The Witness    by Nora Roberts Order:  USA  Can Putnam, 2012 (2012) Hardcover, CD, e-Book Read an Excerpt      Reviewed by Martina Bexte Everything in Elizabeth's life has been carefully planned, from her conception and education to her future career as a surgeon. By age seventeen she can no longer tolerate her mother's strict rules and cold indifference and plans an evening's rebellion with a school friend's help. What starts out as a few hours of exciting clubbing deteriorates into a single moment that changes Elizabeth's life forever. Twelve years have passed since that horrible night when Elizabeth witnessed a murder and was forced to run for her life. She now calls herself Abigail Lowery and lives a solitary existence in a small town in the Ozarks, working from home designing security systems. Her only companions are her highly trained guard dog Bert and an assortment of deadly firearms. Hers is a rigid and safe way of life that Abigail has meticulously engineered - until newly appointed police chief Brooks Gleason comes calling and begins asking far too many questions. Abigail must make a choice: trust the easygoing and far too attractive police chief or once again disappear into the night before Gleason digs too deep into her bloody past. Roberts presents another crackerjack romantic suspense in The Witness, one of her best to date. Her characters shine, particularly Brooks whose easy-going charm, steely determination and eventual love for Abigail convince her that it's time to stop running, face her enemies and finally live a real life. The plot she fine-tunes to bring down the Mafia kingpins intent on silencing her once and for all is also very cleverly done. If there's one romantic suspense you must add to your summer's reading list, it's The Witness. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Romance books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews