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The phenomenal number-one New York Times bestselling author is back with a spine-tingling novel about a woman who walks fearlessly into danger—but must draw on her courage to let love into her life.
At the start of this scintillating slice of romantic suspense from prolific bestseller Roberts (Sweet Revenge), Lt. Phoebe MacNamara, the chief hostage negotiator for the Savannah, Ga., PD, meets Duncan Swift, a sports bar owner, as they both try to prevent a suicidal bartender Duncan fired from jumping off a roof on St. Patrick's Day. In the aftermath, a romance develops between Phoebe and Duncan, though in typical Roberts style the enigmatic Phoebe's devotion to career and family, who include a young daughter and an agoraphobic mother, creates tension in their relationship. After Phoebe survives a vicious attack within her own precinct house by an unknown assailant, it becomes clear that someone is intent on harming Phoebe and those close to her. A courageous protagonist, deft plotting and the sultry Savannah backdrop all add up to another winner for consummate storyteller Roberts. (July)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business InformationPhoebe MacNamara found her calling when she was a hostage at the age of 12: she now is Savannah, GA, PD's top negotiator. She crosses paths with Duncan Swift while talking down a jumper who was one of his former employees. Duncan is intrigued by Phoebe's drive and commitment, and she feels the same way about him, but she comes with a lot of baggage, including an agoraphobic mother and a seven-year-old daughter. Worse, lurking around the corner is someone who wants Phoebe to pay for past sins, and he doesn't care who dies in the process. Narrator Susan Ericksen wrings tears and laughter and incites anger and fear all with impressive ease. She becomes Phoebe, while her Duncan is suave, fun, ambitious, and smart, rolled into an attractive package. His drawl is a constant comfort. Roberts created a blockbuster, and Ericksen amplifies it with spot-on narration. Essential for public libraries.
—Jodi L. Israel
As her fans well know, in 1979 a blizzard trapped Roberts at home for a week with two bored little kids and a dwindling supply of chocolate. To maintain her sanity, Roberts started scribbling a story -- a romance novel like the Harlequin paperbacks she'd recently begun reading. The resulting manuscript was rejected by Harlequin, but that didn't matter to Roberts. She was hooked on writing. Several rejected manuscripts later, her first book was accepted for publication by Silhouette.
For several years, Roberts wrote category romances for Silhouette -- short books written to the publisher's specifications for length, subject matter and style, and marketed as part of a series of similar books. Roberts has said she never found the form restrictive. "If you write in category, you write knowing there's a framework, there are reader expectations," she explained. "If this doesn't suit you, you shouldn't write it. I don't believe for one moment you can write well what you wouldn't read for pleasure."
Roberts never violated the reader's expectations, but she did show a gift for bringing something fresh to the romance formula. Her first book, Irish Thoroughbred (1981), had as its heroine a strong-willed horse groom, in contrast to the fluttering young nurses and secretaries who populated most romances at the time. But Roberts's books didn't make significant waves until 1985, when she published Playing the Odds, which introduced the MacGregor clan. It was the first bestseller of many.
Roberts soon made a name for herself as a writer of spellbinding multigenerational sagas, creating families like the Scottish MacGregors, the Irish Donovans and the Ukrainian Stanislaskis. She also began working on romantic suspense novels, in which the love story unfolds beneath a looming threat of violence or disaster. She grew so prolific that she outstripped her publishers' ability to print and market Nora Roberts books, so she created an alter ego, J.D. Robb. Under the pseudonym, she began writing romantic detective novels set in the future. By then, millions of readers had discovered what Publishers Weekly called her "immeasurable diversity and talent."
Although the style and substance of her books has grown, Roberts remains loyal to the genre that launched her career. As she says, "The romance novel at its core celebrates that rush of emotions you have when you are falling in love, and it's a lovely thing to relive those feelings through a book."
Roberts sued fellow writer Janet Dailey in 1997, accusing her of plagiarizing numerous passages of her work over a period of years. Dailey paid a settlement and publicly apologized, blaming stress and a psychological disorder for her misconduct.
CharlotteGayle
Posted August 24, 2010
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Listening to books on disc is my new passion. The voice quality of the readers is wonderful. I listen most of the time in my car as I drive. This offers a great alternative to radio and cd listening. Brilliance Audio does a quality job of pacing and pausing as the series of discs complete. I recommend the unabridged versions rather than the abridged. The books are intriguing and wonderful to listen too. If you enjoy reading Nora Roberts, you will most definitely enjoy listening to her stories read aloud.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.alias_dw
Posted April 11, 2010
I love Nora Roberts! She is predictably good at writing thrilling romance novels, some novels are more thrilling than others though and during the mid 2000s she hit a bit of a slump. High Noon was not her greatest effort. It was not a page turner, at least not in a good way. I kept turning pages knowing with each page I turned I was closer to the end of this story. It was too long with too little thrill and to be blunt too little passion. One of Roberts' greatest strengths is that she is able to consistently create characters with amazing chemistry, these characters just didn't have it. This will not dissuade me from reading more of her books. She was more than due for a dud.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This really was a wonderful book. Easy read. I really liked the main character. This book is a page turner. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. The love story way wrapped very nicely around the main idea of the story. I thought this gave a very interesting view of the life of a negotiator. This book shows the challenges of being a single parent, working, and dating. I would recommend this book. Nora Roberts does it again.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted May 16, 2009
I've just finished reading High Noon. It's an intense and clever reading. I enjoyed the relationship between Duncan and Phoebe: two people with big hearts and real problems.. The antagonists were brutal and sinister, too. I enjoyed the novel. Yes,it's another page turner for Nora Roberts.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book had everything in it suspense, action, mystery & of course romance. I just hope LIfetime doesn't muck this one up to badly.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Forgot how much I loved reading Nora Roberts. This book is a "can't put it down" one. Once again, the plot and the characters hold your attention till the very end. The mystery with the romance keeps the balance perfect. not too much of either. Great read. Highly recommend.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted June 11, 2008
Despite being a very long book (nearly 500 pages) this story had zero character development and the ending came out of nowhere. We are told that Phoebe, the main character, is really strong and tough at least a hundred times. Then there are the cliched stock characters: her crazy Southern family, adorable daughter, sexist police colleague, token African-American lawyer friends, and, of course, the attractive, supportive, rich new boyfriend who does nothing but live off his lottery winnings and admire Phoebe's sexy toughness. Yawn. Nora Roberts has written some great, three-dimensional characters in the past (see Birthright) but this mishmash won't please anyone. The book isn't romantic enough to satsify romance novel fans, not authentically gritty enough to please fans of mysteries and police procedurals, and not well-written enough to impress readers of weightier fiction. I think Nora is talented, but this book is not her best work by far.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 31, 2008
Just put away my copy of HIGH NOON.And very disappointed!! Ms. Roberts books have consistently been books in the 'can't put down' category for me. Sadly not this one. Of course I will read her next novel.'It can't be as boring!' I know she wont disappoint me again!!
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 25, 2008
I won't review the plot as it's already been done. However, the plot is the biggest problem I have because it was weak at best, nonexistent at worst. Most of the book was about Ben, Phoebe and her family with some hostage rescue taking place. It was towards the end that it came out she was being stalked by a killer, not who had harassed her off and on throughout the book. Also, all the people being in the same place, and not knowing each other, at the end of book was totally unbelievable. Duncan was too good to be true. Rich, handsome, athletic, smart honest, brave, etc. And loving Phoebe's dysfunctional family (hers tops mine in the dysfunctional which is hard to believe) and wanting to take on their problems from the beginning isn't very realistic.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 27, 2008
Not awful but not particularly good either. I won¿t review the plot as it¿s already been done. However, the plot is the biggest problem I have because it was weak at best, nonexistent at worst. Most of the book was about Ben, Phoebe and her family with some hostage rescue taking place. It was towards the end that it came out she was being stalked by a killer, not who had harassed her off and on throughout the book. Also, all the people being in the same place, and not knowing each other, at the end of book was totally unbelievable. Duncan was too good to be true. Rich, handsome, athletic, smart, honest, brave, etc. And loving Phoebe¿s dysfunctional family 'hers tops mine in the dysfunctional which is hard to believe' and wanting to take on their problems from the beginning isn¿t very realistic.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 8, 2007
I'm a huge Nora Roberts fan! I've read all her books. I was so disappointed in High Noon. What happened? It's almost as if someone else wrote it. Too much dialog and not enough action. Wait until it comes out in paper back, pick it up on used book store.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted August 6, 2007
Normally I love Nora Roberts' writing, but High Noon just isn't keeping my attention. I'm only halfway through and I'm bored. The writing jumps around, never building suspense and the only character I find enjoyable is Duncan. I don't find the obscure, High Noon whistling character threatening at all, and I think he is probably going to be pivotal to the predictable showdown at the end. I'm going to slog through to the end - maybe it will redeem itself.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Savannah Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara is the Georgia city¿s top hostage negotiator. Her work is how she meets sports bar owner Duncan Swift when he observes her talk a leaper whom he just fired from jumping. Unable to resist this fascinating woman, Duncan romances her although Phoebe's family baggage, her young daughter and her agoraphobic mother causes difficulty in their relationship. At the police station, someone assaults Phoebe battering her after he or she put a hood over her head so she cannot identify who her attacker is. She is stunned as this is the last place she would expect anyone to be so brazen. She looking deep inside herself and remembers when she was a child and she and her family were terrorized by a dangerous intruder in their home. Phoebe refuses to back down and become a victim though she is very shook up. When the terror campaign continues with threats to her loved ones, the frustrated Phoebe decides to uncover the culprit so that she can get into his or her face before her fears of harm to her loved ones cripple her. --- This is a one sitting action-packed thriller that grips the audience from the moment they meet the intrepid Phoebe and never slows down until the final confrontation with her unknown adversary. The entertaining cat and mouse police procedural story line is gripping because the beleaguered heroine is likable while her anonymous antagonist remains shadowy adding tension. Fans of Ms. Roberts or anyone who appreciates a tense HIGH NOON drama will want to read Ms. Roberts¿ strong Savannah saga. --- Harriet Klausner
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Loved it!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Capri7204
Posted March 17, 2011
I enjoyed reading this book. I did not want it to end.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 23, 2010
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I have read and loved Nora Roberts books for some time now, but I felt like this one was not one of her best. It was a good book, but I didn't care for how quickly it ended and that the climax of the book was just pages before the end. The characters were really good too, but I wish that we could have found out more about things that happened with some of the other characters and the store, however, that may be Nora keeping us hanging on for a second book to follow.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted March 29, 2010
I just love any book by this author. This one is excellent reading - hard to put down once you start it.
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Posted March 20, 2010
I highly recommend this book for anyone that wants to spend part of a weekend totally absorbed in a good story.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.rae47
Posted February 21, 2010
Good reading with a twist.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.bookwormRK
Posted January 16, 2010
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IN "High Noon" she once again takes the reader on a great ride. Her cast of characters live and breath in living color. The story moves fast, not a step wasted, and pulls us in from the get-go. 'Phoebe MacNamara' is a woman who works in a mans world but is all woman, I loved it!!! There is suspense, danger, nerve tingling nail biting tension and of course there is no-one who writes love scenes like Nora Roberts! It's a great read!!
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Overview
The New York Times BestsellerThe phenomenal number-one New York Times bestselling author is back with a spine-tingling novel about a woman who walks fearlessly into danger—but must draw on her courage to let love into her life.