Book review: The Obsession - Nora Roberts

Title: The Obsession

Author: Nora Roberts

FICTION

Genre: Thriller

Ranking: 7.5 out of 10.0

Buy: Maybe

Borrow: Yes

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Obsession-Nora-Roberts/dp/0399175164

Summary:  Naomi Bowes lost her innocence when she was 12, the night she followed her father - Thomas David Bowes -  into the woods. In freeing ashley the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. 

 
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found in Sunrise Cove 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 friendly residents 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 her past is never more than a nightmare away.

Main review: 

Just before her 12th birthday, Naomi Bowes followed her father into the woods at dead of night and discovers that he was a serial killer, which sent him to jail for life. Naomi, her mother, and her brother, Mason, moved in with her uncle Seth and his partner, Harry, ultimately settling in New York City and changing their surname to Carson. But her mother never quite recovered from her husband’s horrid influence, and commits suicide.

She moves to Sunrise Cove, Washington State, into a rambling ramshackled house that she starts to renovate with local expert help - who become friends. Thanks to new friends, a lover - Xander Keaton, Tag a dog she reluctantly rescues, and Mason her FBI-agent brother, she might weather this dangerous situation, but discovering someone has been shadowing her gives her an appreciation for her own strength, resilience, and many blessings. 

Bestseller Roberts explores the experience of a serial killer’s family and, more subtly, the true natures of trust, friendship, and loyalty.

A little uneven and with an abundance of detail - especially about renovating an old huge house and the intricate aspects of expert photography - that occasionally slows the pace, this is still an appealing story from a romantic-suspense favorite.

Further reading suggestion: The Bay of Sighs - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bay-Sighs-Guardians-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B01B1Q3QCA/ref=la_B000APK6EU_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475169536&sr=1-1