ARC Review: Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts

Hidden Nature
Author: Nora Roberts
Publication: St. Martin's Press (May 27, 2025)

Description: The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers…

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.

My Thoughts: HIDDEN NATURE was another excellent romantic suspense novel from Nora Roberts. Sloan Cooper is a Natural Resources police officer who is shot when she enters a convenience store where a robbery is happening. Her heart stops and she's clinically dead for some minutes while her chest is being operated on. Faced with a long, difficult rehabilitation, Sloan returns to her parents' home in Heron's Rest. 

Also landing in Heron's Rest is Nash Littlefield. After a career in finance that he was good at but which made him unhappy, Nash has purchased a fixer-upper in Heron's Rest and is planning to open business as a handyman. He's joined by his younger brother Theo who is a lawyer due to parental pressure but wants to work with Nash. 

Sloan is busy with her physical therapy, but it doesn't meet her need for mental stimulation. When she learns that a young newlywed has disappeared outside the local grocery store leaving her car and family behind, Sloan decides to look into the case. She soon learns that there have been other similar cases in the larger area. The victims don't seem to have anything in common as they vary in age, occupation, and sex. However, Sloan learns that they were all revived after being clinically dead.

We learn that the villains are religious fanatics determined to return those who have been revived to their destined afterlife. The scenes from the villains' point of view were really creepy. 

I liked the romance. I also liked the way family was central to the story. The contrast between Sloan's family and Nash and Theo's family was striking. I liked reading about the way both Nash and Sloan were rehabbing their two homes while growing their relationship.

This was an engaging story. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.