Love the story! Nora Roberts writes the best small town family drama with a great mix of mystery, romance, and the supernatural. And both main characters have interesting jobs in this story.

A strong heroine coming back from a devastating injury, a handsome hero who is good with his hands, lots of home renovation, loving family members, a few adorable dogs, and villains who must be stopped – Hidden Nature has all the hallmarks of a classic Nora Roberts romantic suspense. I’ve been a fan of Nora Roberts for decades so it pains me to say that as much as I wanted to love this book, it isn’t up to her usual standards.

Sloan and Nash are likable protagonists. Sloan is recovering from a gunshot wound when she comes home to Heron’s Rest and she is determined to get her strength back. Roberts’s newsletter revealed that her starting point for this book was learning about the Natural Resources Police Department and honestly seeing Sloan’s job was one of the more interesting parts of the story. Nash left the high-powered world of Wall Street to become a contractor in Heron’s Rest. He’s strong and guarded, but incredibly kind and very supportive of his younger brother. Separately, our hero and heroine are entertaining, which is good because it takes quite a while for them to meet. Together, they are a solid couple whose romance is understated and honestly could use a bit more time and attention. The story dragged a bit until things started picking up with them so more time with the romance would have perked things up. And while I do love home renovation and have enjoyed it in many a Nora Roberts novel, it took over this story way too much for my liking.

Another couple is at the heart of Hidden Nature and that’s the villains, Clara and Sam. They are, in a word, creepy. Their mission is horrible and I didn’t love reading about it over and over when it didn’t feel like much new was added in the repetition. It felt like they had as much page time as Nash and Sloan, which just didn’t work for me (but your mileage may vary). Hidden Nature isn’t bad, but having read and loved the majority of Roberts’s work, it just doesn’t compare.

After surviving a near death experience, Natural Resources police officer Sloan Cooper returns to the small town of Heron’s Rest to recuperate under her family’s care. While she convalesces she becomes intrigued by a missing persons case and as more people begin to go missing she suspects a pattern that leaves her as a potential victim. With the help of her handsome neighbor and love interest, Nash, Sloane will do whatever it takes to find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Thanks, Nora, for giving me yet another reason to be afraid to leave my house.

I found this book to be both delightfully romantic and deeply unsettling. As usual, I was captivated by Roberts’s eloquent but straightforward writing. I appreciated Sloan’s strength and independence when faced with adversity, yet there’s a touching vulnerability she and Nash share when they’re together that made their romance all the sweeter. The small town setting and supportive found family dynamic were the perfect foundation to build that romance upon.

Check this one out if you like small town thrillers with a found family vibe and HEA ending. Pairs well with a bottle of beer on the patio with your favorite canine companion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My first Nora Roberts book and now I need to nose dive into the rest. The story telling is SO GOOD.
I felt like there was a movie in my mind. There was so many things going on, this book could be for anyone. Romance, mystery, thriller, a bit of paranormal. Great read! ✨

Nora Roberts is the queen of romantic mystery!!!!!!!!!!! I love all of her books and this one does not disappoint readers.

I enjoy Nora Roberts' fantasy trilogies, and I enjoy her writings as JD Robb, but to me the best writing Ms Roberts does is the stories like Hidden Nature. Character is on a good life path, but then something tragic happens and sometimes changes the protectory of their life, but they work to overcome it and life seems to be better in the end. I like following the story knowing that we'll have a happy ending at the end.

Sloan is a perfect main character for this setup. She seems to have her life set up and then she gets shot. She works hard to overcome, but continues to have setbacks. Eventually she heals and finds her purpose along the way. Drea, Theo, and Nash are great complimentary characters to Sloan's story. I loved Theo and Nash's story as well and am happy they found a place/family where they belong. I do think a prologue would have been fun, but also like where the story ended.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The storyline was intriguing and gripping, but fairly predictable. I liked that it had romance, drama, mystery and suspense- all in the same book. It did lose my interest in the middle because the pacing was so slow and it felt like a DIY manual for renovating a house.

Hidden Nature is the latest romantic suspense from Nora Roberts. It is about a cop who is recovering from a serious injury, when she comes across a missing person case that grabs her attention. The missing person case turns into something much bigger and she ends up getting close to solving it when the people responsible turn their sights on to her.
This was an interesting romantic suspense story that takes place in a small town. I really liked Sloan and Nash and their family and loved ones very much. They were very relatable. It just caught me a little off guard with the gruesome dialogue between the suspects. I really liked how close Sloan was with her family and her hometown. I really liked how strong, independent, and smart Sloan was and that Nash didn’t mind.

Traveling With T’s Thoughts:

I always look forward to a Nora Roberts book every summer and I did enjoy this book, except for a couple quibbles I had with it.

The romantic suspense that I love in a Nora Roberts book was there. The family- loved them!

But, there was 2 characters who absolutely grated my nerves with their rinse and repeat dialogue.

What I liked:

The cover! Loved it!

Sloan. I loved her grit and determination. I loved how she fought like hell against some of the cards that had been stacked against her.

I loved the small town feel of the book. Nora takes so much time setting up so many details and making stuff where you can see it it in your mind.

Bottom line: While this was not my absolute fave Nora Roberts book, I really enjoyed most of it. Already looking forward to her next book!



*This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.*

I spent every spare moment I had reading Hidden Nature by. Nora Roberts. It has everything that makes a "best book" for me - suspense, crime, romance, and family in one great story.

I really enjoyed this one and it was a solid 4 star read!

As usual in NR books, the characters and settings are impeccably drawn. Roberts’ descriptions bring me right into the story, and I can perfectly imagine the people and places. The book is 3rd person, centering around 3 main POVs, and it takes place in a cute Maryland town that caters to outdoor enthusiasts.

There are a lot of side characters in this story. We mostly get surface level detail for them, with a few exceptions for the family members that play a larger role. I almost think a few of the side characters could have been dropped, but I understand their purpose in rounding out the story.

This book follows the somewhat normal pattern of Roberts’ standalone novels. There’s a badass female main character, a swoony love interest, a chilling mystery to solve, killers on the loose, and two types of families - one loving, one not so much.

While her books might seem formulaic to some, it’s exactly this fact that makes her books such go-tos for me. I know she can write a damn good book and I’ll always enjoy it. Her genre crossovers have been my favorites in recent years.

If you’ve been around my account for a while, you already know I highly recommend every Nora Roberts book and this one is no different!

Nora Roberts knows the recipe for holding her reader's attention. She applies the perfect combination of romance, suspense and heartwarming characters. Sloan Cooper is a member of the Natural Resources Police. When she returns to her hometown to recover following a life threatening injury, she decides to stay permanently. She is surrounded by her loving parents and wonderful sister. When two single and successful brothers move into the neighborhood everything seems too good to be true. Roberts adds two serial killers to the mix and the plot is perfectly stirred up. Roberts serves up another salivating story.

Nora Roberts once again proves why she’s a master of suspense in Hidden Nature, blending mystery, danger, and heart with effortless skill. Set in the charming hometown of Heron’s Rest, this story introduces us to Sloan Cooper, a determined Natural Resources police officer recovering from a gunshot wound. Struggling to slow down, Sloan is pulled into the eerie disappearance of a local woman—and soon, a much larger mystery unravels.

Roberts crafts wonderful characters with depth and warmth. Sloan is strong, smart, and relatable, and her growing friendship with Noah, a newcomer fixing up a house nearby and starting his own handyman business, adds a comforting and hopeful touch to the tension. Their connection is natural and heartening, even as the stakes rise and the danger grows closer.

Hidden Nature is suspenseful and emotional. With gripping twists and a heroine you’ll root for, this book is hard to put down. Roberts fans and new readers alike will find themselves hooked until the very last page.

Nora Roberts is a legend for good reason. Hidden Nature was exactly what one expects from her. Great characters, tons of suspense, a touch of romance and a story to keep the reader guessing until the end. This book has everything I love when reading.

Sloan Cooper is an excellent law enforcement officer. She's strong, determined and dedicated in her work with Maryland's Natural Resources department. She's also a loving daughter and sister. She and her Natural Resources partner have a relationship that is not only based in respect and trust but is also a strong friendship. Having just arrested three violent men she ironically randomly finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. She's shot when she inadvertently interrupts a convenience store robbery. She is mortally wounded and has an out of body experience during surgery. This experience will become an integral part of an investigation she pulls herself into.

Sloan is months recovering and eventually transfers to be near her childhood home in Western Maryland. There she meets Noah. A man born to wealth and incredibly successful in finance in New York, Noah is following his passion and starting a handyman and building remodeling company in the same small town. His brother, a fairly new but accomplished attorney, follows him into the business. Noah and Sloan start dating and he's perfect for her. He's completely supportive and even helps in her investigation. He's also one to look after her and take care of her personally as well as remodeling her home.

I really enjoyed Sloan, Noah, their family members, her work partner basically everyone in Sloan's life. What a great group of people. The story was steeped in great characters, intensely intriguing with lots of suspense and a clever, unique serial murder case. Roberts adds just the right amount of all the best elements to make the story enjoyable, intense and hopeful. I recommend this book to all readers.

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts didn’t quite meet expectations. While the premise had the potential for intrigue and romance, the story felt lackluster and failed to pull me in. The pacing was slow, and I struggled to connect with the characters or the plot. Ultimately, it just didn’t hold my attention, and I couldn’t get into it the way I’d hoped.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader's copy of this book. Hidden Nature is the latest standalone novel from Nora Roberts.
I had never heard of National Resource Police Officers and had to google to see if they really exist. The book starts off pretty good, meeting main character NRPO Sloan Cooper and her partner. And to be honest, that was the most exciting part of the book.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like the book, because it kept me interested enough, but I just didn’t connect to the characters. I found the killers pretty creepy and was happy they got caught but I didn’t really understand their motivation.
I always enjoy Nora’s books, and I will continue to read them, but this one was not a favorite for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

This is my first non fantasy mysteries by Nora Roberts and it won't be my last. I found it to be tense, chaotic, and fast paced.

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts is primarily a romance, with a little crime thrown in. The crime came with romance, too, although it was grisly. A couple snatched people who had been brought back to life after dying briefly during some trauma. These people thought their victims had been robbed of the death that was due them and they sought to rectify it. Sloane was the protagonist, if there was one, and the primary investigator. She was at her parents home recuperating from two gunshot wounds she had gotten, not on the job, but while she was trying to buy drinks for herself and her partner, Joel. They were both Natural Resources Police, who had just finished arresting some guys who thought the park was theirs and were accosting all “trespassers.” Joel saved her life that day although the EMT guys and the hospital staff contributed a lot, too. And yes, she had died on the table. She was rehabbing, but it was not going as quickly as she wanted it to. Then, she read about a local woman who just disappeared poof, into thin air. It caught her interest and she started looking into it, between walking and sleeping.

An enjoyable read about a loving family and two brothers who had grown up in an opposite situations. The men, now neighbors, Theo and Nash, had walked away from lucrative careers in the city and moved to this small town to rehab a wreck of a house and start a handyman business. Sloane’s parents, Elsie and Dean, owned all manner of real estate, mostly vacation rentals. Her sister, Drea, worked for them as well. Sloane had walked away to join the police. It was not long before Drea, and one of the brothers, Theo, were an item. All the while Sloane was investigating. When she and Nash became friends, one of the things that solidified that friendship was the fact she could run her ideas past him and he responded intelligently. She had had that with Joel, but she couldn’t keep bothering him. This was an enticing story, full of interesting characters, both good and bad. The plot was mostly simple and predictable, but the crime was challenging and difficult. All in all, it was a terrific read, exactly what one would expect from Nora Roberts.

I was invited to read Hidden Nature by St Martin’s Press. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #StMartinsPress #NoraRoberts #HiddenNature

Nora Roberts is great at writing suspense, a little bit of supernatural intrigue and sassiness in her main female characters. Sloan Cooper is no different in Hidden Nature. She's a police officer who is shot and nearly dies. While she recovers back home with her parents, she finds herself trying to solve a missing person's case that seems to blow up into multiples connected cases across different states. She's tough, of course, to continue working while she is supposed to be recovering...but that's what Nora Roberts does. She makes badass female heroines.

This is a thrilling mystery that will keep you engaged and cheering for good to prevail. Roberts is great at weaving romance into her mysteries without it being overtly icky sweet. In this particular saga, we find out who the villain is and get their perspective. She has written others with this same plotline, but none are never the same. They each have their own level of evilness that entices the reader to loathe the character so much, they prop the heroine up on the pedestal she deserves.

Hidden Nature fulfils all the qualities you are looking for in a Nora Roberts tale. Looking forward for more!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Nora Roberts has a way of writing books that pull the reader right in and never lets them go. Hidden Nature is one of those books. I started the book just looking for something to entertain me and keep my attention (I’ve had a book drought lately) and Hidden Nature did that and so much more. I started the book and could not stop reading. I was invested in Sloan’s story and her finding out what was happening to the people disappearing.

Hidden Nature has a few storylines that intertwine. I enjoyed that the story was not a straightforward, one storyline book. The multiple storylines gave a deeper look into the characters and their lives. The storylines are all intertwined, making each storyline important to the others. I was invested in all the characters and their stories.

I loved the romance and that it was not the focus of the story. Sloan’s family is amazing and she is so lucky to have so many people care about her. It was fun getting to see the personalities of her family come through while they were supporting her.