After being shot in the line of duty, Natural Resources Police officer Sloan Cooper has returned to her family in her hometown of Heron's Rest, Maryland to heal and get her feet back under her. Also getting a fresh start in Heron's Rest are Nash and Theo Littlefield, brothers who want to escape their high-born family and stressful careers to do some work with their hands and start a home repair company. Handy when Sloan buys the house next door.

While Sloan is recuperating, she hears about the unexplained disappearance of a woman a few towns away. The case continues to niggle at her until she returns to work and comes across a couple of other cases with disappearances under the same circumstances. When she finally figures out the connection between the victims, she realizes that she could also be in the crosshairs.

This is another stellar Nora Roberts romantic suspense standalone. This one is actually a bit lighter on the romance, as Sloan and Nash don't even meet face to face until about 40% of the way through the book. But this book showcases the things Nora writes best: strong female characters, tight loving families, devious killers, and a charming setting.

I had the honor of participating in the booktok campaign for Hidden Nature! My partnership post is linked below.

An almost fatal shooting changes a young policewoman's perspective on life and love in Hidden Nature. Her detecting and observation skills remain top-notch and come in handy when she's targeted by a serial killer.

This was a book that I had to read every free moment I had. I just loved Sloan -- she's tough and smart and doesn't engage in relationship drama. She's dedicated to her chosen career and when there's a suspicious disappearance, she takes it upon herself to investigate as she recovers. She moves back home, meets a man who surprises her, and works on this case on her own time. She's just that dedicated. Nash is a lovely partner for Sloan -- he's dealing with his own demons and is surprised by his feelings for Sloan. I couldn't help but root for them. The writing is top-notch as you might expect from this author.

I do wish the ending had more to it, that is my only (very mild) complaint. There was terrific build-up to Sloan's interaction with the serial killers that just could have been a little "more" for this reader. I do recommend Hidden Nature to readers looking for a very satisfying romantic suspense. I just loved it.

I'm not normally a Nora Roberts reader, but I picked this book up because of the main character, a Natural Resources police officer. I enjoyed Sloan's story, and was cheering her on through her recovery and budding romance. I was less interested in the creepy bad guys. They had no redeeming features to flesh them out as interesting characters, and I just wanted to get past their story.

Another mixed review in my recent reading!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It’s been years since I’ve read a Nora Roberts book, but I was in the mood for a romantic thriller and I know she delivers on that pretty well. The story was solid with a great cast of characters, but I can’t help but feel that something was missing, an integral thing that made me invested in everyone and their stories. I felt like I was barely scratching the surface. This isn’t the Nora Roberts writing I remember from my youth.
Overall, I enjoyed the plot, but the way it was executed just wasn’t working for me.

How does Nora Roberts do it? She has written well over 250 books and with her latest, Hidden Nature, Roberts shows that she hasn't lost her knack for writing engrossing page turning fiction. Sloan Cooper is a natural resource police officer who had a near death experience after she was shot on duty. Sloan goes back to recover at Heron's Rest with her famly's support. Nash Littlefield along with his brother Theo arrive in town ready to start a new life to leave their complicated pasts behind. Sloan and Nash meet and eventually fall in love, but in the background lies a twisted couple who will eventually target Sloan on their dark mission of mercy. Roberts has created a strong resouceful heroine, a complex hero who's her perfect match. There scenes together shows Roberts mastery of creating believable chemistry between two people the reader knows are right for each other even before the realize it themselves. The villians in this book are truly frightening especially their devotion to each other while carrying out their mission. So how does Roberts do it? As one of her long-time readers, my guess is that she isn't afraid to take chances. She certainly did that with her last year with her excellent, Mind Games, where she added elements of horror and with her latest she adds elements of the supernatual into the story.

Nora Roberts is in top-form with her latest release.

This was not what I expected.

The story is mostly a slow-burn romance between two people with difficult pasts. I liked the family dynamics, though I didn’t feel much sizzle between the couple.

The mystery was an aside to the building romance. This aspect didn’t really get going until well into the second half of the book.

The killers felt cartoonish.

And certain little things niggled at me. For instance, you can’t instantly train a puppy by commanding “sit” in an “alpha” voice. It just doesn’t work that way. Training takes time and work. A puppy doesn’t immediately know what “sit” or “down” means, simply because you present yourself as the alpha. Ugh.

Anyway…

I enjoyed aspects of the story, though it was all quite predictable.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the fabulous January LaVoy. This helped immensely. I’m sure I would have done a whole lot of skimming if I’d been reading instead.

*Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook download and St. Martin's Press for the free eARC.*

Sloan is a former detective who just survived a tragic shooting and has moved back home to recover and decide the next steps for her life. While recovering she begins to see patterns that make her concerned about a missing persons case nearby. As she tries to find her way professionally, her personal life begins to also heal and grow. Roberts' standalone books are always full of well-drawn characters with depth and heart, the stories well researched and full of emotion.

Well, well, well, now that was a slow burn and I really enjoyed it I usually don't like stories that so long to get to the action but NR knows how to do it right. No spoilers if you like the suspense and very unique story plot this one is for. Out now!


My thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nora Roberts books can be a hit or a miss for me, and unfortunately, Hidden Nature was not a hit. It's difficult for me to pinpoint the parts I enjoyed in this book or even recall exactly what happened. It's a very slow read, with a slow build-up, if we could call it that. The plot didn't seem to kick in until later on in the book, which left the majority of the novel feeling like a drag. A lot of it felt very repetitive, and honestly, I did not care for Sloan much.
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Nora Roberts for this read.

Nora Roberts is an auto-read author. I've been reading her since I was a teenager. She was my first romance author that I read, which I love. And her books never disappoint. While this one is not my favorite of her books, since I usually lean more paranormal, vs. Mystery/Thriller, this was a good read. It was compelling, it was engaging and the characters were lovely. Like most of Robert's books, her main characters were to the point of perfection in their emotional stability - whereas her antagonists were almost stereotypical in their boogieman personas, the story was fabulous in its telling. I wanted to be Sloane, even though she was being stalked by serial killers and shot by bad guys. The family was an amazingly perfect family, the romance was well formed.

Overall, a good read. Reminiscent of her JD Robb books vs. her usual Roberts titles.

Hidden Nature is a novel that Nora Roberts does so well .. romance, family and little bit of a mystery/thriller thrown in to keep you guessing.

Police officer Sloan Cooper after being shocked back to life from a near fatal gunshot wound is recovering at home with her family. She decided that returning to her old job is not what she would like to do but remain in Heron’s Rest as the new Natural Resource police officer. She has come across a case, although out of her judication, that has caught her interest – people keep going missing.

Nash Littlefield and his brother Theo have given up their suits and New York City life to move to this quaint little town and start their own business, "The Fix It Brothers." It did not take long for their business to take off – between renovating their house, doing repair work around the Cooper rentals they also landed a renovation job on Sloan little fixer upper.

I was hooked when Roberts introduces Clara and Sam, these two were the cagey and mysterious killers. Both thinking they were doing the Lord’s work by kidnapping people killing people that were resurrected from death. Adding this little twist to this novel kept me turning pages to see when Sloan would become their target.

Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable novel, maybe a little creepy at time. It was well written with slow-built tension, some action a little mystery and intertwined with romance. This was a rather length novel and I did feel the ending was fast, furious and anticlimactic. 4.5 stars

Thank you, Nora Roberts, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. T

Nora Roberts never misses when it comes to romantic suspense, and Hidden Nature is no exception. This one strikes just the right balance between gripping tension and heartfelt romance. The characters are likable and relatable, and I was fully invested in their journey. The antagonists, though? Absolutely chilling. Their motives were so disturbing I had to skip a few scenes—definitely not for the faint of heart!

If you love your thrillers with a side of romance and just the right emotional depth, this one’s for you. I definitely recommend it to fans of romantic suspense. Nora Roberts novels are my guilty pleasure, and Hidden Nature reminded me exactly why.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Hidden Nature follows police officer Sloane Cooper who, after a robbery gone wrong, goes home to her small town Heron's Rest to rest and recuperate. But when a series of disappearances hit too close to home, Sloane becomes obsessed with the case. I have been reading Nora Roberts' books for fifteen years and will always pick up her new books and this one didn't disappoint!

I found this thriller from Nora Roberts entertaining and fairly fast moving.

Our heroine (after being critically wounded in the line of duty) is determined, focused and intelligent to get her life back and continue with her law enforcement career. During her convalescence at her childhood home, she meets a new neighbor (and love interest) who is trying a vastly new career on for size. I enjoyed them as a couple; however, it felt a little too easy (and very quick) for her sister to fall for his brother as well.

The villains here were very, very creepy and their acts horrifying with their rationalizations a bit over the top for me...but hey, they are insane psychopaths.

All in all, another good book for Roberts' fans. A bit by-the-book as far as its similarity to most of her thrillers, but still a satisfying read.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing the free early arc of Hidden Nature for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

Fantastic! Another great book by Nora Roberts--who cannot go wrong, IMO! Totally sucked me into the storyline and I enjoyed the read so much I forgot about everything else around me!

A traditional Nora Roberts romance with suspense elements, but not a paranormal. If you enjoy her previous books in this vein then Hidden Nature hits all the beats and is a satisfying read.

Our heroine Sloane Cooper is a strong, smart, successful officer in the Natural Resources Dept. She gets shot and nearly dies in convenience store hold up, then returns to her small hometown to recover. The hero, Nash Littlefield, is a recovering big city finance bro who leaves it all behind to start a home renovation business with his younger brother. There’s instant attraction between Sloane and Nash but the burn slow as they don’t meet until around a third of the way though.

The antagonists are two religious nutters that believe anyone brought back from the brink of death by medical intervention is subverting god’s plan. They begin to murder survivors and it’s up to the heroine to figure it out before they kill more and even her.

The bad guys in this one aren’t my favorite of the recent Nora offerings. I might just be a bit fatigued at IRL religious extremists. I did enjoy another of La Nora’s classic secondary storylines on house renovation so that balanced out my lukewarm feelings on the murderous couple.
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Series or Standalone: standalone

Themes/Tropes: trauma recovery, you can go home again, supportive & unsupportive families, religious extremism, murder, detection, home renovation, fun secondary romance

Steam/Spice Level: open door, in the room, fuzzy focus, low on the contemporary romance scale but still some fun scenes

Setting: fictional Maryland resort town

BIPOC Characters: secondary characters

LGBTQ+ Characters: not that was explicitly stated

POV: third person, past tense, multi POV including FMC, MMC, both antagonists

Cops/LEO: yes, FMC is a Natural Resources police officer, no corruption themes

Does the Dog/Horse/Cat Die? The dog,Tick, is never in peril and lives happily ever after
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Thank you St Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy. Expected publication date May 27, 2025

Hidden Nature follows Sloan Cooper, a natural resource police officer in western Maryland who is determined to earn the rank of sergeant. After a successful three-day mission capturing a trio of men who had been terrorizing hikers, things seem to be settling down. Her partner even shares the exciting news of a pregnancy. To celebrate, Sloan offers to buy him a Dr. Pepper at a gas station. What she doesn't know is that she is walking into a trap. She is shot in the chest and dies.

While clinically dead, Sloan watches her body from the hospital room. Eventually, she is revived and survives the ordeal. The experience changes her life. She returns to her parents' home to recover, and shortly after, her boyfriend breaks up with her over text. During this time, two wealthy brothers from New York, Theo and Nash, arrive in town and buy a property to launch their home renovation business, "Fix-It Brothers." Sloan's sister begins dating Theo, and over time, Sloan and Nash form a slow-burning connection that turns into a romantic relationship.

While the romance unfolds, a disturbing pattern of kidnappings grips the town. People are disappearing without a trace, leaving their personal items behind. The disturbing truth is that a deranged nurse and her unsettling husband have been abducting individuals who briefly died and were brought back to life. They interrogate their victims about what they experienced after death. When the answers disappoint them, they murder the victims and drain their blood.

With plenty of time on her hands, Sloan becomes fixated on finding the pattern behind the kidnappings. Eventually, she ends up in the middle of the investigation—and becomes a target herself. With help from Nash, she moves closer to uncovering the truth and stopping the killers.

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. I loved the mix of crime and romance. It reminded me a lot of Sharon Sala’s books, which I’m a huge fan of. Nora Roberts shines when she writes suspenseful stories like this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook!

Holy crap. Wow. More thriller than romance and more romance than women’s fiction. Sloan was rebuilding her life after getting shot. Nash was rebuilding his life after drowning in the city financial chaos. The killers were seriously whacked in the head.

Nora Roberts had me hooked from the first sentence. Like many of her novels, this book is a blend of genres. The novel begins like a thriller. But eventually becomes a slice of life, a romance and back to a suspense novel.

Corporal Cooper is shot when she walks in on a convenience store robbery. With a second chance at life, after being shocked back to life on the operating table, she must return home to recuperate. Here the book becomes a slice of life. The author details Sloan's battle back toward fitness, and describes her life back home with her loving supportive family.

Alternating chapters introduce the reader to to the eventual love interest. Nash Littlefield has ditched his career as a successful financier to follow his dream of owning a home repair business. He moved to the scenic vacation resort town that he fell in love with as a teen and bought a neglected home to fix up. The reader gets to know Nash and his brother and fall in love with them, long before Nash and Sloan meet. The dual romances are a sweet part of this story which contrast with the twisted serial killer plot that eventually develops. There are no romance story tropes of misunderstandings to prevent the eventual romance or frustrate the reader.