Suspense

Wow! [b: The Witness|12716613|The Witness|Nora Roberts|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329921937s/12716613.jpg|17851429] by [a: Nora Roberts|625|Nora Roberts|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1440685355p2/625.jpg] was one of my Amazon Audible Member picks. I look for very long books and this was one.

This book was centered in Arkansas which was a hoot. I finished this Audible Book after making a round trip to Little Rock, AR today.

I love the logical "Liz" who becomes Abigail Lowery, buying and securing a home in the Ozarks of Arkansas. With all of her smarts she does not factor in Southern curiosity nor nosiness. Most of all she does not see Love coming her way.

I do not usually go for romance, and there were several clean but steamy encounters, some of which I fast forwarded through.

The United States Marshall Service let her and her best friends down a decade earlier, the only way she can stay alive is by staying alone, and locked in her fortress of security and routine.

Brooks a determined and well raised man who is also the Sheriff of their town investigates the lovely but standoffish Abigail, and gets much more than he bargained for. ( )

if you are in the mood for Nora: weekend beach read - it is good. Suspense, and love. ( )

The Witness
4 Stars

Synopsis
Following one night of teenage rebellion against her controlling mother, Elizabeth Fitch's life changes forever. As the only witness to a bloody crime, Elizabeth must run for her life. Twelve years later, living as a recluse in a small town in the Ozarks, Abigail Lowrey has finally found some peace and quiet, or so she thinks, as tenacious police chief, Brooks Gleason, has decided to make it his mission in life to get under Abigail's skin and learn all her secrets.

Note: This review may contain ***SPOILERS***. Please do not read ahead if you don't want to know what happens.

Review
Excellent premise, good execution, however, it left me vaguely disappointed.

Let's get my biggest peeve out of the way right off the bat. A great deal of poetic license is taken with WITSEC (the Witness Protection Program), an organization famous for NEVER losing a witness. Suddenly, we have not one but three corrupt agents and a witness losing their life - I don't think so!

Whew! It was good to get that off my chest.

Nora is a undoubtedly a wonderful storyteller and her skill at building gripping tension and suspense is very evident here. Nevertheless, the resolution to this tension fails to materialize. There is much detail put into Abigail's elaborate security system, which is never put to the test, and her huge bullmastiff never gets to tear anyone's throat out - very disappointing.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the Russian hitman to turn up on Abigail's doorstep but, unfortunately, he never does and she doesn't get to blow anyone away. In addition, given the few scenes told from Ilya and Sergei's POVs, it is a pity that there is no follow up to their comeuppance.

On a more positive note, Nora's characters, as always, are very endearing, especially Elizabeth/Abigail. She is definitely an original - quirky, nerdy and tactless to the extreme. Her personality is reminiscent of Temperance Brennan on Bones but unlike some reviewers I do not view this as plagiarism. Elizabeth's background and behavior is very unlike Tempe's (I cannot see Brennan hiding anywhere for 12 years).

Brooks is a typical Nora hero and while he is amazing, I do wish Nora would shake things up a little. He is almost too perfect - too understanding, too sympathetic, too patient - there is no conflict to his and Abigail's relationship, which makes it somewhat bland.

The writing is solid and the secondary plot lines add to characterization although they do not mesh well with the larger story. Happily, the dialogue is laugh out loud funny at times. So, all in all, an entertaining read and one I prefer over Nora's more recent works - namely Chasing Fire and The Bride Quartet.

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