The Lure of Stolen Diamonds

The idea of stolen diamonds immediately lured me to this novel. I am just now being formally introduced to the suspense of award-winning author Nora Roberts. Quite frankly, I am thoroughly impressed with the talent of this very fine writer who has meticulously crafted a wonderful story. The characters are all amazingly real. Roberts manipulates time-lapses exceptionally well; this can be very tricky. I'm convinced that I have to read the other works in her series.
Highly Recommended Read!

Great Combination

Having oneself for a co-author makes a very dependable partnership if the 'two' coconspirators are as exceptional as Nora Roberts. In 'Remember When' J. D. Robb joins her alter ego Nora Roberts to write a two part story about a diamond heist which occurs early in the twenty first century when Jack O'Hara steals twenty eight million in glittering gems along with his friend willy Young and their ruthless and conniving associate Alex Crew. When Crew turns on his associates Jack sends Willy to stash their part of the loot with his daughter Laine Tavish (formerly Elaine O'Hara) while he believes that he is lead Crew away. However, Crew and a handsome private investigator, Max Gannon continue to pursue Laine. Crew wants the diamonds at any cost while Max discovers that he needs Laine more than he needs to find the diamonds. Thus begins the search to find the elusive diamonds.

This first part of the tale is engrossing and sets up the second half which features Eve Dallas and Roarke as they investigate the death of a young woman that may be related to the recent publication of a book about the infamous heist of half a century ago. The murder occurred at the apartment of Samantha Gannon, the grand daughter of Laine and Max and revealed that in excess of seven million dollars worth of diamonds were never recovered. Someone wants those gems now worth twice the original value and is willing to kill for them. Together Eve and Roarke must find the culprit and avenge the murders.

Both parts of this tale are quite good and the doubleheader is well worth the investment in a hardcover edition. I did slightly prefer the first part as it was more original and the characters were new and refreshing, but both parts were truly worth reading.

Terrific "twofer"!

The first part of the story is a classic Roberts romance, from the heroine who owns the funky little shop to the handsome and hard-nosed hero with a few "unexpected" gentler qualities. This part is also a bona fide suspense novel. We wonder just who the villain is for a while, and then what he will do to get the huge haul of diamonds floating around. The end is very satisfying and neatly ties up the whole story, except for one thing: Where are those gems?

The second part of the story is the latest Eve Dallas "In Death" installment, although it doesn't have a separate title. Please note, all those folks who have not read "Imitation in Death," this IS the next installment in the series, happening very soon after "Imitation," so unless you want to ruin that book with bigtime spoilers, I highly suggest you read "Imitation" first.

The Eve Dallas portion is a tightly written, fast-paced-yet-thorough cop drama that we have come to expect in the Eve Dallas series. All of the interaction with our favorite secondary characters is there, including the gorgeous Roarke, Peabody, McNab, and even Feeney, who was not present in "Imitation." The notable exception is Summerset. I won't say anything more about his absence so as not to spoil "Imitation in Death."

This is a terrific two-for-one novel with the well-done experiment of bridging a story over almost 60 years hitting the mark in a big way. Highly recommended reading!!