Whiskey Beach by Nora RobertsPublisher: Putnam Adult
Publish Date: April 16, 2013
Hardcover, 496 pages
ISBN: 9780399159893
My Review:
Whiskey Beach is one of the best Nora Roberts' stand-alone romantic suspense novels I have read in awhile. I loved the characters, the setting and the suspense was top-notch. I love that Nora Roberts can keep bringing books like this out that keep me engaged from cover-to-cover and have me involved with the characters right from the beginning.
I'll start with the characters. Characters have always been one of Nora Roberts' strong-suits as far as I am concerned, and here Whiskey Beach does not disappoint. Our broken hero has been accused but never charged with the murder of his wife who he was separated from at the time. Eli was once a top-notch lawyer on the move in Boston, now he's escaping to Whiskey Beach to write and hopefully regain some of the person he was before. I loved Eli and love how I learned his story little-by-little through the book. It really added to the suspense, is he a killer, no you probably don't think so, but getting to the bottom of who he is was important for the growth he goes through to take place. And where would that growth be without Abra, who is pretty much a jack-of-all-trades and an amazing woman who has a past of her own. I loved her confidence and her honesty in the book. She doesn't pull any punches. She also knows how to care for those that need it and Eli really needs it. Together Eli and Abra are amazing. The romance and heat are off the charts. I like how their relationship develops. It's fun, flirty and he's determined not to get involved, but they both just can't help it and when they do, the sparks really do fly (and you will be amused, trust me on this one).
The suspense is also interesting. First Eli wants to just move on but he is still dogged by a persistent homicide detective who is trying to catch him doing the wrong thing. Then there is the PI that seems to be following him and asking questions. And then strange things start to happen in the normally sedate Whiskey Beach and slowly Eli and Abra start to put things together and realize that all is not what it seems (I don't want to give anything away here). Like the relationship, the suspense slowly builds until I just could not put the book down and this is not a short book. The pacing was perfect and I loved the secrets discovered and getting to know the town and the town-folk as well.
Whiskey Beach is one of those romantic suspense novels that just grab you from the first page and do not let you go until the last. I found the characters to easy to relate to and the plot to be amazing. Whiskey Beach reminds me why I like Nora Roberts so much and that I still have some of her backlist of stand-alones to work through. This one is currently at the top of my favorites, somehow surpassing Divine Evil (even though it really is hard to pick a favorite). But Whiskey Beach has all the elements I love and make it a book that I could easily re-read which is not something I often do.
My rating: 5.0/5.0
About the Book:
For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore—and its secrets. But to Eli Landon, it’s home…
A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigations after being accused of—but never arrested for—the murder of his soon-to-be-ex wife.
He finds sanctuary at Bluff House, even though his beloved grandmother is in Boston recuperating from a nasty fall. Abra Walsh is always there, though. Whiskey Beach’s resident housekeeper, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist, Abra is a woman of many talents—including helping Eli take control of his life and clear his name. But as they become entangled in each other, they find themselves caught in a net that stretches back for centuries—one that has ensnared a man intent on reaping the rewards of destroying Eli Landon once and for all…
About the Author (from her website):
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. After a school career that included some time in Catholic school and the discipline of nuns, she married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland.
She worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn’t spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her "America’s favorite novelist."
***I received this book from my wonderful local library for my reading pleasure. ***
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