Carolina Moon

This book is for those who like a little paranormal. The protagonist has “the sight”. Since I’m not a believer in such things I did not like the book. Nora Roberts seems to write three types of novels. Most follow a romantic formula where a woman who has been betrayed moves to a small town and meets a man there who has a great deal of baggage of his own. After some struggles they manage to trust and love each other. These are okay occasionally for a beach read.
Her next category has some great novels which obviously required research. The Witness, Tribute, Nigh Noon, The Search, Northern Lights, and Blue Smoke, to name a few. I re-read these books and enjoy the talent that Roberts truly has.

Victoria Tory Bodeen has had what her grandmother called the Sight since she was very little. She tried to keep things to herself because her father, Hannibal, would beat her near to death, all the while quoting the bible. Of course, he never really needed a reason to beat her. Tory had been around the age of eight when her only friend, Hope, died. Tory was supposed to sneak out and meet up with her friend, but her father had beaten her that night. When people went searching for Hope, Tory told exactly where Hopes body was. Hannibal eventually moved his family away from Progress.

Of course, Tory fled home as soon as she could. Now an adult, Tory is moving back to Progress. She even rented the house where she had grown up. Tory would open a stylish home-design shop called Southern Comfort. She would finally face her past and, hopefully, find closure by figuring out who raped and murdered Hope eighteen years ago. Kincade Cade Lavelle, Hopes brother, is still around and he is determined to make Tory see him as lover potential. Faith, Hopes twin sister, is still there too. Faith and Hope have always been opposites in all but looks. Several others still remain as well including Hopes killer.

**** FOUR STARS! This story is so well written that I found myself a bit unsettled at times. Nora Roberts manages to show readers that down home Southern charm, as well as the not so charming parts. A gripping story that may keep you up reading too long into the night. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

This is one of Nora Roberts’ best books. It just sucks you right in. Ms. Roberts is fantastic at painting a picture with her writing and she always has a good mix of serious, comical and menacing characters. This story takes place in the deep South and her descriptions of the town and its surroundings and the people of the town make you feel like you’re right there. The suspense is right there all along; you feel it there but it doesn’t hit you full blast until later in the book. It’s good stuff. One word of caution, however: beware the Audible version of Carolina Moon. The narrator is simply awful. She reads way too quickly in some places, her sentences tend to run on, and because she doesn’t differentiate the characters’ voices, you don’t always know who’s speaking and you don’t always realize when she’s stopped dialogue and gone back to the narrative. I had to stop eight chapters in and I returned the audiobook. It’s a good thing I’d read this before. Better you should just read the book or the Kindle version.

When I want an engaging romantic suspense, I look to Nora Roberts. Yep, she has a formula and she uses it with wit, style and charm. A great mix of suspense, humor, sorrow, and love — with family, with secondary characters, with the bad ones — is usual in these books. The focus here is Tory and her psychic gift that has tormented her all her life. She returns to her hometown to set some old, sad, bad memories to rest. Along the way comes Cade bringing love and acceptance to Tory who wants none of it. And then there is the very bad guy — enough said. Fully satisfying read.

I was really busy with my life when I started this book, but once I was about half way through, I was hooked. If you’ve read a handful of her other books, you pick up on the familiar story line (strong, hardheaded woman, persistent and handsome love interest, some variety of twisted, cruel tragedy). I was expecting the end of this book to simmer down to a happy ending, tied up with a bow.

Instead I was hit with a huge, unexpected turn of events that left me in a stupor for a solid 2 hours, trying to process (and reevaluate) this entire book. Loved it!

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