Reader Review: Elizabeth Fitch is a child prodigy whose mother has orchestrated her life from and including conception (her father was a donor). Mom's a highly successful Chicago surgeon who treats her daughter more like a genetic experiment. Elizabeth is16 and looking forward to having a free summer before starting medical school in the fall (Mom's career choice) and Mom reneges but ignores her pleas. Elizabeth decides to rebel for the first time in her life and ends up at a popular club that night, complete with a forged ID, new look and an 18-year old acquaintance from high school. It turns out to be a memorable night for all the wrong reasons when Elizabeth unwittingly becomes a witness to murder. This was one of the more extraordinary stories I've read by Nora in quite some time. Normally, there's a mystery component with a whodunit challenge. Here we know who the murderers are and the suspense is all about how Elizabeth stays alive to testify against them. Since the Russian mob is involved, this is an even bigger concern as law enforcement is corrupted, Mom is uncooperative and Elizabeth has to rely on her own considerable wits and skills to manage her life over the next twelve years. Once again, Nora has also created a delectable male character in Brooks Gleason, a sexy local police chief who becomes the romantic interest. He's got plenty of Southern charm with a great sense of humor and a delightful family to round him out. Brooks' romantic prowess leaves nothing to be desired, even with the challenging Elizabeth who has no social skills orang not used to family.. If there's any weakness in this story it's with this odd heroine who is pretty difficult to warm to but that's by design. If you try to juxtapose yourself into her backstory it's a bit easier to do but you do question sometimes just what is it that Brooks is attracted to. I got her after awhile and their relationship but it takes imagination. Her transformation was interesting and heartwarming. There are also some great pets here, too (I love when dogs are part of a storyline)! This is a story of intrigue with a lot of tension as Elizabeth's journey to survive is protracted. The secondary characters are nicely crafted and provide meaty secondary plots but are woven very well into the main one. While the ending was a little anticlimactic, it was a clever one that left you feeling good about it. I was holding my breath a lot throughout the story and never relaxed until the end. Now that's good suspense.

In her stunning new novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts proves why no one is better “when it comes to flawlessly fusing high-stakes suspense with red-hot romance” ( Booklist ).

Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.

Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems programmer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.

The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature, and unromantic viewpoints intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights.

And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

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