DARE Review: Angels Fall

Nora Roberts
Suspense
444 pages
Putnam Books
Downloadable Excerpt

Synopsis:
Reece Gilmore has come a long way to see the stunning view below her. As the sole survivor of a brutal crime back East, she has been on the run, desperately fighting the nightmares and panic attacks that haunt her. Reece settles in Angel's Fist, Wyoming-temporarily, at least-and takes a job at a local diner. And now she's hiked this mountain all by herself. It was glorious, she thought, as she peered through her binoculars at the Snake River churning below.

Then Reece saw the man and woman on the opposite bank. Arguing. Fighting. And suddenly, the man was on top of the woman, his hands around her throat . . .

Enjoying a moment of solitude a bit farther down the trail is a gruff loner named Brody. But by the time Reece reaches him and brings him to the scene, the pair has vanished. When authorities comb the area where she saw the attack, they find nothing. No signs of struggle. No freshly turned earth. Not even a tire track.

And no one in Angel's Fist seems to believe her. After all, she's a newcomer in town, with a reputation for being jumpy and jittery-maybe even a little fragile. Maybe it's time to run again, to move on . . .

Reece Gilmore knows there's a killer in Angel's Fist, even if Brody, despite his seeming impatience and desire to keep her at arm's length, is the only one willing to believe her. When a series of menacing events makes it clear that someone wants her out of the way, Reece must put her trust in Brody-and herself-to find out if there is a killer in Angel's Fist before it's too late.


Review:
There's no doubt about it, I understand why Nora Roberts is the acclaimed author that she is.  She's got the skills. Her characters are some of the best I've read. She draws you in to their lives, and really makes you feel like you're a part of the cast, and that you're living the story alongside the characters.  {Can you smell the "but" coming} Having said that, this book and I didn't become best friends. 


There was a LOT of "middle" in this book.  The story starts quickly enough with it's mysterious heroine, whos sordid past teases the reader into becoming interested in everything about her.  Then the accused murder happens and you think you've got all the makings of a non-stop story ahead of you.  That's not necessarily the case. In my opinion, the pace of the story was way too slow.  There is some suspense, but it didn't grip me. It just wasn't scary enough. What I mean is, I didn't feel that anyone was ever truly in danger. So, that aspect fell very flat for me.  And without the suspense it became a lot of the same characters doing basically the same things. 


Now having said that, I will admit that I loved every character here.  They are the shinning stars of the book.  I couldn't help but become attached to the three dimensional cast.  Every time I thought about skimming forward in the book I would think "But I'll miss seeing if Brody's hard shell will ever crack, and I'll miss seeing Reece fight with Joanie about changing the diner's recipes {my inner chef loved that Reece is a chef}, and will miss out on watching the back and forth with Linda-gail and Lo." In the end, I never could skim forward and that had everything to do with the cast.  


The romance between Brody and Reece is subtle, and didn't force itself into the plot more than it should have. Their characters have a fantastic push-and-pull, and watching their relationship unfold was a pleasure. Their dialogue and interactions are realistic and their personalities traits didn't slip up once.  The strength of these two characters are what pulled the story forward for me. 


Bottom Line: The town, the supporting cast, and the hero/heroine were a delight. Unfortunately, the plot and suspense fell short for me.  Would be a great book for a day at the beach/lake/park, as it never takes you too far from reality.


3 stars