Nora Roberts – Black Hills April 2009

Nora Roberts — Black Hills

(ABC BOOK REVIEW)

Due to be published: July 2009

Isbn: 9780749929268

My opinion:

What a rollercoaster of a novel!

You can’t help but being swept away in this romantic suspense novel, with its quick pace and intrigue. I have never read anything by Nora Roberts before, but if this novel is representative of her many, many other novels, than obviously, she has completely mastered the art of writing a romantic suspense novel.

Lil Chance meet Cooper Sullivan when they are teenagers, in the town where she is brought up, and where Cooper’s grandparents live, and they instantly connect. Year after year they meet again, during summer holidays, but then they go their own way, each with a desire to make a life for themselves. Lil wants to explore her fascination for animals, in particular cougars, and she travels the world. With her experience, she then starts a wildlife refuge near her hometown.

Cooper has worked as a city cop, and in security, but after a colleague has been shot down, he decides to leave that all behind. After several years living in a city, Cooper returns to the same town to start a new phase in his own life.

At the same time, a murderer haunts the town, first killing hikers in the area, then other people around Lil, and it becomes clear that Lil is the ultimate target for this killer. Cooper discovers his new feelings for Lil and is determined to protect Lil from all danger. Lil is resisting at first, but (of course…) she can’t help falling in love with Cooper all over again.

Bottom line: The suspense and the romance are perfectly mixed, in this fast paced story. The story of the wildlife in the area, and the refuge, adds a lot of interesting scenery to the narrative. The rural setting is well described, and as a reader you feel like you are being taken on a journey to the area.

A perfect choice in this genre!