Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts – a Review

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Description:
Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world.

After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance.

She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening.

Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.

Review:

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts is a fantastic standalone novel. We meet our heroine, Sloan Cooper, who is a respected police officer in the Maryland Natural Resources.  She has just finished an operation with her partner, capturing dangerous hikers in the mountains.  She stops in a convenience store, and is gunned down by an armed robber; almost dying before being shocked back on the operating table multiple times. Sloan moves back home to Heron’s Rest, staying with her family’s resort, to recuperate for her long recovery ahead.

While she becomes bored during recovery, Sloan hears about a case of a missing women, and is drawn to this intriguing case, as the women was abducted from a grocery store parking lot. She begins to research on her own and soon discovers that other missing people from other areas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virgina that have disappeared.  Sloane discovers a chilling pattern, with multiple people of different genders having disappeared abandoning their cars; suggesting a serial killer. The deeper she investigates, she suspects that maybe she would be on the killers list.

I really loved how Sloan’s family and friends were so great, including her parents and sister, Drea.  We meet both Nash and Theo Littlefield, who moved from New York, with both leaving behind their careers, and forming a handyman business, The Fix-It Brothers. In a short time, their business begins to escalate, and Sloan having bought a house, hires them to fix her place. Sparks spark between Theo and Drea, as they both find themselves falling in love.  Nash finds himself intrigued with Sloan, especially helping her on some of the cases; with Nash realizing that he is also falling in love with Sloane, as she also has strong feelings.

The antagonists were chilling, as well as evil. Especially killing the victims who all had survived near death.   Sloan and Nash find themselves working together to uncover the truth about the killers.

Hidden Nature was a fantastic intriguing thriller, that was a blend of suspense, romance, mystery and action-packed.  Sloan was a terrific heroine, who was dedicated, tenacious, decisive and gripping. Hidden Nature was so very well written by Nora Roberts.  I suggest you read Hidden Nature, which was an exciting thriller.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher