High Noon by Nora Roberts Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of High Noon
Book Review: Great Character Development of a Female Hostage Negotiator
Summary: 4 Stars
Many Nora Roberts fans will be surprised that this book explores how women can overcome violence in ways that are more along the lines of a Robert Crais thriller than a typical romance. If you don't care for violence, skip this book. If you are open to a story with lots of excitement, threat, and romance, you'll probably like the story quite a bit.
Phoebe MacNamara has a challenging job as a hostage negotiator with the Savannah, Georgia police department. How does a young mother end up in such a line of work? Well, if you've been a hostage whose life is saved by a negotiator, that experience could be quite an influence.
The romance part of the story opens quickly as Phoebe talks down a potential jumper and meets the attractive Duncan Swift who is immediately smitten. Swift plays a Prince Charming role in the story as an ideal man for a strong woman.
The violence soon emerges, however, when Phoebe is attacked and has to fight for the respect of her colleagues. In the background, it's clear that someone has a deep obsession about Phoebe. Can she cope with these threats?
Those challenges would be enough for a single woman, but Phoebe is the person who holds her family together . . . and has to deal with a mother who won't leave the house and a rambunctious seven-year-old daughter as a single mom. Her ex-husband puts even more stress on Phoebe before the book ends.
The book is wonderfully developed in terms of exploring the psychology of a woman handling a dangerous job while trying to lead a normal life in all other ways. Ms. Roberts does a nice job of developing some abnormal psychology at the same time to put her heroine into context.
I also liked the symbolism that covers the story as completely as Spanish moss covers the trees in Savannah. The title, for instance, has significance for the story that's quite impressive. The characters also are strongly influenced by perceptions based on past experiences and stories.
For those who are interested in sexual roles, this book is also rewarding for explaining what kind of support structure is needed to operate and "have it all."
I don't recall too many books that so thoroughly deal with women's issues and fears in pretty realistic ways. Only the romance is unrealistic . . . but such a dream element is fun rather than distracting . . . serving to further point out that strong women need accommodating men. But the romance is an important element of developing Phoebe as a character. Does she has the emotional courage to try to fit a man into her life?
To me, the book is most interesting when Phoebe is at risk. Sometimes stress can bring out the best in us. That's a worthwhile lesson to remember from this book.
Book Review: Hostage negotiator in trouble
Summary: 4 Stars
Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara knows how to talk to hostage takers, she's been doing it since she was young when her mothers' boyfriend decided to hold them because her mother, Essie, decided that she had enough of the abuse. Being strong and independent is a family trait.
Phoebe has also had to be strong because her mother is agorophobic, and her husband left her, she's also a woman in a job dominated by men, some of whom are threatened by her competence.
Her St Patrick's day parade is interrupted by Joe Ryder who plans to jump off his building because he's out of a job, his wife has moved out, and soon to be out of a house. This is where she meets Duncan Swift. They're attracted to each other.
But Phoebe's life isn't all roses, someone is playing with her and she has no idea who it is. They're starting to involve the people she cares for and threatening her job.
I thought it was an interesting read, a story of a woman who wouldn't give up, who knew her job was dangerous and hard and didn't flinch from the hard stuff. It kept me wondering who was the villan until the end. It was a book I regretted interuptions for! It falls closer to her J D Robb than some of her usual fare but it's a cracking good read.
Book Review: A good read - but something missing
Summary: 4 Stars
Great characterisation as one expects from Nora Roberts - and you are straight in at the deep end with both plot and characterisation - how does she do it - within 10 pages you feel as if you know them and your heart rate increases as theirs does!!
Anyway, Phoebe a police Lieutenant hostage negotiator - highly competent and tough is called to a potential suicide - there she meets Duncan (really great guy - lots of good friends in very useful places - and really rich!!); sparks fly and the romance is on from the start. It does however, a other reviewers have noted take something of a back seat for the majority of the novel. This is a high energy, fast paced book and whilst we find out about Phoebe's past life and her current problems with her mother (agoraphobic); the old savannah plantation house (lives there otherwise her mother will be on the street)and an arrogant, nasty male cop who really has a problem with females having any authority - it left a few loose ends for me.
It was a quick and easy read and that's why I only gave it 4 (3.5 really); entertaining and I can see the similarities drawn by others to her JD Robb series, though I confess I didn't whilst reading it!! For me it just had a little something missing - maybe it would've been better if Duncan hadn't been so wonderful and putting everything right - thereby kind of dismissing other characters.
That said, still enjoyed it and worth the read.
Book Review: ONE PROBLEM
Summary: 5 Stars
There is only one problem when you read a Nora Roberts publication... FINISHING IT....oh no, there is a second problem..waiting for the next book to come out.
Book Review: Disappointing
Summary: 3 Stars
I agree that compared with her other books, something doesn't quite work with this one...