IDENTITY

4 stars out of 5

I doubt I've missed a single book in the popular Eve Dallas series this author writes as J.D. Robb, but to the best of my recollection this is the first I've read that she's penned as herself. And my reaction is weirdly mixed; while I enjoyed it thoroughly - to the point of not wanting to put it down - in other ways it kind of made me crazy.

The story is a mix of romance and suspense starring Morgan Albright, who tends bar at night after her day job to earn enough money to refurbish the small house she bought in Maryland. At the bar, she meets - and takes somewhat of a liking to - a friendly, uber-considerate guy named Gavin. Not only does he steal her identity and wipe out her entire financial life, he's a monster who kills her beloved roommate Nina, who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Morgan then learns from the FBI that he's a suspected serial killer, and it's likely she was to be his next victim.

In financial free-fall and owing thousands of dollars - I guess her bank and credit card companies had no fraud protection - she heads to her mother's home in Vermont, where her grandmother lives as well. There's a backstory there, too, but all seems to be rosy now as the other two women - "My ladies," as Morgan calls them - take every opportunity to assure Morgan how great she is and how much they love her. Their local "connections" help Morgan land a posh job managing the bar at a nearby upscale family-owned resort.

Hanging over her head, though, is the realization that Gavin is a psychopath who isn't finished with her; she's the one who got away, after all, and he will stop at nothing to get her back. That, in her view, threatens the job she loves and complicates her budding relationship with the resort family's eldest son, Miles, who isn't the most pleasant of characters in his own right. But here, too, Miles, Morgan's "ladies," all the family members who run the resort and all but one of the employees constantly reassure Morgan that she's smart, beautiful and far too valuable to be thrown to the wolf who hasn't found the door (yet).

The rest of the story tracks the romance and the killer's progress in working his way to Morgan - and of course, you'll get no details from me on those issues. The whole thing held my attention throughout, even if I did quickly tire of an excess of dialog, mostly arguments over who's more perfect, or who loves who more and lengthy explanations of why good bartenders know so much about so many things (hint: yes, there's a ton of repetition). The ending didn't come as a big surprise nor increase my fondness (or lack thereof) for any of the characters, but it was satisfying nonetheless. All in all, it's an enjoyable read - with the end result that I'm looking forward to the author's next book. Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for providing the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

Identity by Nora Roberts (St. Martin's Press, May 2023); 448 pp.