J.D. Robb discussion

The winner of our August book poll is The Witness by Nora Roberts. Discussions will begin around August 15.

Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.

Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.

With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller -- and will leave people hungering for more.

Oh, I've been meaning to get to this since forever. Everyone has told me how good it is. I keep moving it around within my challenges. Hopefully, I'll get to it this month.

I didn't even realize when I picked this up with The Search (Audiobook too) and Dark Witch at the library today too that this was the book of the month. Can't wait to read the book!

That's wonderful, Rachael!

Hope you can read it this month, Lisa Kay. I really enjoyed this one.

I enjoyed this one too! It's a bit different than some of Nora's romance/suspense standalones, imo.

I can't wait to discuss this book.

I've had this book sitting on my large pile of books on my end table and I haven't read it yet. Now I can read and discuss with y'all. Yea!!

Can't wait to discuss this one. I'm just finishing reading it today. Love it.

Anyone else planning on participating?

This was my first Nora Roberts book and I loved it.

hoping to be able to fit this book in this month

I am in love this maybe because my first NR too.

I read the book two years ago and apparently really liked it by my 5 stars but I can't remember a dang thing. I start the audiobook today on my way to work.

I listened to the audio book and absolutely loved this book. So many plot twists & turns. It kept me on my toes & made me pay attention from the fear of missing an important part. Well read, well done all around. I also love that NR books area easily available from my library in all formats (hardback, paperback, audio and e-book). I wish more authors books were.

Lisa wrote: "I listened to the audio book and absolutely loved this book. So many plot twists & turns. It kept me on my toes & made me pay attention from the fear of missing an important part. Well read, wel..."

I love her books too and am an avid listener, my all time favorite is the Villa and the Circle Trilogy, what about you?

Msann wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I listened to the audio book and absolutely loved this book. So many plot twists & turns. It kept me on my toes & made me pay attention from the fear of missing an important part. W..."

You should check out our sister group, Nora Roberts Groupies.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

Jonetta wrote: "Msann wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I listened to the audio book and absolutely loved this book. So many plot twists & turns. It kept me on my toes & made me pay attention from the fear of missing an impo..."

Done! Thanks!!

Yay! I think you'll enjoy it.

Me too!

Lisa wrote: "I listened to the audio book and absolutely loved this book. So many plot twists & turns. It kept me on my toes & made me pay attention from the fear of missing an important part. Well read, wel..."

I also loved the twists and turns. This was my first book by NR but I will definitely be reading more. She had me from the first chapter. I loved not only the story but the development of the characters.

I wish I'd listened to this one as I think that format is perfect for this story.

The audio was great. I loved the narrator.

I wish I had used the audio but then, I read this one when it first released - before I became a fan of audios. Loved the book though. I found it interesting in that we get the younger characters in the beginning...making bad decisions that change the course of their life.

When I first started the book, I thought, oh no, not a YA...so glad I continued on.

I know! It threw me a little at first too, Karen! And I've read a lot of NR's! Most don't start that way.

I'm on waiting list at the library for this one.

Great Vera. Looking forward to hearing what you think when you get it read.

For those of you who have read some of Nora's other romance/suspense standalones: How do you think The Witness compares? If you were comparing it to The Search or Chasing Fire?

For those who have read The Witness: Any thoughts on Elizabeth's mother's child rearing practices??

I object to calling her "mother". A mother is nurturing and is always there for their child. She was not...ever.

She was so cold & "clinical" with Elizabeth. I don't think she wanted a child. How very sad for a child to grow up in that atmosphere.

Witness did remind me of The Search in that the female protagonist was more emotionally isolated. However I think Elizabeth is far more remote due to her upbringing and the life changing event when she finally chose to break free from her mother.

Elizabeth's mother is an extreme of narcissistic parenting. My blood boiled reading at her caviler treatment of Elizabeth and her subsequent abandonment when the poop hit the fan.

Elizabeth is remarkably well adjusted considering. I think that was the only thing that rang wrong for me but suspended disbelief because I just wanted to cheer her on.

I don't think she wanted a child either, I think she wanted someone to follow in her footsteps. She was a cold, unfeeling person and my favorite part of the first part was when John stood up to her and wouldn't back down. The way he was immediately on Liz's side.

For me The Witness and The Search do not compare, except that both women had a tragedy in their young lives. Liz became Abigail (and others) and led a solitary friendless life. The lady in The Search was a member of the community and had family and friends all around her.

I think Elizabeth was always just an experiment for Susan. She didn't have a burning desire to be a mother, just a need to have a child to shape and form into a mini Susan. Given her objectives, her methods fit them perfectly. For the child, not so much. Susan created a very sad existence for the child, Elizabeth.

According to the book blurb, Elizabeth 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. The events that followed changed her life forever..

Before reading, did you have certain expectations about what would happen to Elizabeth? Did things pan out as you though they would?

The title indicates she's going to "witness" something so I wasn't surprised about that. I didn't expect what happened exactly though...her running from the mob, yes, but then she's not even safe with the FBI & other law enforcement. She doesn't know who she can trust. I will say that she's a survivor...reappearing as Abigail with all the security she had set up was an impressive feat, especially for a woman alone.

I finally started this book last night. The beginning really got me interested and so far it hasn't let me down at all. I really wanted to slap the mother and teared up for Elizabeth quite a bit though. It's a fast read (Plus a good break from other reading) and that always helps to keep me interested. I rented the audiobook for the night from the library and it's also great!

I bet the audio is good! The beginning is a little unusual but I loved it. It was a good, fast read.

Ok, ya'll got me to buy the book and audio. Probably yhe best NR audio I have heard in years.

Wow! That's good to know, Dawn. What are your thoughts on the book?

I am at the first sex scene just now lol. I really like the book.

I love the audio, the narrator is one of my favorites.

One thought I had when I first listened (yes, I am relistening) is the fact that NR wrote Brooks as someone who swears a lot. Now I'm no prude and have been known to use the same words that Brooks uses, but my impression of a Southern man is that he would not swear in front of a woman he barely knows, it just didn't ring true. Thoughts, anyone?

I tend to agree with you, Tarri, as I'm married to a Southern man - lived here all my life. Times are changing, of course, but the Southern men in my life might have cussed like a sailor with the boys - but never in front of a woman. Great observation! I don't remember thinking about that. But it's been some time since I read this one.

This book was so much better than I expected. It had me speed reading it from the start and even though not as fast paced as the beginning, the rest of the book was just as interesting. I loved Brooks and Abigail's relationship. It really seemed like they were meant to be the entire time. Abigail made me thinking of Bones (From the TV show) a lot too. I loved her character, and the ending was perfect. Really great book overall.

I absolutely love this book! 45 minutes left in the narration and I am getting sooo nervous!

If I ever work in a reread of it, I'm going for the audio version!

It is on Whispetsync deal for $3.99 if you own the Kindle. I have really struggled with some of the narrations of her books recently. Some I just couldn't get through and had to read. Some were so bad I returned the books. But this one was well done.

I, too, loved the narration for this book.

I do own the Kindle version...thanks for the info, Dawn. I own all of Nora's books in paperback as I bought most of them long ago. But as I have reread old ones or purchased newer ones, I have gotten them for Kindle.

I wish that NR had expanded the timeline. Maybe drawn things out so that Abigail and Brooks had been together a little longer before everything (pardon the expression) explodes.

Am I the only one wondering how differently the book would be if it had been written after all the things we've learned about the NSA and spying came out?

Here I am, finally getting to this book. Wow! Just loving it. I almost skipped the first part because I thought it was the heroine as a YA, but I'm glad I didn't.

And no, her mother didn't want a daughter, she wanted a toy she could mold into an image of her own self.

Love Brooks, and the dialogue between him and Abigail. LOL! He's good for her.

BTW, I'm listening to the audio. I have to speed it up slightly, as the narrator speaks a little too slow for me, but otherwise she's excellent.