Friday, October 29, 2010

The Search, Nora Roberts

Title: The Search
Author: Nora Roberts
Published: Putnam, 2010
Rating: 7/10

La Nora's summer release for this year, picked up from the library for a nice weekend read. Her books don't really wow me (I think I've read too many for them to do that anymore), but they're almost always a pleasant read.

Fiona Bristow lives a peaceful existence on Orcas Island in Washington. She trains dogs for a living, including search and rescue dogs. One day she gets a new client with a very badly behaved puppy named Jaws. His owner, Simon, turns out to be quite the hottie, and Fiona ends up spending lots of time with both him and Jaws. The suspense plot in the book revolves around a serial killer who is mimicking an earlier killer who had tried to kill Fiona and failed. It soon becomes obvious that the new killer is targeting Fiona, trying to kill her when his predecessor had failed.

I found the suspense in this book to be quite tepid, which to be honest is just fine by me. When pages were devoted to the killer's movements and motivations, I was just reading through to get back to the good stuff. The good stuff being the descriptions of Fiona's life as a dog trainer, her relationships with her friend and mother-in-law, and the romance between her and Simon. While Simon is not really my idea of a hero (a bit gruff and overbearing to me), it was nice to read about these two very independent people as they learn how to make a serious relationship work.

Roberts's language is a bit on the overdramatic side for me, but she is a great storyteller.

4 comments:

Marg said...

I guess I continue to read NR because I know that they are going to be comfortable reads! Have you read the wedding series?

~ames~ said...

I really liked the dog training aspects with this one. And I agree about the suspense being tepid, and I was a-ok with that. :P

I thought Simon grouchiness was funny and I really liked the dialog between him and Fee.

Jennie said...

Marg -- I haven't read her wedding series, though I want to. Usually my favorite thing about Roberts books is reading about the lives and careers of the heroine, so books about wedding planners sound pretty awesome. :)

Ames -- Yes, you're such a dog lover, I'm sure you loved the dog training stuff! It was really interesting.

Screenwriting Books said...

I haven't read this novel yet, but I agree with what you said about Nora Roberts. Her books are good and enjoyable when you want a book that is easy and you don't have to focus too much. And you want to know that you are going to enjoy it. I will definitely keep this on my to-read list, for that rainy day when I need a cozy book. Thanks for the great review!