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Night Tales #1-2
Secrets by Nightfall: Night Shift / Night Shadow
When night falls, no one is safe from desire or danger…
Night Shift
Radio host Cilla O'Roarke loves quiet evenings running the late-night show at her station. But when she receives a threatening call from a listener, her ideal job suddenly turns dangerous. Used to being alone, Cilla insists she can handle the calls by herself, but that doesn't stop Detective Boyd Fletcher from wanting to investigate further. Boyd also senses there's something beneath Cilla's cool demeanor and challenges himself to uncover her secrets. But when the sinister caller begins stalking Cilla, Boyd realizes he wants to protect Cilla more than anything else—and Cilla finds that trusting Boyd might be her only choice.
Night Shadow
When Deborah O'Roarke is rescued from a dark alley by the city's own masked vigilante, Nemesis, she starts to rethink her idea of what a hero is. A practical lawyer, Deborah doesn't like anyone who disrespects the law—and Nemesis's bold actions and brash attitude are definitely against her morals. But when she needs details on a murder case, she has no choice but to turn to Nemesis for information. As the two work together, Deborah starts to understand Nemesis's dark allure…and learns that there's more to the man behind the mask than she thought.
Night Shift
Radio host Cilla O'Roarke loves quiet evenings running the late-night show at her station. But when she receives a threatening call from a listener, her ideal job suddenly turns dangerous. Used to being alone, Cilla insists she can handle the calls by herself, but that doesn't stop Detective Boyd Fletcher from wanting to investigate further. Boyd also senses there's something beneath Cilla's cool demeanor and challenges himself to uncover her secrets. But when the sinister caller begins stalking Cilla, Boyd realizes he wants to protect Cilla more than anything else—and Cilla finds that trusting Boyd might be her only choice.
Night Shadow
When Deborah O'Roarke is rescued from a dark alley by the city's own masked vigilante, Nemesis, she starts to rethink her idea of what a hero is. A practical lawyer, Deborah doesn't like anyone who disrespects the law—and Nemesis's bold actions and brash attitude are definitely against her morals. But when she needs details on a murder case, she has no choice but to turn to Nemesis for information. As the two work together, Deborah starts to understand Nemesis's dark allure…and learns that there's more to the man behind the mask than she thought.
480 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1985
65 people are currently reading
3106 people want to read
About the author
Nora Roberts
1,209 books59.7k followersNora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 -- The Becoming -- the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews
April 25, 2010
Nora Roberts storytelling skills have come a long way since 1990. Thank god. If I could rate the two novels in this collection separately, I would probably give the first one three stars and the second one only one star.
Both novels are formulaic. It's interesting to me that Ms. Roberts earlier novels are more formulaic than her newer work. In the first one, there is a brief glimpse of the strong character development that she develops later in her career.
The second novel though, is pure purple prose. It is also, with no irony, literally a bodice ripper. Really. The romance stretched credulity and the only thing more absurd than the hero's treatment of the heroine is the fact that she falls for him anyway. I finished the novel because it was a fast read, but I spent the whole thing annoyed at both characters. I hoped for an ending where she walked off and left him broken-hearted. And since I picked up the stories as feel-good romance, that is a sad, sad statement. To add insult to injury, the hero's storyline is stolen whole-cloth from DC's Batman. Not recommended.
Both novels are formulaic. It's interesting to me that Ms. Roberts earlier novels are more formulaic than her newer work. In the first one, there is a brief glimpse of the strong character development that she develops later in her career.
The second novel though, is pure purple prose. It is also, with no irony, literally a bodice ripper. Really. The romance stretched credulity and the only thing more absurd than the hero's treatment of the heroine is the fact that she falls for him anyway. I finished the novel because it was a fast read, but I spent the whole thing annoyed at both characters. I hoped for an ending where she walked off and left him broken-hearted. And since I picked up the stories as feel-good romance, that is a sad, sad statement. To add insult to injury, the hero's storyline is stolen whole-cloth from DC's Batman. Not recommended.
September 10, 2018
A quick easy read with no surprises.
January 3, 2025
This book is actually 2 books, which I somehow missed when I bought it. The first one could be better, but isn't bad. The second one is literally knockoff batman and was really hard to finish reading.
February 16, 2018
This was a pretty good book. I definitely enjoyed both stories and want to read more in this series. I wanna see what happens with the partner! This had plenty of suspense, humor, some tense scenes, emotions, courage, strong characters, and great endings. Good for anytime reading and definitely pulls you in. Loved the characters and can't wait to get to know more. Enjoy!
December 24, 2020
If you are looking for a mills and boon sexy novel, you have come to the right place. Must be a very old one, everybody smokes and uses payphones.
Not very good.
Not very good.
September 3, 2025
Her mix between romance and thriller didn’t. Mix too well and the male lead felt too forced decent read
March 5, 2021
3.5 stars - Romantic Suspense
October 18, 2025
There's a reason Nora Roberts is known for writing romance. Good book. Not as cheesy as expected.
October 31, 2013
Night Shift and Night Shadow are the first two installments of a six book saga that brings characters into each other's lives time and again. Mysterious circumstances and intrigue combine with love in curious settings to hold the reader's attention.
Night Shift details Cilla O'Roarke's past life and current position as a night disc jockey. Her last hour of each show contains live callers speaking with her about all manner of things on their minds. As the story unfolds, a mysterious caller begins making threats over a series of calls that lead to a detective being assigned to Cilla's predicament. As Boyd Fletcher becomes acquainted with his charge, he realizes she might be the woman for him. The thrilling moments in this book reveal a developing closeness between Cilla and Fletcher during his investigation. The accurate character portrayals and settings make this book an easy read that drops the reader into each detailed situation. A surprise ending leaves the reader with a desire to find out more about this couple. Luckily, Night Shadow takes us on another adventure involving them and the people they know.
Night Shadow further depicts Cilla's sister, Deborah and her desire to stand on her own in a new town. As assistant district attorney, Deb is compelled to win cases and put criminals behind bars ... and she is good at it. Accustomed to meeting informant witnesses in odd surroundings, she comes across Nemesis, a man who has a vendetta all his own. This strange man has a special power that allows him to come to Deb's rescue more than once, and predictably, they become romantically involved. Sharing his secret with her, Nemesis gains her trust and helps work on a current crime wave. During the course of her investigations, Deb's parents, Cilla and Boyd, are reintroduced. An interesting relationship develops and fear leads to trust in this dramatic suspense-filled book.
Nora Roberts succeeds once again in creating wonderfully-descriptive environments that have been carefully researched to entice the reader to turn the pages as fast as they can read. Most public libraries have this series either in the 3-book set or all six separately. I recommend the other books in this series: Nightshade, Night Smoke, Night Shield, and Night Moves. Read them in order and you will feel you know each character by the time you finish the last book.
Night Shift details Cilla O'Roarke's past life and current position as a night disc jockey. Her last hour of each show contains live callers speaking with her about all manner of things on their minds. As the story unfolds, a mysterious caller begins making threats over a series of calls that lead to a detective being assigned to Cilla's predicament. As Boyd Fletcher becomes acquainted with his charge, he realizes she might be the woman for him. The thrilling moments in this book reveal a developing closeness between Cilla and Fletcher during his investigation. The accurate character portrayals and settings make this book an easy read that drops the reader into each detailed situation. A surprise ending leaves the reader with a desire to find out more about this couple. Luckily, Night Shadow takes us on another adventure involving them and the people they know.
Night Shadow further depicts Cilla's sister, Deborah and her desire to stand on her own in a new town. As assistant district attorney, Deb is compelled to win cases and put criminals behind bars ... and she is good at it. Accustomed to meeting informant witnesses in odd surroundings, she comes across Nemesis, a man who has a vendetta all his own. This strange man has a special power that allows him to come to Deb's rescue more than once, and predictably, they become romantically involved. Sharing his secret with her, Nemesis gains her trust and helps work on a current crime wave. During the course of her investigations, Deb's parents, Cilla and Boyd, are reintroduced. An interesting relationship develops and fear leads to trust in this dramatic suspense-filled book.
Nora Roberts succeeds once again in creating wonderfully-descriptive environments that have been carefully researched to entice the reader to turn the pages as fast as they can read. Most public libraries have this series either in the 3-book set or all six separately. I recommend the other books in this series: Nightshade, Night Smoke, Night Shield, and Night Moves. Read them in order and you will feel you know each character by the time you finish the last book.
February 25, 2024
Ik geef het boek 3,5 sterretjes omdat ik de boekcover echt heel indrukwekkend vond.De protagonist (cilla) is een ijzersterke jonge vrouw die een redelijk druk leven heeft,ze is namelijk radio-dj.Het romangenre zou ik omschrijven als romantisch maar er zit ook wel wat drama in want er gebeuren veel spannende dingen.De verhaallijn van het boek zit goed in elkaar en alles valt juist op zijn plaats,het is duidelijk.
October 9, 2014
I thought it was a good book it had some good moments in there when I didn't want to put it down nora roberts writing is sometimes spicy and suspensful i really enjoyed it.
dnf
September 30, 2020DNFing this volume. Night Shift has a great premise but the detective is a bully to the the heroine and I hated it. Night Shadow I cannot get behind. Masked vigilante? No.
July 6, 2022
Was just a “ok” book. 2 books in 1. Boy meets girl, girl hate boy, boy rescues girl, now she likes him…… 😜
September 25, 2022
This book pleasantly surprised me. However, I didn’t know 70% of it would be a romance, but hey I’m here for it. It was steamy with a side plot of suspense/murder. Quick, easy read.
September 21, 2024
So this book is divided in 2 separate books and I prefer the first one over the second one. But still both of them weren't good.
Night shift ☆☆☆
This story got me hooked right from the beginning. It's thrilling and I wanted to keep on reading. However the love interest of Cilla, Boyd was a little weird in the beginning. A detective/cop flirting with a women he's supposed to protect and touching her on the job is something I don't find cute in a romance book. And him thinking her sister is hot too? Yeah not cute. Their romance was just weird and it took me a while before I could "feel" chemistry between them. The thing that kept me reading wasn't the love story, but the story of Cilla being threatened to be killed, and I just wanted to know who that was.
Night Shadow ☆☆
In my opinion, this was even worse. The story is chaotic and I did not feel any chemistry between Deborah and Gage. I just did not understand why they liked each other. There's not a lot to say about this book other than that I did not finish the last part because I wasn't interested anymore.
Not a read for me I'm afraid. Both stories could have been good if the romance was better executed.
Night shift ☆☆☆
This story got me hooked right from the beginning. It's thrilling and I wanted to keep on reading. However the love interest of Cilla, Boyd was a little weird in the beginning. A detective/cop flirting with a women he's supposed to protect and touching her on the job is something I don't find cute in a romance book. And him thinking her sister is hot too? Yeah not cute. Their romance was just weird and it took me a while before I could "feel" chemistry between them. The thing that kept me reading wasn't the love story, but the story of Cilla being threatened to be killed, and I just wanted to know who that was.
Night Shadow ☆☆
In my opinion, this was even worse. The story is chaotic and I did not feel any chemistry between Deborah and Gage. I just did not understand why they liked each other. There's not a lot to say about this book other than that I did not finish the last part because I wasn't interested anymore.
Not a read for me I'm afraid. Both stories could have been good if the romance was better executed.
April 25, 2025
This book actually consists of two stories. The first story, Night Shift, is 237 pages (almost a book in itself). The second story, Night Shadow, is 239 pages. These stories follow back to back with Night Shift being the story of Priscilla "Cilla" O'Roarke and Night Shadow following up with the story of Cilla's younger sister, Deborah O'Roarke. Cilla works the night shift at a local radio station. Deborah has gone to law school and gone to work for the District Attorney's office. She must deal with a flesh-and-bone vigilante who works at night but seems to be a shadow since he is there and then he isn't!
I must warn readers to beware! This book was also issued with a different title. Secrets By Nightfall and The Darkest of Nights are the same book! I purchase my books and then donate them to the public library when I have finished reading them. I am a died in the wool Nora Roberts fan and ordered both these books, along with other titles by her, and was really put off when the books arrived and they were identical except for the title! I checked the publication dates and the books were published a year apart!!
I must warn readers to beware! This book was also issued with a different title. Secrets By Nightfall and The Darkest of Nights are the same book! I purchase my books and then donate them to the public library when I have finished reading them. I am a died in the wool Nora Roberts fan and ordered both these books, along with other titles by her, and was really put off when the books arrived and they were identical except for the title! I checked the publication dates and the books were published a year apart!!
July 20, 2025
2 riveting stories in one volume. The first, "Night Shift" is about Cilla O'Roarke, who broadcasts the night shift from 10pm - 2am on the local radio station. But things turn nasty when a request hour caller starts making murderous threats against her. As the threats continue, the police are brought in, not only to find the menace, but to protect Cilla. The story builds up to a thrilling climax, with an unexpected outcome.
The 2nd story centres around Cilla's younger sister, Deborah, who is now a hard-working lawyer in the DA's office. She organises a deal for a murderer (life, not death) when he offers information on the city's drug dealers. But shortly after that, this man is killed in prison, and when Deborah tries to investigate further, she finds her own life is in danger. Twice, she is rescued by the shadowy Nemesis, a black-clothed, masked man who appears out of the blue, then vanishes into the darkness, once he has done what he has to. Once again, the story builds up to a climax where the unexpected happens.
Although in both novels, there are parts that are predictable, almost inevitable, this does not detract from the tension that builds up as you read.
The 2nd story centres around Cilla's younger sister, Deborah, who is now a hard-working lawyer in the DA's office. She organises a deal for a murderer (life, not death) when he offers information on the city's drug dealers. But shortly after that, this man is killed in prison, and when Deborah tries to investigate further, she finds her own life is in danger. Twice, she is rescued by the shadowy Nemesis, a black-clothed, masked man who appears out of the blue, then vanishes into the darkness, once he has done what he has to. Once again, the story builds up to a climax where the unexpected happens.
Although in both novels, there are parts that are predictable, almost inevitable, this does not detract from the tension that builds up as you read.
December 21, 2023
This is actually a two part book! I read the first book, Night Shift. I have not read the sequel, Night Shadow. I picked this up at Sam's one day. I thought it was a thriller...Not the kind of thriller I had in mind. LOL. It is a mystery, but apparently it's also a romance. So be forewarned there is sex scenes. 👀 If that's not your cup of tea maybe best not to read it. Night Shift by Nora Roberts is about a radio host, Cilla O'roarke. She's the radio host for a late-night show. Cilla loved her job until she started to receive threatening phone calls from an unknown listener. Used to being alone, Cilla insists she can handle the calls by herself, but that doesn't stop Detective Boyd Fletcher (swoon🥵) from wanting to investigate further. Even though this book was not what I was expecting. I throughly enjoyed it! If you're into romance and mystery I highly recommend this book! I can't wait to read the sequel, Night Shadow!
April 12, 2024
This book contained two different stories; the first about a female radio DJ who is being stalked & the detective she falls for who is assigned to protect her. The second story is about a female ADA, the sister to the DJ in the previous story, who is being threatened by one of the people she is investigating to prosecute & the two men, one a millionaire businessman & former cop, & the other, a mysterious superhero of sorts who only comes out at night, that she falls in love with. This last story has a supernatural element in it as well which I really enjoyed. You can’t beat the writing of the wonderful Nora Roberts & I loved both of these stories!
August 22, 2021
BOOK 1 in the Night Tales Series NIGHT SHIFT. **** 4/5 stars. I just love reading Nora Roberts writing!
BOOK 2 in the Night Tales Series NIGHT SHADOW ****** 6/5 stars . . . Interesting twist. Love that her books touch on supernatural and magic. I am just reading these NIGHT TALES in 2021. I am getting vibes of her practicing with characters, that led her to Eve Dallas and Roarke. Love that the name O'Roarke is in the first two books. Here I feel the beginnings of the rich partner with the advantage of having high tech electronics.
BOOK 2 in the Night Tales Series NIGHT SHADOW ****** 6/5 stars . . . Interesting twist. Love that her books touch on supernatural and magic. I am just reading these NIGHT TALES in 2021. I am getting vibes of her practicing with characters, that led her to Eve Dallas and Roarke. Love that the name O'Roarke is in the first two books. Here I feel the beginnings of the rich partner with the advantage of having high tech electronics.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 12, 2024
I’d give this a 2.5, actually. I was grocery shopping and short on books at home, so I picked this up. My expectations weren’t very high. This was pretty much what I expected.
Incredibly gorgeous late night disk jockey with a sensual voice starts receiving threatening calls. Her parents were both police officers, killed in front of her in the line of duty. A pair of officers are assigned to guard her. Of course, she has never truly had someone make love to her ( even though she was married), and her life is dedicated to her work and protecting her sister.
Typical Roberts.
Incredibly gorgeous late night disk jockey with a sensual voice starts receiving threatening calls. Her parents were both police officers, killed in front of her in the line of duty. A pair of officers are assigned to guard her. Of course, she has never truly had someone make love to her ( even though she was married), and her life is dedicated to her work and protecting her sister.
Typical Roberts.
May 16, 2020
They were both interesting reads, but I wished there had been more layers to the story. I wanted more of the main character's backgrounds as well as suspense scenes. Furthermore, several additional scenes between the two protagonists doing everyday things (with the attraction still evident) would have given them a relationship outside their work and passion for each other. In addition, scenes with the antagonist contemplating further action would have made the suspense palpable.
September 9, 2021
Night Shadow - A ''Batman'' story with a twist!
I like Nora Roberts's style, but this is definitely not her best work. I couldn't relate to these characters and the story was too familiar for it to hook my attention. I am not a fan of fictional characters who breaks up a thousand times in a little more than 200 pages... I forced myself to finish this book, mostly because I wanted it to surprise me so bad! I have to admit that the end caught me off guard, but when I say the end, it is literally the last 10 pages. Let me explain...
Have you seen Batman? Not the new ones, I'm talking about the one with Christian Bales... well if you have, you know the basics of this book. A man who lost his parents when he was a kid, was raised by his uncle and aunt, is rich and after a terrible accident, he decides to fight bad guys trough his own definition of ''justice''. On top of that, the girl he likes has a prestigious position as a procurer... Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
However, I did love the twits the author added to the story and I wasn't 100% sure of the identity of the bad guy until the very end! Ultimately, I wouldn't recommend this book... Mrs Roberts wrote so many books that are better than this one!
I like Nora Roberts's style, but this is definitely not her best work. I couldn't relate to these characters and the story was too familiar for it to hook my attention. I am not a fan of fictional characters who breaks up a thousand times in a little more than 200 pages... I forced myself to finish this book, mostly because I wanted it to surprise me so bad! I have to admit that the end caught me off guard, but when I say the end, it is literally the last 10 pages. Let me explain...
Have you seen Batman? Not the new ones, I'm talking about the one with Christian Bales... well if you have, you know the basics of this book. A man who lost his parents when he was a kid, was raised by his uncle and aunt, is rich and after a terrible accident, he decides to fight bad guys trough his own definition of ''justice''. On top of that, the girl he likes has a prestigious position as a procurer... Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
However, I did love the twits the author added to the story and I wasn't 100% sure of the identity of the bad guy until the very end! Ultimately, I wouldn't recommend this book... Mrs Roberts wrote so many books that are better than this one!
August 9, 2023
I’d like to say that I loved this book but obviously I didn’t because I gave it 3 ⭐️. My main issue with it was the love interests. Men who didn’t take no for an answer and pushed themselves onto the main characters. And then we have the love at first sight and want to marry right away. Give me a break. Now that I’m typing this I think it should get two stars. But I was entertained so I’ll leave it at 3.
January 12, 2025
Was not aware the 2 stories is this book were connected. When I started second story was wondering why the same last name was being brought up. First is about older sister and her career as a radio station personality and some psycho calling in and threatening her, of course, there is a love story involved. Second story is her younger sister as a prosecutor, her cases, the men she meets and the tug and pull of a relationship from both sides of the law.
June 28, 2025
In fairness book, it's not you, it's me.
I like mystery with a side of romance; this from the start was oooooh sexy voice woman, cowboy looking cop who seems to have lots of time to dedicate, um maybe a plot somewhere. Not what I hoped or was in the mood for.
I love some Nora Roberts but this is an early work and while there's glimmers it's not as developed as her later fare.
Know what you're getting and it's an OK distraction, but not a keeper.
I like mystery with a side of romance; this from the start was oooooh sexy voice woman, cowboy looking cop who seems to have lots of time to dedicate, um maybe a plot somewhere. Not what I hoped or was in the mood for.
I love some Nora Roberts but this is an early work and while there's glimmers it's not as developed as her later fare.
Know what you're getting and it's an OK distraction, but not a keeper.
December 23, 2025
Liked the first book. The second book is just shameless Batman fan fic. Gage was a far less tolerable character than Boyd, even while being less obnoxious. Deborah was somehow more likable as a side character in Night Shift than she was when she was expanded on in her own story. Took me ages just to finish the last 30 pages. I would’ve much preferred a continuation of Cilla and Boyd’s story.
3.5 stars for Night Shift, 1 for Night Shadow.
3.5 stars for Night Shift, 1 for Night Shadow.
March 14, 2017
Wow! Nora Roberts did another set of winning stories! I enjoyed these 2 thrillers and could not put it down til I knew how it ended. I loved getting to know the great characters and the tease all the way through till you find out the ending. It was exciting, suspenseful, surprising, and I enjoyed the Good Read! Keep them coming!
April 26, 2020
Both nice equal parts romance and mysteries almost solvable. Night Shift has Cillia as a late night radio host, sexy voice causing male listeners to want her. Cop Boyd is assigned to find latest stalker. Her past with a former Mom as former Cop makes her hesitant to get emotionally involved. Night Shadow: Other than a couple pages, there is little follow through from first book. Her sister, Cilla has finished law school, now top DA in another city. Saved by a Batman type guy, Nemesis, she is torn between happy with his results but not his no help from police style. Falls for rich guy, Gage, a former policeman. Sexual attraction for guys creates story. Celia resists help yet needs it from Gage/Nemesis.
July 19, 2021
Interesting correlations between these books and the in death series. I think she used some of these ideas to create that series. Easy reading. No real surprises. Night shadows was a bit odd with the supernatural twist. Wasn’t a fan of Deborah having to deal with the “two” men. It was pretty crappy of Gage to do that to her.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 179 reviews