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Angels Fall

Review

Angels Fall



Nora Roberts and the New York Times bestseller list go hand
in hand. Since 1999, every book published under her name has hit
this list. With more than 280 million books in print, an average of
21 Nora Roberts books sold every minute, 124 New York Times
bestsellers and over two million hits a month to her website,
Roberts has legions of fans eagerly awaiting her next books --- and
upcoming movies. Lifetime Television announced in February 2006
that they will produce four Lifetime Original Movies over the next
year based on her bestselling novels.


Everything about Roberts's latest release, ANGELS FALL, is
breathtaking --- the writing, the romance, the rapture of the
summer scenery amidst the Grand Tetons. The wide open spaces that
surround the "snow-dipped peaks of the Tetons" and the warm
reception the heroine receives from a group of small town
characters is a welcome break from the many recently released Chick
Lit books set amidst the glitz and glamour of New York, Paris and
St. Barts. I will be the first to say that I love glitz and
glamour, but the majestic setting and vivid descriptions of "miles
of wildflowers on the sage flats" of Wyoming drew me enticingly to
a place I'd never been. That is what a good book does --- it allows
you to escape to another place and experience new things that
persuade you to grow as a person.


Healing from the trauma of a near-death situation, Reece Gilmore
finds peace and Brody, a sexy novelist in this small-town,
put-the-pieces-of-the-puzzle-together novel. When Reece arrives in
Angels Fist, population 623, she is skittish, paranoid and
fanatical about locking doors. She has panic dreams about being the
lone survivor of a random killing spree in the Boston restaurant
where she worked. All of her close friends and co-workers were
killed and she bears the scar of the gunshot wound that nearly
ended her life. Reece has spent time in a psychiatric hospital, but
left Boston and traveled cross country to "settle in for a few
weeks, pick up some work...then move on..."


As luck would have it, the town diner is looking for a cook. Reece
is enticed by the opportunity to get back into a kitchen, a place
she once called home, and decides to stay in Angel's Fist and work
for Joanie, a tough but fair businesswoman who still smokes
Marlboro Lights. Linda-gail is a waitress in this small town diner,
in love with Lo, Joanie's son and town heartthrob. Linda-gail's
friendship becomes a healing force for Reece, who in the first week
of settling into Angel's Fist witnesses a murder down by the river.
Brody is the only one who believes her story. He sees the terror in
her eyes and knows she is not crazy. The killer covers his tracks
well and begins to stalk Reece with a series of subtle events
designed to make her think she's losing it again, but she is
determined to uncover the identity of the murdered woman, despite
the sheriff's inability to find a trace of evidence. Several
characters become prime suspects in the reader's mind, and Roberts
masterfully reveals the weakness that leads to murder.


As the romance between Reece and Brody builds to tantalizing
ecstasy, Brody wonders if this is where he "wants to be." "He
wanted most to comfort her, to smooth out all her troubles. No one
else had ever reached that tenderness inside him, no one else had
ever coaxed it out until it drenched him." Roberts writes the male
perspective with raw intensity. Brody's surprise picnic for Reece
exceeds romantic fantasy. The location is where Reece and Brody
shared their first kiss, the scenery is "pinks and blues, vibrant
reds and purples, sunny yellows spiked and spread among the soft
green of sage" --- "not only wine, but cheese and bread and fat
purple grapes," the scorching kiss framed by "the sun sliding
behind the mountain."


The rhythm of doing what is familiar keeps Reece from believing
she's the "town cuckoo." Reece brings her Cordon Bleu gourmet
cuisine, fresh herbs and paninis to Joanie's diner, where elk chops
and stew reign. It's a combination that allows each woman their
creativity. A day in Manhattan is more my style, but a moose
crossing the road and the majesty of the "white-frosted mountains"
that "stood in dazzling splendor" reminded me that simplicity can
be so perfect. As the mystery of murder in a small town unfolds, so
does a bright future for Reece. Some men come into your life when
you need them most and make a profound and lasting impact; they
remember what your favorite flower is and give a bouquet of them to
you with love in their eyes and their hearts. Brody lets Reece know
that she is where he wants to be.


   












Reviewed by Hillary Wagy on December 22, 2010

Angels Fall
by Nora Roberts

  • Publication Date: May 29, 2007
  • Genres: Fiction
  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Jove
  • ISBN-10: 0515143170
  • ISBN-13: 9780515143171