FAST-PACED & SOPHISTICATED THRILLER -- A REVIEW

What if every moment of your life was planned out in minute detail, from how you spent your time to what you wore and what you ate? And what if you were a teenage girl, hungry for some kind of normalcy and found a few days of "free time" on your hands?

Going to the mall during such a time might lead to some rebellious choices.

But what happened to Elizabeth Fitch during one "stolen" day of her sixteen years started out as fun...and ended up with tragic consequences. An extremely bright girl, headed for Harvard Medical School, Elizabeth's exciting night dressed for clubbing finds her in a fancy house on Lake Shore Drive witnessing several murders...and then having to run for her life; when she tells the police, in great detail, what she saw, and then is taken to a safe house until the trial, she discovers that she can't trust some of her protectors who are "in on" the corruption.

Nora Roberts then flashes forward twelve years to Abigail Lowery, living a cloistered life in the Ozarks in a house that resembles a technological prison: securely locked down with sophisticated security systems which she designs as a free lance programmer. She keeps a low profile and behind the scenes studies everything that is going on with the Russian mobsters who committed the murders, with a goal of finally taking them down.

Enter handsome local Police Chief Brooks Gleason, with his down-home charm and persistence. Can she trust him? Will she let him into her life? And if she does, what will happen to the hard-won security she has built? Her emotional security?

A fast-paced, yet delicious comfort read that moved along toward a satisfying conclusion, The Witness is one of the best Roberts books I have read in awhile. I cared about Elizabeth/Abigail; I enjoyed the richly drawn Southern small town characters who were more than just filler or backdrop for the action of the main characters. They all felt like real people you might meet in such a setting. And I would definitely love to see this one on the big screen. A truly enjoyable read for which I am awarding five stars.

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