The Obsession
The riveting novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Liar.
“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.”
Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.
Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
“She stood in the deep, dark woods, breath shallow and cold prickling over her skin despite the hot, heavy air. She took a step back, then two, as the urge to run fell over her.”
Naomi Bowes lost her innocence the night she followed her father into the woods. In freeing the girl trapped in the root cellar, Naomi revealed the horrible extent of her father’s crimes and made him infamous. No matter how close she gets to happiness, she can’t outrun the sins of Thomas David Bowes.
Now a successful photographer living under the name Naomi Carson, she has found a place that calls to her, a rambling old house in need of repair, thousands of miles away from everything she’s ever known. Naomi wants to embrace the solitude, but the kindly residents of Sunrise Cove keep forcing her to open up—especially the determined Xander Keaton.
Naomi can feel her defenses failing, and knows that the connection her new life offers is something she’s always secretly craved. But the sins of her father can become an obsession, and, as she’s learned time and again, her past is never more than a nightmare away.
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Community Reviews
This is classic NR mystery/love story, with a stalker/serial killer, (two of them, no less!), thrown into the mix. A beautiful photographer, Naomi, is looking to make a fresh start in life on an opposite coast from where she grew up. And it seems she is motivated for a very good reason, as her father was arrested as a serial killer when she was 12, outed by her. Her uncle comes to pluck her and her brother out of the backwoods of West VA, into a safer environment in New York City, equipping her with a new last name to obscure her identity. She ends up growing up fairly normally, as does her brother. But she is always looking over her shoulder, concerned that the notoriety of the case will catch up to reveal her true identity. So, off to Washington state she goes. And that’s where she meets the hunky mechanic in her new town, Xander, and adopts a forlorn abandoned dog. But there’s another serial killer on the loose, who has his sites trained squarely on Naomi. And he’s tracked her to her new hometown. Danger ensues, but Naomi is smarter than the killer, and relies on the help of her new friends, Xander and sweet dog Tag, no longer forlorn, to save her. There were a few red herrings thrown in, to keep the reader guessing. But I must say the motivation of who the actual killer was seemed weak and unrealistic. Oh well, just enjoy it for the backstory, the characters as they come to develop feelings for one another, and sweet dog Tag coming to the rescue in more ways than one.
A good old suspense novel. Nothing special about it but it was fun to read and written well. Serial killer fiction
This was a great read! I loved the way the book started with Naomi as a young girl and then jumped to present time. It gave you a great understanding of what she went through and how it connects to the present time. I’m not a huge fan of how Nora changes perspectives without a clearer understanding of who is currently providing their point of view which I found she’s done on a few books. I was able to guess the killer a bit before the end of the book but nonetheless it was great!
This is why - one more reason that I love Nora Roberts. Great characters, great story. This gets added to my favorites shelf.
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