Reviewed by Ian Lipke
This is vintage Nora Roberts – with the odd strength and certainly weakness thrown in. It is a novel about an injured cop who fights to bring down a pair of twisted killers.
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
Following a very serious and complicated operation, she begins a long recovery. She moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. Her boyfriend dumps her via text while she is in the hospital.
When a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery.
Nothing that is different from Roberts’s earlier writing presents itself. The hero is a super-heroine, outclassing all her contemporaries. She is invariably female, almost matched by a male of interest who shines with skills that makes his equal to hers. Doubt about one’s place on the ladder is never allowed. Recognition of an expert’s skills is always written not only to show up the quality but also to reveal how clever the judgment maker was in developing the judgment. Dr Vincenti, the local medical superintendent, had an easy manner with a layer of charm. She tried not to think how his adorable -obviously skilled – hands had been inside her chest cavity (18). His wonderfully patient eyes held hers (21).
I’m sorry to criticise but ‘adorable hands” and “wonderfully patient eyes” leave me cringing.
When the heroine vents her frustration, the author over-writes to the story’s deficit. Over-writing occurs again with: “Oh, Sam. You’re the sweetest man in the world.”
“It’s easy to be sweet to you, babe. (133)”
I feel I must add in criticism: “her feet didn’t feel connected to the legs that felt like overcooked spaghetti” (19).
I do not like to find fault with Nora Roberts and I can report that the pictures of the brothers are realistic (73), while her humour can be enjoyed:
“She said she’d washed her hands of us. I suggested she get a towel” (73).
Towards the end of Part 1 Sloan sits her Sergeant’s examination. Of course, she blitzes everything – that’s what Robertian heroes do. The book is populated with the characters often found in earlier books. Sloan’s parents play a large role: if they are just too noble, they are not excruciatingly good. They have managed the transition from their times as children to allowing their own progeny to sleep around with partners they can accept if not favour. The earlier generation is present in an old grandmother who is outstanding for her physical abilities. Readers of Nora Roberts would recognise this character type.
Despite my criticisms that may seem unduly harsh, it must be said that this is a very well written novel. It maintains interest and allows the reader to acknowledge that he has just read an excellent piece of narrative fiction.
Hidden Nature
(2025)
by Nora Roberts
Piatkus
ISBN:978-0-349-44331-7
$34.99; 358pp