laurenjodi's review against another edition
3.0
Whiskey Beach
3 Stars
Under suspicions for the murder of his wife, Eli Landon finds refuge in his old family home in Whiskey Beach. There he finds solace both in his writing and in the arms of Abra Walsh, a Jill-of-All-Trades housekeeper, Yoga teacher, jewelry maker and unrepentant busybody. But someone has it in for Eli and will stop at nothing, not even murder, to fulfill his twisted agenda...
Not up to Nora’s standards. The pacing is too slow and Nora’s trademark skills at building tension is sorely lacking in both the romance and the suspense plots. It is like she was simply going through the motions to publish another book.
The mystery revolves around two separate threads. The first focuses on the murder plot, which is predictable with an unsatisfying climax and a bland resolution, and the second revolves around the history of the Landon family and Esmeralda’s Dowry, which is interesting but also glaringly obvious. Even the small town setting, which is usually one of my favorites, is prosaic and uninspired.
Eli and Abra have both suffered in their pasts and while their strength in the face of adversity makes you want to root for them as a couple, they have absolutely no chemistry and their romance falls flat. The secondary characters have a lot of charm from Eli’s tenacious grandmother and loving family to Abra’s loyal friends and quirky neighbors. It is a pity that the rest of the book does not live up to their example.
In sum, an unexceptional addition to Nora’s repertoire and there are much better books of hers out there.
3 Stars
Under suspicions for the murder of his wife, Eli Landon finds refuge in his old family home in Whiskey Beach. There he finds solace both in his writing and in the arms of Abra Walsh, a Jill-of-All-Trades housekeeper, Yoga teacher, jewelry maker and unrepentant busybody. But someone has it in for Eli and will stop at nothing, not even murder, to fulfill his twisted agenda...
Not up to Nora’s standards. The pacing is too slow and Nora’s trademark skills at building tension is sorely lacking in both the romance and the suspense plots. It is like she was simply going through the motions to publish another book.
The mystery revolves around two separate threads. The first focuses on the murder plot, which is predictable with an unsatisfying climax and a bland resolution, and the second revolves around the history of the Landon family and Esmeralda’s Dowry, which is interesting but also glaringly obvious
Spoiler
Duh, of course the family spent it all!Eli and Abra have both suffered in their pasts and while their strength in the face of adversity makes you want to root for them as a couple, they have absolutely no chemistry and their romance falls flat. The secondary characters have a lot of charm from Eli’s tenacious grandmother and loving family to Abra’s loyal friends and quirky neighbors. It is a pity that the rest of the book does not live up to their example.
In sum, an unexceptional addition to Nora’s repertoire and there are much better books of hers out there.
dgignac's review against another edition
4.0
A good story. I liked both of the main characters, and found both of them to be decently realistic. Like many of Nora Roberts' books that have a 'mystery' component to them, I found the final battle/confrontation to be disappointing. I know her books are primarily romance novels, but spending more time and effort on resolving the conflict that the entire book was building up towards would be nice and more satisfying for the reader.
annes_reading_journey's review against another edition
5.0
Nora Roberts reminds me a lot of Mary Higgins Clark. Where you think you know who the killer is and wham hits you with a twist. Will definitely be reading more of her books as this was honestly the first one I've read from her.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
Another well crafted, albeit long, romantic suspense title from Nora Roberts. Eli Landon retreats to his family home in Whiskey Beach a year after his wife was murdered, With no leads in the case and a detective determined to pin it on him even though Landon is innocent and evidence is slim. At Whiskey Beach he finds his purpose again writing, and meets Abra Walsh. Before he knows it she's found a place in his life as well, but his wife's killer is still out there. . .
This is classic Nora Roberts- intelligent, attractive characters in a beautiful location with a dash of suspense thrown in. Less suspense than usual from her, there's a little bit more of a mystery here instead. The major complaint is the length, almost 500 pages, with a little too much emphasis on mundane daily details and not enough on the juicy family history. All in all, though, a nice escape from daily life.
This is classic Nora Roberts- intelligent, attractive characters in a beautiful location with a dash of suspense thrown in. Less suspense than usual from her, there's a little bit more of a mystery here instead. The major complaint is the length, almost 500 pages, with a little too much emphasis on mundane daily details and not enough on the juicy family history. All in all, though, a nice escape from daily life.
jenisesub's review against another edition
3.0
Roberts' books are always good when I want/need a predictable read with an always happy ending. I like the mystery aspect she wove into this one.
lassarina's review against another edition
4.0
I love Nora Roberts, and I love this book. I like the crushingly accurate picture of how depression and anxiety can seize hold of someone and make it hard for them to function. I loved watching Eli find himself and his heart and how he was going to heal in Whiskey Beach. I loved the sense of small-town closeness, which Roberts does really well. I loved Abra—her intentional optimism, which is a big thing with me, was just so spot-on. She knows there's bad shit out in the world, and she has chosen to make her corner of it better to the best of her ability, and to believe in the best in people, without being stupid about it.
I loved Eli's family, which is another thing that Nora Roberts does really well, and the sense of sheer history that winds through the book. I liked that things were messy and didn't tie up well. I adored Hester in particular; what a great grandma. This was my second read of the book, which was interesting because I knew the solution to the mystery, but I was having fun tracking the clues as I went along. Overall, another winner.
I loved Eli's family, which is another thing that Nora Roberts does really well, and the sense of sheer history that winds through the book. I liked that things were messy and didn't tie up well. I adored Hester in particular; what a great grandma. This was my second read of the book, which was interesting because I knew the solution to the mystery, but I was having fun tracking the clues as I went along. Overall, another winner.
heathersbike's review against another edition
Quite good. I had not read any of the books under Nora Roberts - just PD James. This was very fun.
valeehill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
ebony_renaissance's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh, this was bad. Like no connection to the main characters or plot kind of bad. I finished this one but I realized at page 85 I didn’t really care. This is rare for me, especially for a Nora Roberts book. I typically enjoy her work but this one did not deliver at all.