Another nothing special about it but away from reality read. Good. Not great. Reasonably long.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When her husband Richard dies in a freak accident, Shelby Pomeroy is devastated. But his death reveals a horrible truth - Richard was a liar and a cheat. Now Shelby is left with the consequences - huge, terrifying debts and mounting proof that her late husband betrayed her in every conceivable way.
Heart-broken but unbowed, Shelby is determined to fix her problems - if only for the sake of her gorgeous little daughter Callie. Returning home to Tennessee and the family she thought she'd lost for ever, she discovers a new sense of strength and freedom. And hope, too, in the handsome form of carpenter Griffin Lott - a straight-dealing man who couldn't lie to her if he tried.
But not everyone is thrilled to see Shelby Pomeroy back in town. And when a shocking act of violence is traced back to Richard's shady business, it becomes clear that she is not safe from him, even in death. With her life in danger, Shelby must face the lies of the past - or lose everything.

For many years, Nora Roberts has been at the pinnacle of romance novels and, more recently, her romantic suspense books have been gaining in popularity. Over the years I have read a number of Nora's books, usually leaning toward the thriller/mystery novels. There have been some very good ones...and some not so good ones.

This falls somewhere in the middle.

Starting with the positives - Shelby is an excellent character. I really grew to like her as the story unfolded. Griff was a good addition as well. Their combination on the page worked very, very well. I was also very pleased with the depiction of life in a small town. And as Shelby was returning to town, we got to see it through her eyes, which was a clever idea.

However, the problem for me was both that the 'romance' and the 'suspense' barely existed. There really wasn't enough of either to hold my attention. And the story of Melody? That was weird. In a book featuring some well-drawn characters, she felt like she had been thrown in at the last minute as the story needed another plot-arc to justify the 500 pages. If she had stuck with either/or romance or suspense, and at about 350 pages, this would have been a far 'tighter' read for me.

In all, a decent story but falls a bit short in the end.


Paul
ARH