The Collector by Nora Roberts
Retro Review
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The Collector by Nora Roberts
Narrated by Julia Whalen
Romantic Suspense
Audiobook 15+hours
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a novel of a woman who needs nothing, a man who sees everything, and the web of deceit, greed, and danger that brings them together—and that could tear them apart.…
As a professional house-sitter and freelance writer, nothing ties Lila Emerson down—not her work, not a home, and definitely not a relationship. She spends her life moving from one job to the next, sometimes crashing at a friend’s Manhattan apartment. And though she can appreciate her clients’ extraordinary homes, their expensive collections, and their adorable pets, Lila has never longed for possessions of her own. Everything she has, including her heart, is portable.
But when she witnesses a possible murder-suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as Lila knows it takes a dramatic turn.
Artist Ashton Archer knows his charming, clever, and impulsive brother couldn’t have killed his girlfriend—or taken his own life. His hope of unraveling what happened lies with Lila, the only eyewitness. And even buried in grief, Ash longs to paint the woman whose deep, dark eyes seem to hold endless reserves of strength and a fiery passion.
Chalking up their intense attraction to the heat of the moment, Lila agrees to help Ash in trying to find out who murdered his brother and why. From the penthouses of Manhattan to grand Italian villas, their investigation draws them into a rarefied circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession.…
As a professional house-sitter and freelance writer, nothing ties Lila Emerson down—not her work, not a home, and definitely not a relationship. She spends her life moving from one job to the next, sometimes crashing at a friend’s Manhattan apartment. And though she can appreciate her clients’ extraordinary homes, their expensive collections, and their adorable pets, Lila has never longed for possessions of her own. Everything she has, including her heart, is portable.
But when she witnesses a possible murder-suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as Lila knows it takes a dramatic turn.
Artist Ashton Archer knows his charming, clever, and impulsive brother couldn’t have killed his girlfriend—or taken his own life. His hope of unraveling what happened lies with Lila, the only eyewitness. And even buried in grief, Ash longs to paint the woman whose deep, dark eyes seem to hold endless reserves of strength and a fiery passion.
Chalking up their intense attraction to the heat of the moment, Lila agrees to help Ash in trying to find out who murdered his brother and why. From the penthouses of Manhattan to grand Italian villas, their investigation draws them into a rarefied circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away, and stolen, where what you possess is who you are, and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession.…
My Thoughts
Well, I had all kinds of things to say about this book but I was too lazy to take many notes and a week has passed and now there’s nothing much left that has stuck with me.
If I had to choose a book that defines a three star read for me this would be the one. It’s not awful, it flows nice and stuff, but it’s not earth-shatteringly fantastic either and that’s a shame. I wish all books were earth-shatteringly fantastic. I didn’t laugh and I didn’t cry and I was only vaguely entertained but that’s nothing new. If you’re stuck in a car, stuck picking up doggie doo in the yard or forced to cook dinner every night of the week, I’d say this audiobook is a good way to help keep your mind off of those mind-numbing tasks but if you’re anything like me you probably won’t remember any of it once you start the next book. Or maybe you’ll love it and I’m an idiot. Who knows.
Here’s the gist. The heroine is a writer of YA and also housesits and spends her time peeping into the homes of the neighbors with her binoculars. She says this is to get insight into personalities or some such but I’m not buying it. She’s just nosy and I’m just jealous because she gets paid for doing this. Hey, how do I get this gig? Anyway, her peeping backfires when she witnesses a murder and it puts her smack in the middle of some nefarious goings-on having to do with a Faberge egg and a psychotic killer. Don’t worry though she also meets the love of her life because of this so it’s all good.
She and he supposedly have some sparks a-flying between them but I never see it. They have some sex but that's also boring to me. They declare themselves falling in love but I’m not feeling it and now I can’t even remember any of it.
There are a lot of amazing books out there and there are a lot of crappy ones. This one falls right in the middle.
I'll be skipping this one. I don't read a lot of Nora Roberts. I remember really liking the blue book with the mountain lion on the cover. Read it years ago - can't you tell? I own her newest witch trilogy because a co-worker gave me her copies. Haven't read them yet. Good review and sorry it was just so-so for you.
ReplyDeleteI don't remember that one, Barb but it's likely I read at some time ;) Roberts used to be one of my favorite writers but either her style has changed or my taste has changed because the last few I've read were painfully average, IMO.
DeleteI find that most of Nora Roberts' book tend to have that easy reading quality to it regardless of the genre. depending on the mood I'm in, this could be a good thing or a bad thing. Because sometimes, I hate the frantic pace of a book. I just want to enjoy. :D I've read this one a long time ago. I enjoyed it, but yeah. It's not earth-shattering.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, she is nicely dependable for an easy reading experience. I never feel wrung out after one of her books which is a good thing after some of the books I read!
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