Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: St. Martin's Press (May 26, 2020)
Description: 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…
My Thoughts: This was another excellent standalone novel by Nora Roberts. It takes place over a number of years and follows Cate Sullivan from age 10 to about age 30. Cate is the daughter of Hollywood royalty.
The first part of the story takes place when she is ten. She was kidnapped but through her own brains and courage escaped from her kidnappers and found her way to the Cooper's house. There she met Dillon who was a couple of years older along with his mother and grandmother.
After learning that her mother was a part of the conspiracy to kidnap her and extort a large amount of money from her family, Cate's family enclosed itself around her to help her get over the trauma. Her mother and co-conspirators went to prison and Cate's dad took her to live in Ireland with her great-grandmother.
The next part of the story takes place when she is seventeen and back from Ireland ready to begin her own acting career. Unfortunately, her mother has been released from prison and wants to use Cate again for her own selfish reasons. Her mother forces herself into her presence which sets off a major panic attack in Cate. Restraining orders ensue but that doesn't stop her mother from spawning all sorts of publicity to make herself look like a mother who was wronged and who only wants to reunite with her child.
The next part sees Cate in New York City where she has gone to get away from the scrutiny of the press and her mother's schemes to use her. Unfortunately, trouble follows in the form of frightening phone calls that mix her mother's voice and her own from their various acting roles into a very threatening combination. It is a time for Cate to begin exploring what she wants to do with her life and to grow up. That part ends after her first love is attacked and beaten. It looks like a hate crime but staying away from Cate is part of the message. They are both too young to get over the incident.
After some years, Cate comes back to California and to the estate on Big Sur where the kidnapping happened. She has some initial reservations but she is strong enough to persevere. She is eager to spend more time with her grandparents and her work as a voice actor lets her move her business there. She also reunites with Dillon and the two begin a romance or maybe, rekindle one since he is almost certain that he fell in love with her when he first met her as a ten-year-old.
But their romance is not trouble free. Adding to the stress the her mother's endless quest for publicity at Cate's expense is the fact that people close to the events of the kidnapping are being murdered and the murderer might be getting close to Cate.
The was an excellent story with all the elements Roberts is known for. Cate is surrounded by a loving family who both nurture her and provide a template of what loving others looks like. She is both protected and given opportunities to grow and become her own person. Dillon is a strong, confident man who is sure in his life and what he wants and is willing to wait for Cate to catch up to what he wants for them.
This was a very compelling story that I just couldn't put down. Fans of Nora Roberts won't want to miss this one.
Favorite Quote:
He moved, as he wandered her space, with the rangy kind of ease of a man who strode around fields and pastures.I received this one in exchange for an honest review from Edelweiss. You can buy your copy here.
She let out a half laugh. "It's central casting."
"What's that?"
He glanced back, and well, Jesus, the un slanted over him like a damn key light.
She pointed at him. "Rancher. You nail the look."
He grinned, and of course, it was lightning quick and just the right amount of crooked. "I am what I am. And you're a - Hugh calls it - voice actor."
I've not read a book by this prolific author as yet. Thanks for the review.
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