The Obsession

Nora Roberts

Apr 2016 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

The riveting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Liar.
 
“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.

Ratings and reviews

I had gotten away from reading many of the single titles released by Nora Roberts in the last few years, but was excited to read The Obsession as soon as I read the blurb. I was absolutely hooked from the very first page. Naomi is such a strong character. Not only did she discover what her father was doing to women when she was only 11 years old, she actually helped his last victim and reported everything to the police. I absolutely loved her from the very beginning and think getting to see her grow up in the first part of the book gave the reader a better understanding out how the past shaped her present. I absolutely love her uncles and her brother and also think their love was a big part of helping her get past so much of the ugly in her past. While I thought it was a little out of character for Naomi to put down roots and buy a house that needs to be totally renovated, but I got it would speak to a photographer once I read the description of the area and the town. I loved meeting all the people in Sunrise Cove as well. I absolutely fell in love with Kevin and Jenny and have to say Xander was the perfect hero. Not only is he a successful business owner, but he loves to read, is friends with everyone in town, rides a motorcycle, and is in a rock band. Seriously over the top with him, but I loved him. I liked that Naomi and Xander were attracted to one another from the very beginning, but she was flat out honest about not doing relationships. I liked watching their relationship move from friends to an honest to goodness relationship. They had amazing chemistry and they totally worked as a couple for me. Of course, Naomi's past never is far behind and murders start happening in Sunrise Cove. While I hated the reason, I loved that Naomi's brother Mason, who is an FBI agent, came to town I have serious love for Mason and would love to see him get his own book. I did figure out who was behind the murders pretty quickly. I honestly didn't get why there was an obsession with Naomi really. Honestly that was my only problem with the book and the reason it was a 4 star read. I guess you never really know what will set a serial killer on their path, but it really didn't see it with the killer. I enjoyed reading The Obsession. I want to share there are rape and torture in this story and if it is a trigger for anyone, you need to consider before reading. I felt like Ms. Roberts did a very tasteful job in handling both the rapes and the tortures, but it could be an issue for others. I'm glad I gave The Obsession a chance and look forward to reading future single title books from Nora Roberts. Review copy provided by publisher

Nora Roberts has been one of my go to authors for years and The Obsession is a great example of the awe inspiring storytelling ability of Ms. Roberts that has kept me addicted to her writing. This book draws you in from the first sentence describing little Naomi Bowes' inability to sleep due to the humid heat of a summer night and her excited anticipation of her upcoming 12th birthday. The progression from her innocent musing of possible birthday gifts to the horrific find that exposes her father as a sadistic serial killer in the first chapter is astonishing and kept me from being able to put this book down until the very end. There is so much to recommend this story: the evolution of Naomi's photographic talent, the depth of the secondary characters which includes a lovable dog named Tag, the ins and outs of her love affair with Xander, and of course the impact of another serial killer on Naomi's new life in a small town. A truly unforgettable story by a master storyteller!

I enjoyed this book. I went into it knowing pretty much nothing about the author or the plot. The book is an odd balance of romance and suspense and I thoroughly enjoyed the balance between the two and I was hooked throughout the book. However, I felt that at times the narrative got dry and became slightly uninteresting and I found myself qustioning whether I could finish The Obsession. However, the exploration of the characters within the stories and the charming tales of the dog kept me reading.

About the author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including The Liar, The Collector, Whiskey Beach, The Witness, and many more. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.