The Witness

Elizabeth Fitch rebelled against her controlling mother at the age of 16 and would run for her life for the next twelve years. Liz and Julie forged their way into a nightclub for some fun but ended up with Julie dead.. Liz became Abigail Lowery and met Brooks Gleason, a police chief, who would change the course of Liz/Abigail's life. Throw in the Russian Mafia, crooked US Marshall's, the fact that Liz is wicked smart and it makes for a thriller of a book you can't put down.

Words are not adequate to describe how I love everything Nora Roberts aka J D Robb writes. The Witness highlights her powerful descriptive writing style. It's easy to visualize in your minds eye each character, the dog, the home, the garden, everything. I love that the romance is sweet , no erotica, and the mystery is compelling and engages the imagination. Highly recommend this story and this author!

When I started reading this book, it was 2 a.m, and I was so engrossed, I could NOT put it down until 3 hours later (I had to get some sleep!)! I loved it from beginning to end; and even though it ended "happily every after" (my favorite kind), I found I was disappointed that the punishment of the mafia members responsible for her suffering, was not more detailed! I also felt too much attention was given to the local rich man and his son, who caused damage to the hotel, and were they even relevant to the story, other than tying up the police chief's time? Other than that, I really enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to friends and family.

First of all, unlike most of the reviewers here, I'm not a lifelong Nora Roberts reader. This may actually have been the first book of hers I've read, so I can't speak to the repetitiveness of the characters like other reviewers have. This review is coming from a Nora Roberts newbie. Also, no spoilers here, so don't worry.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The plot was really interesting, and my favorite part was having an intelligent heroine that actually does everything right. How often do you read a book or watch a movie where the heroine is in a difficult situation and you're wondering "Why don't they [insert intelligent and logical move here]?!". So many stories feature heroines that don't go to the authorities, that are unable to protect themselves, that aren't smart enough to outwit their opponents...not here. Abigail has the wits and intelligence to navigate the dangerous situation she finds herself in, and that's refreshing to read. Since I'm unfamiliar with Nora Roberts I have no idea who Bones is, but the heroine did remind me a little bit of Lisbeth Salander from the Dragon Tattoo series: a little socially challenged, but extremely intelligent and not someone to be messed with.

I can't give this book 5 stars, however, due to its pace. The first 10-15% of the book was exciting as the stage was set, but the plot didn't really pick up again until about 80-85% of the way through. The middle of the book focuses almost exclusively on the relationship between Abigail and Brooks, with the only action coming from the shenanigans of locals, not from Abigail's situation. I found myself bored and had to fight through that portion until things started picking up again. But even when they did, I did't find it wholly satisfying; there was only 15-20% of the book left to wrap up the stories of both the locals' shenanigans and the Russians! I found it all wrapped up way too quickly and neatly for my taste, with not enough suspense. I would've been more satisfied with less romance and more action, with more unpredictable suspense thrown in.

And even though some have frowned upon it, I will include thoughts about the price in my review. I know the price isn't set by the author, but value for your money is something that's included in reviews of all kinds of other products, so I will mention it here. This book was not worth $15 in my opinion. So much so that I almost knocked an extra star off the review because I felt I did not get good value for my money, but I left it at 4 stars. $15 is a lot to pay for an electronic book; I would've been happier paying $10.

Also, this is a completely minor thing and didn't affect my rating in any way, but I found it annoying that there was a character named Sylbie and another one named Sybill. Since I was bored through the middle and therefore didn't read the book in one sitting, I found myself having to work to remember which name went with which character.