Book review: The Liar by Nora Roberts
13 Apr
When her husband Richard dies in a freak accident, Shelby Pomeroy is devastated. But his death reveals a horrible truth – Richard was a liar and a cheat. Now Shelby is left with the consequences – huge, terrifying debts and mounting proof that her late husband betrayed her in every conceivable way.
Heart-broken but unbowed, Shelby is determined to fix her problems – if only for the sake of her gorgeous little daughter Callie. Returning home to Tennessee and the family she thought she’d lost for ever, she discovers a new sense of strength and freedom. And hope, too, in the handsome form of carpenter Griffin Lott – a straight-dealing man who couldn’t lie to her if he tried.
But not everyone is thrilled to see Shelby Pomeroy back in town. And when a shocking act of violence is traced back to Richard’s shady business, it becomes clear that she is not safe from him, even in death. With her life in danger, Shelby must face the lies of the past – or lose everything.
The Liar is the latest novel from bestselling author, Nora Roberts and will be released in hardback and ebook formats on Thursday. Since I started blogging, I’ve seen many readers rave about Nora’s books but until this point I hadn’t read any of them so when I was offered the chance to read The Liar I grabbed it! The new hardback edition comes with a sticker on the front that says “Totally Addictive or Your Money Back” which is quite a challenge to live up to but I’m happy to say that The Liar passed the ‘addictive read’ test for me with flying colours.
Nora has a style of writing that is very easy to read but at the same time absolutely gripping and I was drawn into this story quickly and completely. We meet lead character Shelby shortly after the untimely death of her husband Richard. It’s quickly revealed that Richard hid many things from Shelby and her life wasn’t as she or many of the people around her imagined it to be. I loved how Nora delivered shock after shock for Shelby and had me turning the pages as quickly as I could to find out what twist would be revealed next but what really held my attention in the story was the way that Shelby dealt with everything thrown at her.
Shelby has a three year old daughter, Callie who certainly adds a cute factor to the book and I admired the way that Shelby pulled herself together and her drive to protect and give security to Shelby. After a tense first third of the novel, the pace changes when Shelby returns to her home town and we meet her family and the friends and townspeople that she grew up with. Having enjoyed the tense start to the story I really enjoyed the relocation of the action to Tennessee and the characters that live there, particularly Shelby’s mother and grandmother were my favourites in the book.
The second part of the novel reminded me of some of my favourite Southern fiction and I the descriptions of the scenery and locations were wonderful and such a contrast to the rich but hard edged world that Shelby had left behind. As Shelby worked her way back into the community I felt like I got to know the real Shelby and I really enjoyed the romance of the story. Despite the beautiful surroundings and warmth of Shelby’s family, Nora kept the twists and shocks coming and right to the final chapters I couldn’t predict the exact outcome although that didn’t stop me trying to guess!
I can easily see why Nora Roberts keeps hitting the best-seller lists if all her novels are as gripping and enjoyable as The Liar. With tension, drama and romance, I really did find this an addictive read and look forward to reading more from Nora very soon.
4/5
The Liar is released in hardback and ebook formats on 16th April.
Find out more about Nora and her writing and read the first three chapters of The Liar at: http://www.nora-roberts.co.uk/
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