The Witness

I've never read a Nora Roberts book before. But after asking my partner's mother what she was reading, her explaining The Witness to me, and then offering it to me after she finished, I decided to give it a shot. 

The Witness is the story of a young girl, Liz, who, during her one act of rebellion against her controlling mother, witnesses a double murder. Liz and her friend accidentally got involved with a couple of mobsters, one of whom was ratting the mob out to the police. So the mob retaliated, killing her friend at the same time. When they realized that Liz had witnessed everything and gotten away, they came after her, even when she was in a witness protection program. And so she had to run again, relying on no one but herself to stay safe.

Fast forward about a decade, and Liz, under a new name, finds herself in a small town in the Ozarks. There she attracts the attention of Brooks, the chief of police, whose curiosity is piqued by the beautiful girl who keeps to herself and goes everywhere with a concealed weapon. As much as Liz tries to keep him at arms distance, Brooks manages to worm his way into her heart. But can she risk being with him when she knows the mob is still after her (and will kill everyone she loves if they need to to get to her?)

I honestly quite enjoyed The Witness. I loved both Liz and Brooks, and how their relationship blossomed. Liz doesn't really know how to behave in social situations due to her upbringing, so she's very blunt in an endearing way (she often catches herself after she says something to make amends and try to better understand the situation). Brooks is an upstanding man who wants to do right by everyone, even if that means he doesn't exactly follow the law to the letter. While it gets him into some trouble, you know he has everyone's best interests at heart. 

I did find the end of the book was a bit abrupt though. I expected some sort of showdown with the mob, especially after there was a random part of a chapter from one of the mobster's perspectives about halfway through the book (then the book never went back to their perspective). There was also a sex scene that was a little steamier than I normally like to read (as I told my partner, I am perfectly okay with them "fading to black" so to speak). But otherwise, I found this a very enjoyable read. The plot was interesting, the characters were great, and I enjoyed how their relationship grew. I'll have to give more Nora Roberts a try one day. :)