This is one of Nora’s best. I loved it. The premise of identity theft was so painful, but the characters were amazing throughout. Starting over and rebuilding a life is not easy, and it was felt throughout this as Morgan did so. The settings were great and as always Nora put new locations on my travel list. I cannot wait to read her next book.

I was SO excited to get an advance copy of NR’s next stand-alone novel & she did not disappoint! I read a bit of everything genre-wise, but tend to lean more heavily into thrillers & NR’s books always have plenty of action with a healthy dose of romance, & I’ve found that I really enjoy knowing what to generally expect from her books. There’s usually a gorgeous scenic cover & typically three different parts to her stand-alones with roughly ten chapters each, in which we get a good look at the main character’s past & go on a deep-dive into whatever career they are passionate about, see them fall in love, get immersed in a gorgeous & charming setting, have cool older women in their lives that I want to be like when I’m that age, & read about fun everyday things that the characters do like gardening & cooking & home improvement & fitness. Oh & there’s usually a dog in there somewhere, which is always a plus. Now all of that is to say that I really like reading the standard NR formula for her stand-alone plots & she always makes the books vastly different from each other detail-wise so I'm never bored.

In Identity (a great title with more than one meaning in the story), Morgan is a young woman in her twenties looking to set down roots somewhere after a childhood that was full of constant upheaval - she’s passionate about bartending & all that it entails with the relationships that one builds with customers, & is saving money to open her own place someday. But when her roommate Nina is murdered at the hands of a man Morgan was casually dating, her whole world is upended - penniless (because the murderer stole her identity), Morgan has to move home with her mother & grandmother to try & rebuild her life & recover from losing her best friend. Morgan eventually settles in & finds a new job & even a new love interest, but the man who murdered her roommate hasn’t forgotten that Morgan was his intended victim…

All in all this was another solid NR book that I devoured & I’m already looking forward to the next! Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge Nora Roberts fan so when I saw this title come up on Netgalley, I had to grab it. I am so glad that I did. I was unable to put this book down. There was such a mystery/thriller aspect that I had to know what was going to happen next. There was romance, drama, and all the feels. The character development was amazing - I felt like I was friends with the characters. Seriously, one of the best books I have read so far this year! Nora is still the queen of romance for a reason! I would love to see more of this family again!

I forgot how much I love Nora Roberts's books until I start reading one. Her books have a way of grabbing you from the first page to the last - and taking you through all of the emotions. I loved reading Identity - loved the family interactions especially the relationship between Morgan and Miles. The villain was terrible, but you knew Morgan would win in the end. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars - it was just that good.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

This was my first Nora Roberts book, and the description really pulled me in. I thought the idea was really interesting and liked how it was a mix of romance and thriller. However, I found the romance and chemistry between the characters really lacking. I did not feel like there was much of a spark, other than a couple paragraphs. I also found the ending to be very rushed. Gavin devolves throughout the entire book, and it’s really interesting to see how that unfolds. But he doesn’t actually get to Morgan until 95% of the way through, so you’re just waiting and waiting for the action and when it actually does happen it’s over pretty fast. My other criticism is that I could not stand when Morgan called her mom and grandmother “her ladies”, it just gave me the biggest ick.

If you’re a Nora Roberts fan, this may be the book for you. But if you’re a casual or even first time Nora Roberts reader, I wouldn’t recommend this.

Nora Roberts always satisfies, and Identity is no exception. When Morgan's carefully laid plans are shattered by psychopath, "Luke," masquerading as a new boyfriend, he leaves her with guilt over her murdered friend and roommate, and without any of her savings.
As she starts to recover, Morgan moves north, to live with her semi-estranged mother and her grandmother. This change of scenery brings her more joy than she ever imagined. Her new job at the local resort also brings hope for new friends and opportunities. However, the shadow of Luke lingers and Morgan knows that it's only a matter of time before he comes for her, his only intended victim that survived. The FBI and the local law, as well as her family and new employers, are doing their best to protect her and catch Luke, but will it happen in time, and will Morgan's relationship with a son in her new employers dynasty blossom?

I always look forward to a new Nora Roberts book, they never disappoint. I fell right into this story, the characters lives, the suspense and the romance and I never looked up again until ‘The End’ very late at night or very early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. Morgan is a wonderful heroine with an upbeat attitude towards her customers and life itself. She worked so hard, not once but twice in her life to make her personal dreams come true. I also love how she worked to make herself physically stronger. The generational household showed the deep connections the women had and their love for each other. The dialogue between them was very entertaining.
Miles was a swoon worthy alpha hero who shows his love for family and Morgan through what he does for them even when he seems a little overbearing, Morgan stands up to him. The cat and mouse suspense plot between Morgan and Gavin kept me turning the pages. I highly recommend, definitely another winner by Nora Roberts!!

I have to admit that Nora Roberts earlier books were hit or miss with me. I started my reading journey with her with True Betrayls. Which I loved. And I kind of hold all of her books next to it to compare.

Now, that being said, I have really been drawn to her most recent works. I loved her Year One series. Was pretty triggered by her Shelter In Place. But it was still really good. I love her ability to take hard subject matter and turn it into something you don't want to put down.

This one. Now this one could have been triggering based on the plot. But the way she wrote it just didn't make it hit those terrors. This plot is no less believable than Shelter In Place, but maybe the subject matter made it so that it didn't trigger.

Nora Roberts has just been killing it with her work. I personally feel like every recent novel of hers deserves high praise.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I've always enjoyed Nora Robert's novels so I was excited to have an ARC of this book, especially after reading the book summary.

Morgan and her friend Nina are living near Baltimore. Morgan is a bartender nearby, and after meeting a man "Luke" one night, she decides to invite him to a dinner party with Nina and her boyfriend.

The day after the dinner, Nina ends up dead, and "Luke" is actually a con man named Gavin who is also a serial killer, who drains women's bank accounts and then kills them.

Morgan flee's to her grandmother/mother's place in Vermont and takes on a new identity. Apparently, Morgan was the one he wanted dead, not Nina, and she is his first victim to get away.

He's on the hunt and there's a cat and mouse game as he continues to seek, destroy, and kill women's lives as he searches for Morgan.

A great suspenseful read and just another reason to love NR novels!

Morgan a goal oriented young woman has plans for her future and she is working hard to make them a reality. She has a lovely home, a room mate that is her best friend and is saving to fulfill her dream of owning her own bar. Everything is going to plan until a con man infiltrates her life, steals her identity and takes it all away including the life of her dear friend.
Penniless and heartbroken she is forced to move back home to live with her Mom and Grandmother in Vermont. Morgan begins to rebuild her life. She gets a job as a bartender at a local family owned resort, repairs her relationship with her Mom and renews her love of her Grandmother. It appears her life is getting back on track until she realizes that the con man is not done with her. As Morgan struggles to protect her life and those of her loved ones “her ladies” with the help of her work family she realizes she is not alone in this battle. The con man may have taken material things, created fear in heart but he could not take away the love that radiates from the people in her life.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Identity by Nora Roberts
This is a wonderful romantic suspense - Nora knocked it out of the park. Morgan and Miles are perfect H and h - he is strong and self-assured, and she gets her mojo back after being scammed and her identity is stolen by Gavin who cleans her out and kills her roommate when he means to kill her. Morgan moves back home with her mother and grandmother and gets a job at Miles's family resort.
There are wonderful family and friends old and new, murder, danger, suspense, laughter, tears, love and steam. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, and it should do the same for you and get you to a very HEA. Reasons I enjoyed this book:
Twisted Page-turner Action-packed Tragic Happily Ever After Haunting Romantic Great world building Informative Scary Witty Unpredictable Steamy Wonderful characters Easy-to-read Tear-jerker Entertaining.

The h works in a bar where she meets the antagonist. The antagonist is an identity thief who gets to know his victims, gets invited into their homes, where he cases the house. The h isn’t home when the thief goes to her house. Unfortunately her roommate is there, sick, and the thief kills her and steals anything he can find. He uses the information he gathered to steal her identity and take everything from her, her car, home, money, etc. she decides to go to her mom’s and grandmother’s home in Vermont to start over. Meanwhile, the thief continues to steal from women.

Identity – Nora Roberts

You can never go wrong with a Nora Roberts Novel!!

Morgan Nash Albright seems to have it all – a fixer-upper in Baltimore, a great job as a bartender, a strict business plan for the future – and a great roommate, Nina, whom she adores. So, when a great guy, named Luke Hudson wanders into the bar and the two hit it off, it seems too good to be true. Even more so when they start spending time together and Luke comes home for dinner. Unbeknownst to Morgan, Luke is a serial con man – who ends his con with murder.

But Luke’s plans for Morgan are interrupted, when he breaks into her home, not realizing that Nina is home sick. When Nina confronts Luke, he acts swiftly, assaulting Nina, leaving her dead on the floor, and staging a ‘robbery’ before he flees the state. When Morgan finds Nina dead and learns the truth from the FBI – that Luke is a con man, named Gavin Rozwell, and that she is the only survivor of his spree – she decides to head home to her family in Vermont.

As Morgan slowly adjusts to life with her mother and grandmother, she begins to heal. With her family’s assistance she finds a position as a manager for Apres, an upscale establishment in a resort close to home, owned and operated by the Jameson family. As she carefully carves her niche in the resorts’ operations, she finally starts feeling like herself again – and slowly begins to nurture a relationship with Miles Jameson, the quiet, brooding Jameson son.

Meanwhile, Gavin Rozwell is out there somewhere - and he is becoming more and more obsessed with the one that got away. His next victim is found wearing a locket stolen from Morgan. A bracelet is found on the following victim. Knowing it is only a matter of time before Gavin returns to finish what he started, both families rally around Morgan to keep her safe. But will it be enough?!

Another fantastic, mesmerizing, although predictable read from Nora Roberts. Even knowing that the novel would end happily, I stayed up half the night just to get to the end. And Howl – he was the icing on the cake! As with any “Nora Novel”, I highly recommend!!

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley & St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an objective review. Do you love to read?? Visit netgalley.com and start reviewing books today!!

Blog will post on 5/16/2023

This is a very in-depth look at identity theft and how it affects people who have been victims. The character come alive in how they are described. You see every movement, every color, everything is described to bring it to your mind. I loved the Nash women, so feisty and colorful. The love they have for each generation, is depicted throughout this book. The Jameson family makes you wish you were a Jameson. I think you will not be disappointed in this book! Happy reading

rating: 3 stars;

I have read many of the novels written by Nora Roberts and all of the JD Robb titles. I would not have guessed Nora Roberts as the author of this title had I not known. It read very much as a Danielle Steel novel, especially for the first quarter of the book.

There were endless pages simply describing the life of the main character with very little plot. The story finally began to develop, but didn't really pick up speed until the end. The characters didn't feel "real" to me. They were all very similar in how they reacted and spoke. It almost seemed like they were following the advice of a therapist and carefully and thoughtfully wording their responses to each other.

I think there was a good story in there, but it could have been developed much more quickly. It was a disappointment for me, but I won't give up on Nora Roberts because I usually enjoy her books very much.

Thank you to Netgalley/St. Martin's for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Settling into a Nora Robert's book is one of my favorite things to do. I think of her as the queen of romantic suspense and she does not disappoint in her latest novel, Identity. Morgan Albright has her life planned out and as she works to complete her stages on schedule, her entire life is uprooted in upheaval when a horrific tragedy has her losing everything and she is forced to move back to Vermont with her mother and grandmother. In Vermont, Morgan strives to rise above the past and create a new life for herself, despite the fact that she cannot leave the past behind. As a bartender, she falls into arms of the Jameson family who provide the extended family she never had. With her mother, grandmother, new boyfriend, Miles Jameson, and the other Jamesons, working together, can Morgan finally put the horrible past to rest and eke out a happy ending? That's the story and as usual, it's well written and engaging. Definitely a great weekend read.

Morgan Albright grew up in a military family and never really got a chance to plant roots. Then her father took off and left her and her mother to fend for themselves. Now she is settled in a small home in Baltimore working as a professional bartender hoping someday to own her own bar. To help make her house payments, she took in a housemate, Nina, who has become a close friend.

One night at the bar where she works, a smooth-talking IT guy named Luke Hudson comes in and strikes up a conversation with her. He doesn't make any moves, just converses, acts natural, and is friendly. Over time, they get to know each other and end up going out. Morgan invites him to her house for dinner one night and Nina asks a friend of hers. While Luke is there, he finds the opportunity to install a program on her computer that aids him in stealing her identity. One day when he thinks that both Morgan and Nina are at work, he comes back and breaks into the home to remove the program from her computer and stumbles upon Nina who is home sick. She knows something isn't right and he kills her.

Morgan learns from FBI agents that Luke is a psychopath named Gavin who targets a certain type of woman which she fits the description of. He steals their identity and then kills them. Nina was a mistake. Morgan was the target. Luke drained her bank account, took out loans in her name, and basically stole everything she had. She was forced to sell her house to pay off all the debts he accumulated in her name. Her only recourse was to move home to Vermont and live with her mother and grandmother.

In Vermont, Morgan gets a job at a resort owned by the Jameson family and starts to get her bearings back. The Jamesons know her history and what she has been through. They also know that the FBI thinks that Gavin will come back to finish his business with Morgan. Miles Jameson; quiet, brooding, and single; has taken it upon himself to be her protector.

In the meantime, Gavin has been completely thrown off his game when he failed to finish off Morgan, so he takes off to parts unknown. However, he is starting to make some mistakes and the FBI is able to track him. They know he will eventually make it back to finish off Morgan.

This is a suspense-filled read and, except for Gavin, the characters are likeable and believable. Nora Roberts knows how to write a good story and this one was no exception. This really took an in-depth look at identity theft and that aspect was well researched.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A resiliant heroine, a steadfast hero… and a chilling villain

Rebuilding your life after identity theft isn’t easy. Especially when the thief stole not only your identity, but your best friend’s life… and he’s not done with you yet.

That’s the situation Morgan Albright finds herself facing in Identity, the newest romantic suspense novel from Nora Roberts. Gavin Rozwell is a charming conman and cold-blooded serial killer, who sees Morgan as his one failure—a failure he is determined to rectify.

Reeling from her friend Nina’s death, and from repeated attacks on her finances and credit, Morgan retreats to the family home shared by her grandmother and mother, to try to make a new start. But as she begins to rebuild her life, the FBI is closing in on Nina’s killer… and he is closing in on Morgan.

One of the things I love about Nora Roberts’s novels is the glimpse they give me into careers I’ve never held. Morgan is a bartender—a good one, skilled not only at making and serving drinks but also in knowing how to treat her customers, whether they need a listening ear or a bit of banter. (Warning: be prepared to come out of this book with a whole new appreciation for cocktails.) Morgan is excellent at setting goals, doing the research, and carrying out her plans. Like almost all Roberts’s heroines, Morgan is competent and resilient; she possesses an inner strength and determination, even when she feels most defeated. But she’s not invincible; there’s a vulnerability stemming from her childhood moves and her father’s indifference. That, along with her doubts and shaken faith in herself, serve to make her sympathetic and very likeable.

Miles Jameson, the hero, is attracted to Morgan’s strength and confidence, along with the vulnerability she tries to hide. He is kind and dependable, if a little brusque and occasionally dictatorial for my taste. He is also perceptive, has a deep love for his family and for the family homestead (now his home) and the family resort. When it comes to the latter, he balances respect for tradition and a willingess to stay current and keep growing. Miles is not Morgan’s direct-line supervisor, but he is a member of the family that owns the resort where she works; I appreciated how carefully Roberts constructed their growing attraction and eventual romantic relationship in light of their employee-employer roles. (Rest assured, it’s entirely mutual every step of the way.) I also appreciated the way that Miles respects Morgan’s strengths while supporting her in whatever ways she needs… even if, occasionally, he acts unilaterally, or she chafes at that support. Miles might not be my first choice for a partner, but he’s perfect for Morgan. And I love his big rescue dog, Howl.

Family love and support play an important role in this novel, on both sides. I loved Morgan’s mother and grandmother (her “ladies”), and appreciated how Morgan’s mother is also a skilled and creative business woman, much stronger, more competent, and happier than Morgan’s memory of her. While Morgan loves her mom, there’s initially a distance there; it was heartwarming to watch them become closer. Part of Morgan’s growth in the novel comes from accepting and trusting in the love and support of her mother and grandmother, and from her growing appreciation for the strong women they are.

I also enjoyed the three generations of Jamesons that run the resort. I come from a strong, loving, supportive family myself, one that is remarkably free from conflict and drama, so it was a real pleasure to see that kind of love and mutual respect in both Morgan’s and Miles’s family, instead of the dysfunctional families so common in both fiction and, sadly, in real life. I suspect Nora Roberts has personal experience with the kind of family depicted here; you can see it in some of her other books as well, particularly The Liar and the Inn Boonsboro books.

Although I love romantic suspense in general, and Nora Roberts’s books in particular, sometimes the suspense aspect strays into territory that I find uncomfortably disturbing. I tend to be very cautious when it comes to plots involving serial killers, for instance, especially when the narrative spends time inside the killer’s head. My difficulty doesn’t come from personal loss, thank goodness. But before we knew him, a family friend lost a close relative to a serial murderer, in a crime that went unsolved for years. (I am being deliberately vague to respect the family’s privacy.) Mostly, though, my caution is due to my struggle with anxiety, and to my brain’s propensity to pick up whatever I read about and process it in my dreams…or nightmares.

However, I read Identity without triggering my anxiety or nightmares, thanks to Nora Roberts’s skilled writing, and to the fact that the violence was generally short-lived and easy to skip past. Although some scenes are told in close third person from the killer’s POV, they focus at least as much on his methods of fleecing his victims financially as on his motivations, and I was able to skim or skip the more upsetting bits.

Nora Roberts is one of my auto-read authors, with the exception of a few books that I can tell from the blurb will be too much for me. I’m glad I gave Identity a try despite my initial concerns about the plot. I enjoyed (almost) every minute of it, and will happily add it to my list of rereadable NR novels!

Morgan Albright had a childhood as an army brat constantly moving to follow her father's career. Now she wants roots and thinks she's found them in Baltimore. She has two jobs and a mortgage on a home she has big plans for. She shares that home with her best friend Nina.

When she meets Luke at the bar where she bartends, she begins a relationship with him. She doesn't know that he's targeted her to be his next victim in a plan for identity theft and murder. Unfortunately, it is Nina who is murdered by being home sick when Luke comes to retrieve the device he's installed on Morgan's computer.

Morgan needs to deal with her best friend's death while trying to untangle all the financial chaos Luke left in his wake. He's maxed her credit cards, taken out new cards in her name and maxed those too, taken out a home equity loan, and borrowed money from a loan shark.

Morgan feels that her only choice is to move to Vermont with her mother and grandmother and build her life anew. There she finds a new close relationship with her mother and grandmother, a job she loves at a resort bar, and a new relationship with Miles Jameson whose family own the resort.

But Luke hasn't forgotten her. He blames her for the way his luck has turned bad since he wanted to murder her and failed. And he's coming for her.

This was an excellent story filled with great family relationships, a slow-burn romance, and the chills that come with being stalked by a serial killer.

I have not read a Nora Roberts book in a while (I am ashamed to say that, since she was my go-to for so long). I picked up this book because of the romantic suspense feel I got from the synopsis. I am so very glad that I did. I read this book in one day and woke up still thinking about the story.

Morgan is an amazing character. She was taken advantage of by a con artist who just will not let her go, yet she figures out how to move on with her life. She moves home to her grandmother and mother, finds a job that she loves, and meets a man who treats her right. I enjoyed watching her figure out how to move past the fear, keep herself safe, and live life. She did not live afraid, but she was cautious. I was excited to see how she would get to live her life without caution. I wanted her to be safe to go home, safe at work, and safe in her day to day living.

Thank you St., Martin’s Press for a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.