I LOVE Nora Roberts. She is the Queen of Romance and reading her books is one heck of a pleasure. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. This one is definitely the a-bit-more category. Whiskey Beach was a pure reading pleasure. It started with the gorgeous cover design. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and it was clear that I wanted to read it as soon as possible.
Whiskey Beach
by
Nora Roberts
Publisher G.P. Putnam´s Sons on April 16, 2013
Genre Contemporary Romance
Pages 484
Format Hardcover
Source Purchased
Goodreads
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For more than three hundred years, Bluff House has sat above Whiskey Beach, guarding its shore – and its secrets. But to Eli Landon, it´s home. A Boston lawyer, Eli has weathered an intense year of public scrutiny and police investigation after being accused of – but never arrested for - the murder of his soon-to-be ex-wife. He finds sanctuary at Bluff House, even though his beloved grandmother is in Boston recuperating from a nasty fall. Abra Walsh is always there, though. Whiskey Beach´s resident housekeeper, yoga instructor, jewelry maker, and massage therapist, Abra is a woman of many talents – including helping Eli take control of his life and clear his name. But as they become entangled in each other, they find themselves caught in a net that stretches back for centuries – one that has ensnared a man intent on reaping the rewards of destroying Eli Landon once and for all.
Story
Eli Landon has been through a year of pain, observation, and self-doubt. The once so energetic defense lawyer is only a shadow of himself. His return to Bluff House, the home of the Landon family, is to help him regain his self and heal his wounds. He wants to finish his book and find out about the cruel murder of his wife. The cheerful housekeeper Abra wants to help him with this and her vision of life gradually opens the door to a happy and fulfilled life for Eli. But an uninvited intruder threatens to destroy the new luck again and another murder catapults Eli again the sights of the investigators – Eli decides to step out of defense.
Highly refined, Nora Roberts has combined thriller-elements with a love story and an ancient legend about a century-old treasure – giving a fabulous atmosphere. In doing so, the author remains true to her gentle word and style of writing. But it never gets boring. On the contrary, with each line, the fascination, and enthusiasm for the novel increases, and it is extremely difficult to put the title out of the hands for just a minute.
The beautiful landscape descriptions contribute to the fact that you can literally smell the smell of the water, the scent of spring, and hear the howling of the storm.
In this novel act two main characters to whom the author has given a not so easy past. While Elis suffers from the terrible murder suspicion of his wife, Abra has to struggle with the trauma of a stalker and the associated psychological terror – even if she does not realize that at first.
Nora Roberts brings the corresponding abysses to light with a lot of sensitivity, lets the reader look behind the façade of the two characters piece by piece and helps them in the course of the story to an incredible transformation.
A character has cast a spell on me: Hester Hawkin Landon - Eli´s grandmother. An agile, spiritually young lady, who once lost her heart to his grandfather and his home, Bluff House. The way she talks to her grandson, encourages him, her way of thinking, her feelings, and how she struggles to her feet with an iron will, impressed me deeply.
Abra is at first glance an absolutely fun-loving and happy woman. But she, too, has most brutally experienced the unpleasant side of love, and now lives intensely and consciously every day on Whiskey Beach. She is an ace at the stove, sees yoga as an elixir of life, and has magical hands when it comes to releasing tension. A strong and yet delicate woman with a heart of gold.
Absolutely atmospheric, exciting, extremely emotional, gentle, haunting and wonderfully harmonious. Whiskey Beach is a beautiful novel, which has just the right mix of excitement, love, hate, and thriller. Combined with a breathtaking landscape and picturesque locations, this novel offers for everyone delightfully entertaining hours. For Nora Roberts fans a must-have, I´d say. Highly recommended.
Happy reading
Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts, born in Silver Spring, Maryland, is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.” She is also the author of the bestselling futuristic suspense series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
