Audiobook Review: River's End by Nora Roberts

River's End
Author: Nora Roberts
Narrator: Sandra Burr
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 10, 2008)
Length: 14 hours and 10 minutes

Description: #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents a seductively suspenseful tale of one woman’s shattered innocence, the terrifying search for truth and a heart’s journey toward healing...

Olivia’s parents were among Hollywood’s golden couples - until the night a monster came and took her mother away forever. A monster with the face of her father...

Sheltered from the truth, an older Olivia only dimly recalls her night of terror - but her recurring nightmares make her realize she must piece together the real story. Now, assisted by Noah Brady, the son of the police detective who found her cowering in her closet so many years before, she may have her chance. Noah wants to reconstruct the night that has become an infamous part of Hollywood history. He also wants to help Olivia and heal the longing in her lonely heart. But once the door to her past is opened, there’s no telling what’s waiting on the other side. For somewhere, not too far away, the monster walks again...

My Thoughts: Olivia was only four when her mother, an actress, was brutally murdered. Her actor father was arrested and convicted of the crime. Olivia saw him holding the murder weapon and having hands covered with blood. Her video testimony went a long way toward convicting her father.

Olivia was taken by her grandparents to be raised at a resort in the Pacific Northwest. They put her in a bubble to protect her from the interest of those who want to write about or sensationalize the murder.

Noah Brady is the son of the police officer who found Olivia hiding in a closet. He met Olivia when his parents took him to the resort when Olivia was twelve. He was drawn to her but as a going-to-college teen they didn't really get to know each other.

Olivia and Noah met again when Olivia was nineteen and a college student studying to be a naturalist. Noah who had always been fascinated by the murder case was determined to leave his newspaper career and write a book about it. Olivia falls in love but feels betrayed when she learns Noah plans to write a book about a subject that is still painful to her and her family. 

Some years pass again until Noah, now a successful author of true crime books, is contacted by the person convicted of murdering Olivia's mother. He's dying of brain cancer and wants to tell his story. The main problem is that he was high and alcohol and drugs and doesn't know what truly happened the night his wife died.

Reconnecting with Olivia and her family is necessary if Noah wants his book to tell the whole story. He's never gotten over Olivia nor has she gotten over him. But someone doesn't want the story told and does a number of things including destroying Noah's home and attacking Noah's best friend to try to discourage the project.

This was another excellent Nora Roberts standalone romantic suspense title. It was full of suspense and had a nice amount of romance too. And it's set in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I bought this one September 15, 2021. You can buy your copy here.