5/09/2016

The Obsession by Nora Roberts

A great novel that gives you everything you expect not only from the author but also from a fantastic plot. Yes, this book is not as light and bright as The Liar was, and it is for sure not always easy to read about all that sickness Naomi´s father has inside him and how that inspired others to follow his lead, but Nora Roberts managed to get all of it into a wonderful balance. But either way, it was a fantastic read and I was kind of sad when it was finished. I could have easily read more about Naomi, Xander, and their life.

The Obsession

by Nora Roberts
Publisher Berkley on April 12, 2016
Genre Thriller
Pages 453
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
Goodreads
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"She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her."

Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father´s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can´t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.

Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she´s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up - especially the determined Xander Keaton.

Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she´s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and as she´s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Story

Naomi is a little girl when she discovers a terrible secret that puts her father behind bars for the rest of his life. She moves with what´s left of her family to her uncle Seth and starts all over. Still, her life remains clouded by the horrible past and a father who never lets his family forget what he did. But when she finds the old house on Point Bluff and starts to settle in, she also starts to believe that she can have a normal life of her own. And gets ripped off that dream the minute she discovers the corpse of a young woman only steps away from her house. The nightmare starts all over again, and when her brother Mason figures out that this wasn´t only the beginning but the conclusion of an obsession, she has to face the bitter truth: The unknown offender wants her, not alive but dead and she knows him even she can´t remember.

Style

As always Nora Roberts uses a clear and sensitive writing style and words to bring the darkest parts of a human soul to life. Surrounded by a beautiful landscape she throws the reader within seconds into the scenery, so horrible and disgusting, you only can believe it when you´ve read it. No child should ever see or know that things like that exist, what young Naomi had to discover. Written in the figural narrative situation the reader gets to know Naomi´s thoughts and feelings as well as the one of Xander Keaton. He is the man who shows Naomi that she is worth everything and what it means to be treated normally although he soon figures out the truth. Wonderful scenery, great dialogues, and some fantastic characters play well along and make this haunting novel a fantastic read.

Nora Roberts divided her novel into six parts and at the beginning of each, you can read a very fitting title.

Characters

Strong figures play in The Obsession very well together and make it a real pleasure to follow the plot. You´ll find all sorts of characters, some good, some bad but always convincing. And it shows very early, that one of them is up to no good and that you can expect from that one something awful in the ongoing plot – and so it happens. But don´t worry, Nora Roberts doesn´t tell you that right away. It takes some pages until the reader starts to guess who the offender is.

Naomi is a strong young woman with great skill. She has a very creative eye, can imagine how a picture will look like in the end, and her capability of seeing even in the smallest thing a wonderful if not perfect motive for a great photo is just fantastic. Her way of living, how she does everything to keep herself protected, and to see how she interacts with her family is beautiful. She is headstrong, knows how to defend herself, and in the kitchen, she´s a real hit. But she denies herself the greatest gift: Love.

Xander is a man who knows by instinct what Naomi needs and whatnot. He has his very own interpretation of how life should be, how people should interact with each other, and what to do when you figure out bad things about a person’s past. No doubt he is a man every mother wishes for her daughter.

Conclusion

I guessed it and I was right, yessss! And again NR rocked it. This was one hell of an awesome ride and pleasure pure. If you never read one of her books, this is the perfect start to get to know her. Big feelings, good as well as the bad ones, a fantastic landscape, and a thrilling plot; for every Nora Roberts fan, a must-read no doubt about that.

Happy reading

Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts, born in Silver Spring, Maryland, is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming. Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.” She is also the author of the bestselling futuristic suspense series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

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