The Obsession by Nora Roberts

• Title:  The Obsession
• Author:  Nora Roberts
• Pages:  453
• Genre:  Thriller; Romantic Suspense
• Published:  April 2016 – Berkley
• Source:  Publisher

Description:  Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods.  In freeing the girl she found trapped in a root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous.  

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton. 

Naomi’s new life clicks into place as easily as the photographs that are her livelihood.  But even with her new loves—including an adopted mutt, a rambling fixer-upper, and, eventually Xander—darkness follows her.  As she finds herself at home and at peace in Sunrise Cove, moving on and creating a foundation she’s not had since she fled West Virginia after her father’s horrific crimes, she realizes all too soon that her past is still not buried.  And as much as she wants to build a life, someone wants to tear hers down.  (publisher)

My take:  So, if you’re a regular reader of Bookfan you know I don’t read many thrillers. It’s a genre I’m making a point to read more of in 2016. The latest one is The Obsession by Nora Roberts.  I liked it! I think what worked for me is that Roberts put the initial crime out there in the first chapter and then veered away from it to the main character and the effect the crime had on her life.

After discovering a crime when she was eleven years old Naomi has lived her life in small bits, leaving a place when people found out who she was and where she came from. That eventually brought her to an old house in need of renovation in Washington state. Roberts devoted chapters to the renovation of the house – I liked that – and Naomi’s immersion in the small town. She experiences life as never before and believes she can really put down roots in this place. But can she keep the past from catching up with her?

Roberts’ story kept me turning the pages and wondering how everything would turn out. I would definitely read more of her thrillers/romantic suspense and recommend The Obsession to fans of the author, genre and maybe reluctant thriller readers – like me!