The Collector

Meh. Mediocre Nora. She has done the eeevil antiques collector before, and better, in Three Fates and Hidden Riches. The secondary romance is way too underdeveloped to be satisfying, and the plot isn't complex enough to sustain almost 500 pages without dragging. Still a few good parts, most notably the nomadic heroine who repairs things when she's nervous and a surprisingly heroic teacup chihuahua.

When Nora Roberts dumps the romance-trilogy format for which she's best known, she's capable of creating a ripping good yarn, and this is one of them.

When house-sitter Lila Emerson witnessed a brutal murder occur in the apartment opposite hers (shades of 'Rear Window'), she's drawn into a dangerous web of deceit, murder, and obsession, all centering around the recovery of one of the Imperial Fabrege Eggs, created for the family of Tsar Nicholas.

There's plenty of adventure here, some really heavy-duty villains, and -- this being a Roberts novel -- plenty of romance and steamy sex scenes. There's also the familiar two-guys/two-girls who each end up two-couples, and virtually everyone is stupid rich.

Quibbles aside, it's a meaty fantasy and show more an enjoyable read. show less

Ok, being a mature male who has read thrillers, mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi, urban fantasy, high fantasy and suspense books since a very early age I most definitely will not "women's romance" novels. Nope, no way. Leave the Mills & Boon to the ladies.
But, a few years ago I happened upon an audio book by J.D.Robb, the first of the In Death series and loved it, partly due to the excellent writing but also because of the brilliant narration by Susan Eriksen. Since then I have listened to (or read) every book, novella and short story in the series. When I first realised that J.D.Robb was a pseudonym for Nora Roberts I was surprised but figured it was a way for her to separate the "women's romance" from the crime/mystery/thriller genre. show more

Then I saw the blurb for The Collector and despite my perception of it being a romance I liked the sound if this one and I know Nora writes excellent characters in the In Death series so I thought I'd give this a go. What can I say, I was hooked from the start. I listened to the audiobook edition and found it hard to turn it off, wanting to know what happened next. Enthralled. Easily one of the best "mystery/thriller" books I've read in a while.

So, it looks like I'm going to to have to checking out some other Nora Roberts titles now. I'm still steering clear of the Mills & Boon aisle though. show less

The first thoughts that came to me when I finally finished The Collector were along the lines of, “That’s it. I’ve found my higher calling. I’m going to travel the world and house-sit for rich people, take an artist as my lover, and have him/her paint me in emeralds while solving an international mystery.” So maybe I’m asking for too much (especially since I’m more of a homebody than a world traveler), but this book was such an adventure that I want to experience what they did – except the murder of family and friends and the bone-shaking fear. That wouldn’t be much fun at all.

Lila Emerson is a woman with a serious case of wanderlust. She dampens her thirst for travel by house-sitting for the wealthy, and makes a show more living writing young adult novels with werewolves as main characters. She makes friends with everyone and can fix pretty much everything, how could I not enjoy such a charming heroine? She has a penchant for people watching that is just amusing – until she spies (she would be considered a peeping tom if she weren’t so attractive and female) a woman being pushed out a window. It’s crazy how fast her already adventurous life becomes an international mystery.

Not only did I enjoy Lila, but I pretty much fell in love with Ashton. He’s the eldest of 12 step-and-half siblings and the man his family comes to with a problem. He’s a successful painter that creates beautiful, feminist artworks. Not only is he a successful artist, he’s just as good at getting what he wants – and what he wants is Lila. It’s funny to watch him subtly arrange things in a way that makes others think it’s their idea. He’s manipulative when he needs to be, but he generally does it because he’s so good at taking care of other people. Funnily enough, this is a personality trait that he finds attractive in Lila. It’s obvious they are meant to be together, now he just has to convince Lila before I snatch him up myself while they are searching for his brother’s killer. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

The Collector was another brilliant stand-alone written by the first adult romance writer I was ever introduced to. I loved the suspense and the international adventure that takes them to Florence, Italy. I’m a huge fan of art-theft type mysteries with historical intrigue and this one was delightful. I may weary of her trilogies, but Roberts always creates an epic romantic suspense! Cannot wait to read her newest Putnam release, The Liar.

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The Collector
4 Stars

Lila Emerson is satisfied with her job as a professional house-sitter until the night she witnesses an apparent murder/suicide and gets drawn not only into a complex investigation involving priceless Fabergé Eggs but also a spine tingling romance with a victim’s brother as well.

A significant improvement on Nora’s more recent romantic suspense books.

Lila and Ashton are engaging characters. An amazingly gifted artist, Roberts weaves Ash's insightful painting seamlessly into the storyline and his alpha tendencies only enhance his sexiness. Lila is also a great character with her affinity for people watching, genuine interest in the lives of others and warm-hearted friendliness all of which make her particularly show more endearing.

The suspense plot is well-researched and the villains, whether it be the vicious assassin or the Mason Verger like collector, are seriously disturbing. The writing is fast paced and the climax is one of Nora's more exciting even though it is somewhat rushed. One small nitpick it that the book is in dire need of an epilogue so that Ash’s father can do some much needed groveling.

The secondary cast consisting of Ashton’s quirky relatives and Lila’s loyal sidekick, Julie, not to mention two of the sweetest pets in bookdom, Thomas and Earl Grey, is simply wonderful. Lila and Julie’s friendship and banter is one of the highlights of the book and the secondary romance between Julie and Luke is impossible to resist.

All in all, a fun and satisfying read and happily recommended for Nora fans. show less

I ended up enjoying this one quite a bit. I think the thing that shone for me was the dialog. So many authors cannot write natural seeming dialog. If I hadn't borrowed this book from the bookstore where I work I would have underlined bits of dialog. There was witty repartee without it seeming overdone, farcical or forced.

I enjoyed the descriptions of the hero's artistic vision and wished I could really see some of the paintings described as being done by him. They seemed exactly like the kind of paintings I like in real life.

There were quite a few interesting and deftly drawn side characters.

The suspense plot was interesting and didn't have any major holes. It wasn't one of those plots that was all about who done it but rather how the show more main characters were going to win out over the bad guys. The main baddie, the hot Asian girl assassin was just different enough to be interesting and individual in her creepiness. I also learned some stuff about Faberge eggs and was interested enough to do some outside research on my own which is always a plus.

The romance was nice albeit a bit rushed but that is typical in a romantic suspense.

All in all a much better book in my opinion than last year's [b:Whiskey Beach|16158519|Whiskey Beach|Nora Roberts|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1357477045s/16158519.jpg|21998935]. show less

3.5 stars

Lila works as a house-sitter in New York City and she enjoys watching people across from the windows where she is staying (“Rear Window” style). There is a couple she can see who often fight. When she sees someone hit the woman during a fight, then the woman is pushed out the window, she immediately dials for emergency help. Later at the police station, the brother of the man (who was also found dead – a suspected suicide), Ashton, wants to talk to Lila to find out exactly what she saw. Between the two of then, they figure out there is much more going on here than meets the eye. And it’s dangerous.

This was good. I enjoyed it. It’s Nora Roberts, so of course, there is a romance. The romance didn’t do anything for show more me, but that’s not unusual. I liked Lila – she is independent and tough. Have to admit I did love the pets who belonged to the people Lila was sitting for. show less