security  systems—and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail’s reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something—and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today’s most reliably entertaining thriller author—and will leave people hungering for more.



My Thoughts: This one kept me up late reading and delayed my errands the next day too because I couldn't put it down until I reached the very satisfying ending. I fell in love with both the hero and the heroine. Abigail is making a life for herself in a small town in to Ozarks. She has been on the run since she was seventeen years old and has survived by being ready to move on at a moment's notice and by keeping to herself. 


Brooks is the Chief of Police in the town where he grew up. He returned home from years as a police detective in Little Rock when his family needed him. He is determined to protect and to serve and is an integral part of the town. He is fascinated with Abigail and is determined to work his way into her life because everything about her tells him she is on the run from something.


Abigail is a genius who has very little social experience. She reminds me a lot of the television portrayal of Dr. Temperance Brennan on the television show Bones. She has no social filters. She is logical and blunt. She wants to make a life for herself in this town and stop running. But to do that she will have to bring down a powerful Russian mafia family that wants her dead because she witnessed a murder.


 Another plot line in this one concerns a purely local bad seed of a teenage boy and the rich father who is willing to pull strings and dispense bribes to keep his darling out of trouble. This situation parallels Abigail's larger problem but puts Brooks and Abigail in more immediate danger. 


One of the strengths of this story is the strong family that has nurtured Brooks. By watching his interactions with his family, Abigail is learning what family is like. She was raised by a mother who had her almost like a science experiment and who controlled her life completely. Abigail has never known love because her mother is a cold, selfish woman who abandoned her when she wouldn't follow her mother's directives. 


I loved this story and can't recommend it enough to fans of romantic suspense.


Favorite Quote:

She stowed the protective gear in the seat of the bench. "All right. You can have the pie and the wine. But I won't have sex with you."

"Now you hurt my feelings."

"No, I haven't." Deciding to make her position clear, she started for the house. "I like sex."

"See there, we just keep finding common ground. If this keeps up, we'll be best friends inside a week."

"If I wanted friends, I'd join a book club."

Loosening up, he thought, delighted with the sarcasm. "I like to read, which is another check mark on common ground. But we were talking about sex."

I bought this one because Nora Roberts is one of my favorite authors. You can buy your copy here.