Since I could not quite convince her to start Shelby Foote's The Civil War in it's awesome 20+ CD and 30+ hour gloriousness, we went for the safe 2nd place....Nora Roberts. Yes, I have read many of here single title novels, and confess to actually watching the series of Lifetime movies based on them...interesting how these novels translate so easily into TV movies huh? Coincidence? I think not. :)
This novel had your pretty basic Nora Roberts plot:
Shelby Foxworth lost her husband. Then she lost her illusions …
The man who took her from Tennessee to an exclusive Philadelphia suburb left her in crippling debt. He was an adulterer and a liar, and when Shelby tracks down his safe-deposit box, she finds multiple IDs. The man she loved wasn’t just dead. He never really existed.
Shelby takes her three-year-old daughter and heads south to seek comfort in her hometown, where she meets someone new: Griff Lott, a successful contractor. But her husband had secrets she has yet to discover. Even in this small town, surrounded by loved ones, danger is closer than she knows—and threatens Griff, as well. And an attempted murder is only the beginning …
So, here's the thing....my wife ALWAYS figures out whodunit first when we listen to mystery novels. However, I actually figured out the plot twist within the first 50 pages. Yup, little ol' me.
But, the thing is, we both really liked this book. Nora can take a pretty basic plot and make a masterful story using her ability to create lovable and sympathetic characters, her unparalleled ability to write dialog (Griff in particular really cracked me up) and her sneaky ability to throw just enough plot stirring to make you almost doubt your detective ability. As usual, her secondary characters and sub-plots really keep the story moving and offer some great opportunities to shout at the CD player..."Oh yea, go get 'em Shelby"...not that we actually did that around Exit 8 of the NJ Turnpike...just sayin'.
No wonder Nora is a gazzillionare with enough books to her credit to fill her own bookstore.
We didn't quite finish the book on the road trip, but eagerly dug out our old CD player to finish it at home. Not every Audiobook does that for us.
So, another summer page turner in the bag...well done.
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