RITA Award Winner, Best Romantic Suspense, 1995

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts unveils the intriguing world of antiques dealing, where an independent woman discovers the price of breathless desire – and the schemes of an obsessed killer…

Dora Conroy has a passion for antiques – and any other rarities she can acquire for her quaint Philadelphia shop. A seasoned dealer, she knows all the tricks of the trade. But she is unprepared for the deadly consequences when she purchases a few curiosities at an auction – and unknowingly brings home a priceless cache that makes her the target of an international criminal. Entwined in a reckless chase, Dora turns to her new neighbor, Jed Skimmerhorn, a cop who’s turned in his badge – and whose desire for lovely Dora puts him back in the line of fire. Fighting their attraction while falling in love, they find that hidden riches can have a most ordinary façade. And that possession can be a lethal obsession…

©2004 Nora Roberts (P)2004 Brilliance Audio

Had this in a Reader’s Digest condensed Books and illustrated too! I liked it as an easy read but as most Nora Roberts novels go, this one was pretty predictable.

Sexy heroine gets a new neighbour who happens to be a sexy ex-cop, emotionally damaged and not ready for a relationship. And yet they enter one, not as a landlord and tenant but as a fixer and a saver. He loves her, she loves him, hot sex ensues.

To put some meat on the bones of this romantic novel, Nora Roberts also added another thriller sub-plot where a mobster is smuggling rare goods in kitsch items and a mix-up at the auction house means other people have purchased tacky items containing thousands of dollars worth of items. He sends DiCarlo, his right hand man, to recuperate the items by any means.

DiCarlo takes it as shooting and killing his way across New York and other cities until he finds Dora. Luck has it Jeb, the ex-cop, was keenly aware that something is amis and uses his connections with the force to get an ID. He saves Dora twice (rhymes with Nora) and after they become lovers, he feels more invested in trying to keep her alive so he feels super hurt the moment the bad guys take the lead again and shoot Dora while he was away.

The bad guy gets some bullets, Dora survives and they live happily ever after.

“And the marriage thing? You’ll give it a shot?”
She grinned into the sunlight. It might not have been the world’s most romantic proposal, but it suited her. It suited her just fine.”

The good points: Dora is a self-sufficient brilliant woman who has her life and her passions in check. The little business she runs is profitable and she has loads of loyal customers and good friends. I liked her. Jeb also nails the ex-cop sulky boyfriend well. I had to laugh when the dated parts of the book appeared in “faxes” and the “sexy like Kevin Costner” comments. I know he was the thing about 25 years ago but now it’s just funny.

Other good points: winter time and New Year’s parties are cool.

The bad points: Jed is physically aggressive with Dora a few times and she dismisses it as him being passionate. I mean she kicks him out the first time but then allows him back into her life. He has the red flags of an abusive character written all over him. Plus his name? Jedidiah? I was thinking Mormon from the highlands.

There’s a lot of narration from the villain too – perhaps too much – and it reminded me a little of Dean Koontz who spends entire chapters showing us how distorted of a criminal we are dealing with.

“She smiled sweetly and yanked open the door. “Kiss my ass, Skimmerhorn.”

“I’ve thought of it,” he murmured. “I have thought of it.”