Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.
The events that followed changed her life forever.
Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance programmer, she works at home designing sophisticated security systems. Her own security is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing.
Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.
The mystery of Abigail Lowery intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and a professional level. Her sharp, logical mind, her secretive nature, her unromantic viewpoints leave him fascinated but frustrated. He suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, even if he doesn’t know what — and that her elaborate defences hide a story that must be revealed. Accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, Gleason is about to walk into the sights of very powerful and dangerous men.
And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.
The beginning of this book is absolutely fantastic and had me totally gripped (and extremely sleep deprived) over the last bank holiday weekend.
Elizabeth Fiske has to be submissive to her ultimately controlling and dominant, yet uber-succesful mother. She is nearly seventeen and being fast tracked through Harvard to become the country's youngest neurosurgeon, following in her cold and heartless mother's footsteps.
Her father is not around as she was a carefully engineered project for her mother. She hand picked from the most elite of sperm donors to create the most perfect, healthy, potential genius of a child; just so she could be able to experience the process of raising a child.
What she did not plan was Elizabeth's rebellion.
The day her mother went away on a conference trip Elizabeth decided that the time was right for a transformation, she cut her hair, bought her first pair of jeans and hoodie and scoured the shopping mall with her new friend Julie for items to complete her makeover.
She ended up changing her life for good - but not in the way she expected. She ended up being the only witness to a Russian Mafia murder. She had to flee...and fast.
Fast forward twelve years - Elizabeth finally attempts to settle in the Arkansas region of The Ozarks, as Abigail Lowry. Gossip is rife about her as she is a recluse, always armed to the teeth, lives only with a huge guard dog and although polite - does not enter into any conversation with the locals on the very rare occasions that she visits the town. Until she meets police chief, Brooks Gleason who is determined to unearth Abigail's secrets, no matter how deadly that may be.
The Witness is a story about Abigail Lowry, a woman trying to regain a safe life without looking over her shoulder and living in fear. She falls in love, and is able to regain a little confidence along the way but she knows the only way to gain a free life is to bring down that branch of the Russian Mafia. It is very difficult to go into any more detail without giving spoilers!
The first third of the book was amazing. I thought it was about to knock Northern Lights off my top spot of Nora Roberts books (I love her thrillers, not so much the Mills & Boon-esque romances) after this the book's intensity cooled to a steady trickle; although still enjoyable.
The characters were interesting. I liked Brooks far more than Elizabeth/Abigail, I found her character cold and unrelateable, but I imagine that was the way she was made to be portrayed. It was clear that she had a dysfunctional start to life and was a genius but she was portrayed as a more robotic character unable to interact on any 'normal' conversational level. Maybe the peculiar nature to her character was intentional?
It was nice to see the relationship between Abigail and Brooks develop (no spoiler - it is Nora Roberts after all!) but even that moved at an incredibly fast speed for someone with such intense issues as Abigail.
I was disappointed by the ending, is seemed rushed and the outcome was predictable of sorts.
I did expect a little more tension and grit akin to the beginning, had it have resumed in my opinion it would have been a brilliant book. Still, it was a page turner and gave me a good Bank Holiday read.
I would like to give it 4 stars but for me it lacked the 'thriller' essence that I have come to love from Nora Roberts.
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The Witness is a story about Abigail Lowry, a woman trying to regain a safe life without looking over her shoulder and living in fear. She falls in love, and is able to regain a little confidence along the way but she knows the only way to gain a free life is to bring down that branch of the Russian Mafia. It is very difficult to go into any more detail without giving spoilers!
The first third of the book was amazing. I thought it was about to knock Northern Lights off my top spot of Nora Roberts books (I love her thrillers, not so much the Mills & Boon-esque romances) after this the book's intensity cooled to a steady trickle; although still enjoyable.
The characters were interesting. I liked Brooks far more than Elizabeth/Abigail, I found her character cold and unrelateable, but I imagine that was the way she was made to be portrayed. It was clear that she had a dysfunctional start to life and was a genius but she was portrayed as a more robotic character unable to interact on any 'normal' conversational level. Maybe the peculiar nature to her character was intentional?
It was nice to see the relationship between Abigail and Brooks develop (no spoiler - it is Nora Roberts after all!) but even that moved at an incredibly fast speed for someone with such intense issues as Abigail.
I was disappointed by the ending, is seemed rushed and the outcome was predictable of sorts.
I did expect a little more tension and grit akin to the beginning, had it have resumed in my opinion it would have been a brilliant book. Still, it was a page turner and gave me a good Bank Holiday read.
I would like to give it 4 stars but for me it lacked the 'thriller' essence that I have come to love from Nora Roberts.
