"Daughter of a controlling mother, Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking at a nightclub and allowing a strange man's seductive Russian accent lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive. The events that followed changed her life forever.
Twelve years later, the woman known as Abigail Lowery lives on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she designs sophisticated security systems -- and supplements her own security with a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. But Abigail's reserve only intrigues police chief Brooks Gleason. Her logical mind, her secretive nature, and her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something -- and that her elaborate defenses hide a story that must be revealed.
With a quirky, unforgettable heroine and a pulse-pounding plotline, Nora Roberts presents a riveting new read that cements her place as today's most reliably entertaining thriller -- and will leave people hungering for more."
I don't usually read these kinds of books, but I did it. Yes, I usually review Young Adult novels and sometimes some short stories and New Adult novels (and some short stories of that genre), but this is definitely a stretch outside of those two boxes. A very long (or short) stretch. Anyway, The Witness is Adult Fiction (Romance) with a dash of suspense and there are some definitely Rated R scenes here. So that is just a warning to those who are very attracted to the synopsis (like me).
(I took one look at the synopsis, and decided to read the book without thinking or checking the genres. When I saw this book and read the synopsis, I thought, why the hell not?)
If you like Dr. Brennan and Special Agent Booth from Fox's tv show, Bones, then you will probably like The Witness. Abigail Lowery is like Dr. Brennan but with a large gun collection, a crazy security system (that probably rivals the Pentagon from the way Nora Roberts describes her), a dangerous secret and past, and some fighting skills and awesome moves. But Lowery doesn't have Dr. Brennan's morbid fascination with dead bodies, skeletons, decomposing corpses, and the amazing human anatomy. And of course, bones. I find Abigail Lowery's POV to be quite surprising and restricting. It is like reading a mind of a computer with some feelings here and there.
Because this is a romance novel, the romance is front and center. Brooks, the police chief, is interested in Abigail after realizing she has a concealed gun (she has license to carry). Swept into the mysterious woman with a paranoia that probably rivals the NSA's paranoia (though I will never know, because I'm not cut out for that line of work), Brooks is slowly drawn in and falls in love with her. There are some parallels with Agent Booth and Brooks, but I'm not going to mention it (because I already mentioned it too many times).
The plot with the mob (yes, there is a mob) is very, very unsuspenseful. From the way Nora Roberts set things up, you sort of expect for the past to catch up with Abigail. Instead, Abigail let herself go back to the past and fix everything up. Wrapped up neatly into a bow. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised it ended that way and I sort of expected much more drama from the way Abigail acted.
I should mention the POVs. There are multiple ones, and I find them to be a relief from the cool logic of Abigail's mind.
Overall, The Witness is a very unsuspenseful Adult Romance novel with characters that reminds me of Booth and Bones from the tv show, Bones (which is still running after all these years). The romance is slow, but it definitely sneaks up on our characters. (Still, it doesn't have my nerves squealing every time they interact. No, those are for the more profound bonds.)
Rating: Three out of Five
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