nora roberts’ books have long been a guilty pleasure of mine. i like that they have some sort of mystery thrown in with the romance, and i like how easy and fast they are to get through. i’ve not read anything of hers in a number of years [possibly since i worked at b&n? geez], so when i decided to see what kindle offerings were available under her name, i was overwhelmed with choices. i ultimately settled on the witness because it involved the mafia and murder, and also because the second half of the book is set in a fictional town in the ozarks.

elizabeth, the central character, is raised by a strict single mother who is the head of surgery for a hospital in chicago. at the age of 16, she has one rebellious night where she goes against her mother’s rules, and she ends up witnessing a double homicide. her testimony could bring down one of the most powerful russian mafia families in the city, but it becomes difficult for her to know which marshals and detectives she can trust.

by the time she’s 17 she is completely on her own, criss-crossing the country and creating new identities and backgrounds for herself every time she ends up in a new place. eventually she finds her way to a remote town nestled in the ozarks and sets up an isolated life for herself in the woods. but the one thing she doesn’t count on is catching the eye of the local police chief, brooks. eventually elizabeth opens up enough to tell brooks about her past, and together they find a way to bring her out of hiding and allow her to finally live a normal life.

while i didn’t necessarily think this was one of roberts’ best works, it was a fast, easy read at a time when that was exactly what i needed. i always like the books with serial killers or stalkers or things like that, so the whole hidden threat didn’t really do a lot for me. i did, however, enjoy the descriptions of the area, and it definitely made me a little homesick for arkansas.

my goodreads rating: 3 out of 5 // average rating is 4.16 [maybe i missed something?]

crossing off the popsugar reading list: a book from an author you love that you haven’t read yet.

still currently reading: the old devils by kingsley amis.

xx