Today’s friend is the Jonetta from Blue Mood Cafe. I “met” her when we were both with The Book Nympho, for 3 years 2015-2017. She was always so helpful to me, as I knew so little. I didn’t even format my own posts at first! She reads such a wide number of genres and an excellent quality of books.
Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Shelter in Place by Nora Roberts Narrator: January LaVoy
Published by Brilliance Audio on May 29, 2018
Genres: Romantic Suspense, Mystery
Length: 15 hours, 22 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble
Sometimes, there is nowhere safe to hide.
It was a typical evening at a mall outside Portland, Maine. Three teenage friends waited for the movie to start. A boy flirted with the girl selling sunglasses. Mothers and children shopped together, and the manager at the video-game store tended to customers. Then the shooters arrived.
The chaos and carnage lasted only eight minutes before the killers were taken down. But for those who lived through it, the effects would last forever. In the years that followed, one would dedicate himself to a law enforcement career. Another would close herself off, trying to bury the memory of huddling in a ladies' room, hopelessly clutching her cell phone--until she finally found a way to pour her emotions into her art.
But one person wasn't satisfied with the shockingly high death toll at the DownEast Mall. And as the survivors slowly heal, find shelter, and rebuild, they will discover that another conspirator is lying in wait--and this time, there might be nowhere safe to hide.
In the space of a few minutes, the lives of those visiting or working at the DownEast Mall and adjacent theater in Rockpoint, Maine were permanently altered. Three shooters decided that whatever was wrong in their lives warranted the selfish actions they took in those moments. Survivors Reed Quartermaine and Simone Knox followed paths that weren’t part of their original destinies until that event in the mall. Reed went into law enforcement and Simone expressed her feelings through art.
I first thought this was going to be a story about a mass shooting and the immediate aftermath, more about the pursuit of the attackers and those involved in the investigation. This couldn’t be further from the reality as that event just serves as the context for those that survived the massacre. Reed and Simone may be the central characters to anchor the story but there’s a richness to the breadth and angles of the lives of those that surround them and others. Their relationship develops slowly and fairly organically, a quick ignition but then a slow burn. I adored CiCi Lennon, Simone’s grandmother and admired Essie McVee, the police detective who plays such a strong role in Reed’s life and decisions.
All of this is in the midst of a really diabolical character connected to the mall shooting. This person was chilling, a true psychopath hiding in plain sight. You’re just not going to breathe easily until the creep is stopped. The tension is constant but it doesn’t detract from some truly lovely moments throughout the book.
I loved and inhaled this book, as I knew I would, especially when I learned January LaVoy was narrating the story. She delivered her typically outstanding performance, which made this one of my more favorite reading experiences.
About January LaVoy
photo: Scott Sherratt
January (she/her) is an Atlanta-based actress, best known for her role as Noelle Ortiz-Stubbs on the long-running ABC daytime drama ONE LIFE TO LIVE. She has appeared on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters across the country, and guest starred on several prime time network series, including Elementary, Blue Bloods, and N0S4A2. She is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA, and was a faculty member in the Department of Theater and Dance at Emory University from 2019-2021.
An Audiofile Magazine “Golden Voice” since May 2019, January has an extensive body of work in both narration and commercial voiceover. With hundreds of audiobook titles to her credit, she has received more than thirty Earphones Awards, eighteen Audie Award nominations (including seven wins), and was named Publishers Weekly’s “Audiobook Narrator of the Year” for 2013. Her voice has been heard in national campaigns for dozens of products, and she shares a 2020 Grammy nomination with Meryl Streep and the cast of the Charlotte’s Web audiobook, in which she plays the title role of Charlotte.
About Jonetta at Blue Mood Cafe
I LOVE reading, enjoying quite a few genres. I’m open to exploring new authors and appreciate those who not only write well but can deliciously craft a character and a tale. My tastes are fairly eclectic and I’m open to most genres. You’ll see that in my blog reviews.
I live in Greensboro, NC but hail from Virginia. You can find me on Goodreads where I’m very active in many groups.
About Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts was born in Silver Spring, Maryland, the youngest of five children. She married young and settled in Keedysville, Maryland where she worked briefly as a legal secretary. After her sons were born she stayed home and tried every craft that came along. A blizzard in February 1979 forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old.
Born into a family of readers, Nora had never known a time that she wasn’t reading or making up stories. During the now-famous blizzard, she pulled out a pencil and notebook and began to write down one of those stories. It was there that a career was born. Several manuscripts and rejections later, her first book, Irish Thoroughbred, was published by Silhouette in 1981.
Nora met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Since that time, they’ve expanded their home, traveled the world and opened a bookstore together.
Through the years, Nora has always been surrounded by men. Not only was she the youngest in her family, but she was also the only girl. She has raised two sons. Having spent her life surrounded by men, Ms. Roberts has a fairly good view of the workings of the male mind, which is a constant delight to her readers. It was, she’s been quoted as saying, a choice between figuring men out or running away screaming.
Nora is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the publishing industry. Recently The New Yorker called her “America’s favorite novelist.”
| Rating Breakdown | |
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| Narration (Audio) |
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Thank you, Anne, for your kind words and for featuring my post on your site. You’re truly a remarkable person.
Jonetta, you are the best!!! Thank you for visiting today. I just bought this one and hope to listen to it sometime soon.
Really enjoyed your review, Jonetta. It’s been many years since I’ve read anything from Roberts but this one definitely sounds worth checking out. The subject is (sadly) timely and it’s interesting to get a look at the aftermath of such an event.
Thanks, Tanya! I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. Roberts writing has evolved significantly over the last couple of years and her newer stories are exceptional.
Only last year did I finally read some Nora Roberts with her Year One and the first eleven of her In Death series. I wanted to try some of her other stuff. This sounds fabulous.
Thanks for sharing about it, Jonetta! And, happy Friday!
If Jonetta thinks it’s fabulous – it is.
I’m listening now and loving it!!!
This sounds great Jonetta. I love how intense the suspense is. Fantastic review!
I really need to read more of Nora Roberts work. I have liked most of what I have read but she has so many books that I can’t keep up. I will have to check this one out. Thanks for putting it on my radar.
Nora Roberts is prolific! I own this one and a few others. I need to read more too!
I am always on the lookout for a great suspense and this one sounds fantastic and I haven’t read enough Nora Roberts and do enjoy her writing. Sounds very well done and your rating alone will get me to go to the library and check it out.
I’ve read all the JD Robb stuff but not yet managed the Nora Roberts although I own some of it.
Thanks for sharing. Wonderful review, Jonetta. I’ve been reading Nora’s books for a long time and I’m always happy to get my hands on new ones.
I read my first Nora Roberts last year with Year One. I need to try more of her work and this sounds like a great one. I love January LaVoy too.
Melanie @ Hot Listens & Books of My Heart
So many things I want to start – RIGHT NOW – and I can only pick one at a time. I own this one already on audio.
Nora Roberts is one of those authors I really want to try and just don’t know where to start. Thanks for the great review Jonetta!
Well if Jonetta likes it – it’s a good one. I suggest this or more likely Year One as they are more in the genres we usually read, rather than more romance primary. I own this, Year One and Of Blood and Bone and need to get to them.
I still haven’t tried Nora Roberts but I plan on trying her under her other name, J.D. Robb this year.
I LOVE, LOVE LOVE the In Death series and I am totally up to date 40 or whatever number of books. I hope you enjoy them too!
Good review! I love Nora Roberts, but many of the reviews I’ve read have commented on the level of darkness and violence in <Shelter in Place. I’ve found a few of her books too dark/violent for me in the past, so I’m very much on the fence about reading this one.