Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
Publication Date: May 27th 2025 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio
Pages: 435
Audio Book Length: 14hrs 55min
Narrator: January LaVoy
Source: Publishers
Rating: ★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Sloan Cooper, a Natural Resources Officer, was shot on duty and
barely survived. Having to take time off for recovery she stays with her parents
back in her hometown of Heron’s Rest, Maryland where they run a vacation rental
business on the picturesque lake.
As Sloan works toward recovery the disappearance of a young
woman on Thanksgiving Day captures her attention and sticks with her. She does
a little bit of armchair detecting, but it gets put on the back burner when nothing
turns up. Then there’s another similar disappearance leading Sloan to look for
a past pattern.
The villains had their POV which was more than a little
disturbing and chilled me to the bone! I was on the edge knowing that Sloan fit
their victim profile.
As this is happening, brothers, Nash and Theo Littlefield buy
up a wreck of a house planning on starting their own construction business
while renovating the place. Sloan and Nash end up running into each other over
and over and the immediate attraction felt slowly turns into something.
As with most Nora Roberts’ stories, Hidden Nature was
a combination of mystery, suspense, danger and romance happening in amongst an
idyllic sort of life: family, friends, dinners, décor, renovations in a
gorgeous setting. Heron’s Rest sounded beautiful! I was captivated by all of it.
I alternately read and listened to an audio copy of Hidden
Nature and recommend either version. January LaVoy’s voice is rich and
pleasing, and she brought all the characters to life, male and female, each
distinct with appropriate emotion.
4 Stars
The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a new novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers…
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.
After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.
She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.
Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes to stop the horror.
Sounds good. Good riddance to that guy too
ReplyDeleteThis does sound like a good one, although I don't love reading chapters from the killer's POV...it can be so disturbing.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this. It's a favorite author and narrator combo too. The villains made me so angry thinking they were special and should decide.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart
EEK! The villain's POV sounds unsettling. Glad this was a good one for you.
ReplyDeleteSounds great. I have a new found appreciation for Nora Roberts.
ReplyDeleteWonderful review. I enjoyed this one as well.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my stepmom's favorite authors. I think she listens to them now too instead of reading. Great review!
ReplyDeletehttps://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2025/05/30/favorite-first-lines-4-may-2025/
I found large parts of this book very slow. My favourite parts were Nash and Sloane together and I agree 100% about the villains and their viewpoints.
ReplyDelete