Author: Nora Roberts
Narrator: Sandra Burr
Publication: Brilliance Audio (June 10, 2008)
Length: 14 hours and 23 minutes
Description #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts unveils the intriguing world of antiques dealing, where an independent woman discovers the price of breathless desire—and the schemes of an obsessed killer…
Dora Conroy has a passion for antiques—and any other rarities she can acquire for her quaint Philadelphia shop. A seasoned dealer, she knows all the tricks of the trade. But she is unprepared for the deadly consequences when she purchases a few curiosities at an auction—and unknowingly brings home a priceless cache that makes her the target of an international criminal. Entwined in a reckless chase, Dora turns to her new neighbor, Jed Skimmerhorn, a cop who’s turned in his badge—and whose desire for lovely Dora puts him back in the line of fire. Fighting their attraction while falling in love, they find that hidden riches can have a most ordinary façade. And that possession can be a lethal obsession…
My Thoughts: Dora Conroy has a new tenant for the apartment above her antiques and curiosities shop. Jed Skimmerhorm was a police captain who has given up his badge after he kills the man who, aiming for him, set a car bomb that murdered his sister. Independently wealthy, Jed is content to do nothing except exercise and stew in his guilt.
When Dora returns home from her buying trip, she meets the man her actor father chose for her new tenant. Banter ensues with Dora being friendly and Jed being grouchy.
Meanwhile, a wealthy, murderous and insane collector receives a package which doesn't contain the goods he purchased. He sends his henchman to find and recover his missing pieces which are the same goods Dora bought. He learns that the shipping company mislabeled the shipments and, starting at the auction house, beings to track them down killing anyone who gets in his way.
Dora's shop is burglarized but she and Jed manage to chase away the burglar after some shots are fired. Jed finds himself pulled back into police work as he tries to find out who tried to burglarize Dora's shop and why.
As the book progresses, the viewpoints alternate and the danger creeps ever closer to Dora. And Dora and Jed are falling love with Dora being the open-hearted one and Jed the more reluctant because his abuse childhood made him very suspicious of love.
The story was fast paced. It was also an intense thriller and intense though not graphic love story. I liked that Dora's family and Jed's friends were both pushing the couple together while providing strong support for both characters.
Published in 1994, the only things that made it seem dated were the lack of cellphones and the prevalence of characters who smoked. I enjoyed this one very much.
