HIDEAWAY by Nora Roberts

A family ranch in Big Sur country and a legacy of Hollywood royalty set the stage for Nora Roberts’ emotional new suspense novel.

Caitlyn Sullivan, a daughter of Hollywood royalty, was already a star at ten, but still loved to play hide-and-seek with her cousins at the family home in Big Sur. It was during one of those games that she disappeared.

Despite her glamorous background, Cate was a shrewd, scrappy survivor, and she managed to escape her abductors. Callan Cooper was shocked to find the bruised and terrified girl huddled in his ranch house kitchen—but when the teenager and his family heard her story they provided refuge and comfort, reuniting her with her loved ones.

Cate’s ordeal, though, was far from over. First came the discovery of a betrayal that would send someone she’d trusted to prison. Then there were years away in Ireland, sheltered and protected but with restlessness growing in her soul. Then, finally, she returned to Los Angeles, hoping to act again and get past the trauma that had derailed her life. What she didn’t yet know was that two seeds had been planted that long-ago night—one of a great love, and one of a terrible vengeance… 

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Title : Hidewaway
Author : Nora Roberts
Format : eARC
Page Count : 352
Genre : Romantic Thriller
Publisher : Piatkus
Release Date : May 26, 2020

Reviewer : Micky
Rating : ★ ★ ★ ★

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Micky’s 4 star review

HIDEAWAY was a rich melding of a family saga with suspense and a gentle romance. It was also only my second stroll with Nora Roberts. The story started with an almighty thrilling bang and then the rest of the tale played out over decades. This growth of the readers knowledge and affection for the family was facilitated by great writing and a solid plot.

Caitlyn (Cate) was at the centre of a kidnapping plot, age ten, all due to the fact she was from a famous family of actors. The Sullivans as a family made for great reading even though I got confused with the many names and who was who in the first quarter of the book. The whole kidnapping plot made for tense reading and this tension ebbed and flowed through the years as the crime was never really put to rest.

The characterisation was the key strength in this read, all the characters, good and bad, had great depth. I loved to read about Cate’s mother, Noah, Dillon, Red, Michaela and of course Cate herself. There were a few niggles for me, some of the ‘darling world’ and privileged life of the Sullivans was a little irritating at times and I didn’t like Dillon’s consistent reference to his mother and grams as ‘my ladies’.

The plot was interesting, I wanted to get back to the book and although there were some unexpected twists, many of the twists were pretty predictable. I can’t say that aspect spoilt the read at all. The wrap up at the end was a little too swift and I would have liked a bit of the calm after.

HIDEAWAY has definitely made me want to read more of this genre from Nora Roberts and this family saga is likely to appeal widely.

Thank you Piatkus/Little Brown UK for the early review copy.