HIDDEN NATURE - NORA ROBERTS

3.5⭐

Sloan Cooper after being shot comes home to her family at Herons Rest to recover. She comes across a string of local disappearances in her spare time which catches her attention and she now needs to solve the cases before it's too late with her own life is in danger.
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Nora Roberts is an auto buy author, comfort read author for me having read almost all her books. Hidden Nature however fell short for me in a couple of areas.
Firstly the "bad guys" motive felt too far fetched esp considering their profession it was difficult to digest and secondly the book was LONG!! a lot of places I felt bored and wanted action!
That being said her character development of Sloan and Noah was fantastic..how she builds kickass female protagonist..noone does it better than her , this along with inter relationships with all characters was just amazing.
Inspite of this being an okayish read I will still forever read her books!

This book hooked me at the very first sentence. When I pick up a Nora Roberts book I know there will be a great mix of romance and suspense and this book did not disappoint!

Sloan Cooper is a Natural Resources police officer who walks into a robbery in progress and is suddenly fighting for her life. She codes in the operating room but is brought back and now has quite a bit of healing to do. Now back at her parent’s quiet house, she finds herself in the middle of a case…

I loved Sloan - she is smart and strong and willing to do whatever it takes to keep her community safe. I loved the small town setting and sense of community.

I really liked Sloan and Nash together. We get this great slow burn and their relationship felt very real and authentic to me. I have to say the mystery and suspense parts of this book really stood out to me! This felt more like a thriller with a sprinkle of romance to me.

Overall I really enjoyed the story, and go into this knowing the romance takes a back seat to the overall mystery.

I’m always up for a contemporary mystery. This was my favorite genre years ago.

Sloan is a police officer shot outside the line of duty and the beginning of the book gives readers the opportunity to really get to know her and see what makes her tick. It was an interesting choice to delay delving into Nash, Sloan’s love interest, and their meeting. I liked how their romance evolved slowly and naturally. I enjoyed how they were both fully developed characters before the meshed.

There’s a bonus side romance and a real feel of family between all of the characters. Due to the small town setting that adds richness to the story. There are two families at the center, but also the theme of finding family or your people. Sloan really connects with the characters around her. She also has her flaws almost worn as badges of honor that made her incredibly relatable.

I am usually a fan of getting chapters from the bad guy’s perspective, but I found that I was moving quickly through those sections and wanted more of Sloan and Nash. They just didn’t connect with me, but that gave me more of a reason to root for the good guys.

I’ve read more than my share of police procedurals and this one is a first. Sloan is a natural resources officer. It was fun getting to learn what that entails.

This was an immersive read for me and I was pleased that January LaVoy was the narrator. She is one of my favorite narrators as she always makes the listen great. She nailed bringing a voice to each of the characters. I never lost track of which characters were involved. You can’t go wrong listening to this one.

This should appeal to suspense, mystery and romance readers.

Hidden Nature is a gripping and emotional thriller. Sloan Cooper’s strength and determination shine as she tackles a chilling mystery close to home. Nora Roberts blends suspense, a strong heroine, and a touch of romance perfectly, making this a page-turner you won’t want to put down.

I really enjoyed Sloan and Nash’s story.

I like the relationship between Sloan and her partner. They are like family.

This has the perfect amount of suspense. I was waiting to see who the next victim would be and who the villain truly were.

I really felt terrible for what was done to the people. I really thought one of two people who had gone through the same experience would be the next one.

I like the connection between Nash and Sloan and how far back it goes. I like that there’s another romance is happening also.

I liked how Sloan taught Nash how to get his dog to respond to his commands.

I listened to and read this book. I really enjoyed the audio as well as reading along with it.

I highly recommend this book.

Hidden Nature:⁣
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Thank you @stmartinspress and @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2025 for my gifted copies! ⁣
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“You’re only weak physically for now. Your will isn’t weak, and trust me because I’ve run up against it since you were born, it’s not easily broken.”⁣
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Nora Roberts, the queen she is. Does she really need my review? No, but I’ll give it to you anyways! 😂 Not my favorite, but still enjoyable read from her.⁣
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I loved the religious aspect of the book of the bad guys. Always an interesting take on playing God to meet God, and I really liked their story. I did feel like the mystery part overtook any of the romance and I liked that for this book. I was expecting more romance but I’ll take all the thrills, ya know? ⁣
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The middle dragged with the mundane for a bit that I just couldn’t get with. Usually I can be patient and wait for the development but I felt like it was just too long in the middle. ⁣
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January LaVoy is always amazing and definitely got me through the audio. One of my favorite readers, I’ll never skip a January audio.⁣
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Overall, solid audio, fun thriller, romance was rushed, bot my favorite, but middle of the road. Out today!⁣
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QOTD: What’s the one misconception you think people have of you?

Let me just say, if you came here expecting a fast-paced thriller about a cop-turned-reluctant detective hunting down a pair of bizarre, religiously obsessed serial killers—surprise! You’ve actually checked into This Old House: Trauma Edition.

The book kicks off with a bang—literally—Sloan Cooper, our heroine, gets shot during a convenience store robbery. Exciting! She suffers a life-altering injury and moves home to recover. And then… nothing happens. For ten chapters. TEN. We get her riveting food and exercise diary, her feelings about neutral tones, and the ongoing drama of whether she’ll go with granite or quartz. (Spoiler: neither was thrilling.)

At some point, the book remembered it was supposed to be a thriller and gave us a string of disappearances across three states, but even that plotline got cozy under a throw blanket of subplots about Sloan and the Fix-It Bros renovating their homes like they were auditioning for Fixer Upper: Small Town Homicide Edition.

Now, about the killers. When they finally launch onto the page like a bad church camp skit gone rogue, they’re not terrifying—they’re just bizarrely boring. They spout religious nonsense—somewhere between cringey and unintentionally hilarious. But mostly they just blend into the background like beige walls.

Is Sloan hot on the trail? Kind of! But not before she and the charmingly bland new love interest compare cabinet finishes, shiplap patterns, and reclaimed wood options for their respective fixer-uppers. Honestly, I learned more about open floor plans and backsplash tiling than I did about actual serial killers.

What would’ve made this book better? Adding some of the recipes at the end, especially Sloan’s “Kickasserole.”

This was a very good book. In my opinion, this is more of a drama/mystery/police procedural than the author's usual books, and I enjoyed that. The romance/love story was much more of a slow burn, which I noticed has been happening in her last few books (Inheritance and The Mirror for example). The concept is unique; while we have the different POVs including the criminals, I enjoyed the chase, the mystery, and the conclusion. It's almost more of a JD Robb book than Nora Roberts, without Eve and Rourke. Fans everywhere will love this new release.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy and am voluntarily reviewing it. Ms. Roberts came with something different this time. I love they way Ms. Roberts writes. That will always keep me coming back. As you know, I don't read summaries. I thought this book would be similar to her other books. A love story with some struggles for the main characters. I was wrong, so wrong. Sloan Cooper is a Natural Resources Police Officer. She was shot and is at her childhood home in Heron's Rest to recuperate. Her parents own a mountain resort. All the Rest is run by her parents and her sister, Drea. They all pitch in to help Sloan recover. While recovering, Sloan is itching to jump back into work. Sloan finds something to do. A woman is missing from their area. Something about that woman kept Sloan intrigued. She worked with the local police to get more information. What she found was scary. There have been other abductions similar to the first woman. Something is happening in this small town, and Sloan wants to find out what it is.

That is not all. Nash Littlefield moved the town in hopes of becoming a licensed contractor. The town's general fix-it man had moved away and left a gapping hole in that area. Nash was ready to fill that hole. He was finally doing what he enjoyed. His younger brother, Theo, also joined him. The Fix-It Brothers was born. They helped at Sloan's family's mountain resort as well. As Sloan recovered, she was offered a job to stay in Heron's Rest. Nash and Sloan got closer. Sloan was able to use Nash as a sounding board. She could talk to him about her cases, especially the missing people. This kept happening. As the number grew, Sloan became more and more invested. Readers will not be ready for this book. Will Sloan figure out what is happening to these people? It becomes life or death when she realizes what all the people who have been taken have in common. Is Sloan next? Despite to crazy story line, I was invested in this story. Ms. Roberts can make anybody read anything. Her writing just draws you in. This book is no different.

I was provided both an ALC and ARC via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this romantic suspense. This follows Sloan, a Natural Resource Police Officer, who was injured in the line of duty. She moves back home for her slow and steady recovery with family surrounding her. She also takes a new job in her hometown, but when a string of missing people pops up she can't help herself from investigating on her own terms. Something just doesn't feel right about the cases and she is determined to figure out what is going on. In the mean time, a new neighbor comes to town to flip a old house and start a handyman business with his brother. Nash turns out to be great at building and fixing things, he is also a good listener when Sloan needs someone to bounce ideas off of.

I really enjoyed the alternating chapters between Sloan and the villains. We really got to get into the heads of the bad guys and understand their motivations, as out there as they were. While you don't have to agree with their mission, you can certainly see that they believed wholeheartedly in what they were doing misguided as it was. This was almost like reading an episode of Criminal Minds, but you really got know Sloan and her family and you got to see the relationship with Nash really develop. I also really enjoyed the setting, I've been to some of the places this is set in and I've driven past others in my travels. Nora Roberts always does a great job describing the outdoor settings and building the character dynamics.

The audiobook is narrated by January LaVoy, who is always a pleasure to listen to. She always does a fantastic job with every audiobook she narrates.

Hidden Nature is a gripping and thought-provoking book that encumbrances several genres- romance, mystery, thriller, etc. It's been a little bit of time since I have read a book by Nora Roberts and enjoyed dipping my toe back in the Nora Roberts pool.

Sloan Cooper, a Natural Resources police officer, has been shocked back to life after being shot during a robbery in progress. She is in Heron’s Rest to recover but can't help having her interest piqued when a woman goes missing. While researching this case, she uncovered several others. She has recovering to do and a new relationship to focus on, but she can't let these disappearances go and tries her best to figure things out.

Readers are privy to who is behind the disappearances and why, it was entertaining and enjoyable watching Sloan try to figure out whodunit. Knowing whodunit, it no way hindered my enjoyment of this book. It was actually a very nice touch as readers get to see whodunit and get the rationale and thoughts behind why the victims were taken and for what purpose.

I found this book to be well written, well thought out, riveting and thought provoking. I enjoyed the detailed and vivid descriptions, the romances, the tension, the dread, and getting into the heads of various characters. I enjoyed the characters relationships with each other and their sense of family and community. Although I wanted a little more suspense and Oomph at times, I still enjoyed Hidden Nature and found it to be a worthwhile read.

This has so many of my very favorite Nora Roberts stuff. There's a pair of brothers setting up a business in a new town. There's a strong and close family who support each other and have an important role in the community. There's a likable main character who has been through a nightmare but has worked her way back and made her life even better. There are a couple of side character dogs and a side character romance. There's also a mystery with some time spent in the bad guy's seriously creepy POV.

This book starts with quite a bang with the shooting of the main character. I enjoyed meeting Sloan when she's at a tough point in her life. She's always been strong and independent and suddenly having to rely on people - even people she loves - is difficult. I couldn't help but root for her as she fought for her recovery and for the life she wanted. The romance took awhile to show up. We meet Nate and Theo pretty early in as does Sloan and the rest of her family but the focus for both is not on a romance until halfway through the book. There's so much going on - including development of the suspense plot that I didn't miss the romance.

The suspense is super creepy and every time the bad guy showed up on the page I couldn't wait for them to go away again but at the same time I was completely pulled into what was happening with the disappearances.

I really enjoyed the switch between the creepy disappearances and the day to day life of Sloan and those close to her. This was a bit predictable but thoroughly enjoyable. I was hooked from page one and few through this book. It reminded me of why I look forward to a Nora Roberts suspense title every year!

Nora Roberts has done it again! Despite its slow build, "Hidden Nature" is a gripping, suspenseful novel that kept me engaged from start to finish. The main characters are likeable, relatable, and well-developed, and the sinister nature of the underlying premise is uniquely twisted and chilling. For me, it doesn't get any better than that.

It’s Nora Roberts – what more do you need to know? Full of the usual wit and banter, excitement and action, strong connections and seemingly impossible situations and complicated people.

Hidden Nature is the latest standalone from Roberts, the story of Maryland Natural Resources police officer Sloan Cooper and former finance whiz now all-purpose contractor Nash Littlefield. Sloan is at a turning point in her life, although not of her own choosing. Nearly fatally shot in a convenience store having just finished up an operation with her partner, Joel, she is forced to slow down, take it easy, don’t test her limits, rest. None of which Sloan ever allows herself to do. When finally able to begin limited walks in the woods again she catches a glimpse of, and is seen by, new neighbor Nash. Nash and his brother Theo have “escaped” from big city life of finance and the law to start a construction business.

On the surface Sloan and Nash couldn’t seem more different: she’s from a loud, loving family with a wide circle of friends. She’s moved away from her hometown but knows her support system – sister Drea, parents, extended family, friends – is always there. Nash and Theo are pretty much on their own. Their parents are wealthy, proper, stilted, cold, often cruel. Full of rules and expectations and if they aren’t meant then you suffer the consequences. Neither of them was happy or fulfilled always trying to please unpleasable parents and they’ve had enough of trying.

Both Sloan and Nash have unhappy relationship history and aren’t looking to start anything new, especially when Sloan’s sister and Nash’s brother get together, but there is something there. Genuine friendship, respect – and heat.

And don’t forget the danger. Sloan takes a transfer closer to home, buys a house, sees more of Nash – and starts investigating cases that seem unconnected.

Hidden Nature is fast paced and compelling. Characters with depth that hold your interest, action and danger and suspense. And if you have also read Roberts’ J. D. Robb series, Sloan has just a bit of Eve Dallas in her: the fierce independence, the wariness to surrender her heart, the blunt, direct, choppy way of talking. I received an advance copy of Hidden Nature from NetGalley. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Highly addictive and enthralling! Nora Roberts had me from the first page to the last in this unexpected tale! I was first hooked by Sloan Cooper's story as a Natural Resource police officer who walks into a convenience store at the wrong time and ends up fighting for her life. We get to know her well along with her family and the Western Maryland area that she's from. And then the twist comes in that really hooks you. People are disappearing with no sign ever found again and it's caught Sloan's attention. She takes us along for quite the ride as she hunts for answers. Falling for the guy next door just adds to the heart of the story. Loved Sloan, her family and the neighbors! Highly recommend to anyone that enjoys a suspense with romance and heart mixed throughout.

Not my favorite of Roberts's romantic thrillers. The romantic leads were flat with a rather boring romance (there was far more spark in the secondary romance), there was endless discussion of home improvement projects (fine if that's what you're into), and the killers. OMG the killers. SO. CRINGE. I had to speed read through their many POV sections. Truly eye-rolling. Even the big final confrontation was a little ho-hum. My favorite part was learning more about the National Resources police, and I enjoyed the setting in a small western Maryland town. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital review copy.

One of the things I love the most about reading a book by Nora Roberts is her ability to form a world I can fall into with her words. For me she just hits. Many authors can make me become engrossed in their books but for some reason Nora is one of the few that often his me tearing up in the first couple of pages. She's just great at building a world.

The balance between being a female main character and family along with romance is all met within her books. Her story is about the people and what's happening within their lives. Makes them so really.

I truly loved Hidden Nature and the Cooper family. I also enjoyed the Littlefield brothers and felt for them. Being brothers, it made for a nice double romance with the main female looking for nothing more than someone to share some time with and finding so much more.

I will say that this one had a very dark mystery to it. I felt so horrible for the victims. I couldn't stop myself from totally hating the killer. I kept reading as fast as I could because I wanted it all to end. Which I know is funny because I was reading the story for more than the murders and I knew this isn't a real-life story, but it was written so well I found myself feeling like it was.

I wanted justices!

Since I'm a romance girl I will say I enjoyed that too. I loved how Nash and Sloan's brother and sister feel in insta love. It was so cute, and they were so happy. I also liked how Roberts didn't rush the relationship between Sloan and Nash. Sloan had so much gone on in her life in the beginning that a relationship would have seemed rushed.

If you are looking for a good story that you won't be able to put down, then this is it. I'm almost sad it's over. I do have next year's book to look forward too.

THIS BOOK!!! Whew! I most definitely couldn’t read this one fast enough. It was fascinating. Sloan is out on medical leave. While she’s out, she discovers a connection to recent missing persons. Meanwhile, her personal life is suddenly busier and more meaningful than it ever has been. The chemistry between Nash and Sloan was intense and they had an ease between one another and they found they could lean on the other. I also enjoyed how the reader knows who is responsible for the missing people and we’re able to get into their heads; as messed up as they are! This book would make a fantastic movie! Can’t recommend this book enough!!

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart


Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Nora Roberts and January LaVoy are a favorite combination of excellent work. Romantic suspense is a favorite genre with the multiple emotional pulls from the romance and the suspense and thrill of the mystery. Hidden Nature has many other great themes with families, home renovation work, good cooking, gardening, natural resource law enforcement and dogs.

The characters are so likeable and have great growth in both their careers and their personal relationships (bad guys not included). The brothers are leaving the city and paperwork jobs to work with building and fixing things. Nash and Theo are are making a new life and start together. Theo has always wanted a dog so Nash gets him one.

Sloan stays with her parents during her recuperation after being shot. She walks with their dog, builds her strength and enjoys the outdoor beauty of the area. She has missed her family and the mountains. A case starts right when she is hurt where a woman has been abducted from a parking lot the day before Thanksgiving. So it becomes her project to keep her mind busy as she gets better.

Sloan gets offered a promotion staying right there with the nature resources police and decides to take it. She buys a cottage near her parents and starts renovating it with help from her Dad and her new next door neighbors, Nash and Theo.

Sloan and Nash get close. He is a good listener as she gets more ideas and connects more abductions to the woman at Thanksgiving. I love the smart deductions she makes. We get to see the villains too. Yeah, they are looney tunes. I love all the home renovations Sloan does on her cottage and Nash does on his home and for clients.

I just loved so many aspects of Hidden Nature and highly recommend it.

Nora Roberts once again shows why she is a must read. I cannot praise this story enough. The characters are wonderful. The mystery is gripping and full of surprises. The romance is perfect. I was sad to see it end. But what a great ending!