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The Search

4.05 of 5 stars 4.05 · rating details · 18,181 ratings · 1,402 reviews

The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a riveting novel where a canine search and rescue volunteer fights danger and finds love in the Pacific Northwest wilderness.

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search...more

Hardcover, First Edition, 488 pages

Published July 6th 2010 by Putnam Adult

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Apr 06, 2012 Jessi rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance, 2012, 2012-challenge, appealing-characteristic-character, contemporary

I've been getting a little worried because the past couple of Nora Roberts books haven't really tripped my trigger. But this one... was awesome.
Fiona Bristow was kidnapped almost ten years ago, the only survivor of a serial killer who would find single, athletic women, kill them and then bury them in a shallow grave in a national park. After Fiona managed to escape, the killer went back and killed her boyfriend and his K9 unit. In his memory, Fiona opened up a dog training school which does eve...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Carrie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, read-2010, suspense, audio, read-2012, re-read

Listening to audio version; Oct 2012 Narrated by Tanya Eby.

Audio review:
Tanya Eby does a great job narrating The Search My only complaint is that sometimes during conversations she fails to differentiated between speakers. Other than that, Eby nails the right attitude and atmosphere for the characters and the story. Simon comes across perfectly as the irascible woodworker who fights to keep his loner status in the face of his growing feelings about Fiona. As with the print version, I love how Ro...more Listening to audio version; Oct 2012 Narrated by Tanya Eby.

Audio review:
Tanya Eby does a great job narrating The Search My only complaint is that sometimes during conversations she fails to differentiated between speakers. Other than that, Eby nails the right attitude and atmosphere for the characters and the story. Simon comes across perfectly as the irascible woodworker who fights to keep his loner status in the face of his growing feelings about Fiona. As with the print version, I love how Roberts keeps Simon in character throughout the book. He never suddenly becomes easy to be around or generally pleasant. He and Fiano have a bumpy time, but genuinely grow to understand each other and to communicate. I really do appreciate the way Roberts showed them arguing like adults. The author shows them working through their differences without giving either one a personality transplant.

The humor was more evident to me in the audio version. I laughed out loud several times, and appreciated the dry humor of Simon more. The suspense plot worked better for me as well. I think Eby's narration brought the whole book to life. Even the choppy sentences Roberts sometimes uses in dialogue didn't irritate me as much as it did in print. The audio version raises my rating of the book from 3 stars to 4 stars.

******** Print review from Sept 2012 ********

Since every reader brings their own unique tastes and experiences to each book, it makes sense that what one reader may like, another will find tedious. I happened to enjoy the dog training aspect of Roberts' latest book. In fact, it was my favorite part. I love dogs, I love training dogs, and we have a young puppy I'm currently helping to train. I was fascinated by the description of how the search and rescue teams worked, and I enjoyed reading all the dog training tips. (Major caveat here: Throughout the book the dog owners continually throw sticks for their dogs. No reputable dog trainer would encourage anyone to throw sticks for dogs. It's dangerous if the dog accidentally grabs the stick the wrong way and it jams down his throat. years ago I lost a wonderful black lab when a stick tore through his trachea. Don't use sticks as retriever toys! Buy good, sturdy retriever toys at any pet store.) Now back to the review...

The serial killer plot line was fine. Not unique, but pretty well done and creepy enough to raise blood pressure, so it worked. I didn't care that much for Simon at first, and never thought there was much "romance" in the relationship with him and Fiona. However, as the story progressed what I did appreciate was that Roberts never had Simon step out of character. The love a good woman didn't suddenly make the curmudgeonly loner into a loving sap. Simon only grudgingly let Fiona into his life, and then only grudgingly let her stay. But in the end, they had love and trust and understanding. I really liked that. I believe their HEA because they accepted each other and loved each other anyway, not because someone did a 180 in personality.

So, while I thought the dog stuff was great, and the relationship was unique, and the mystery plot okay, what I didn't like was the dialogue. Weird, choppy sentences with stilted, awkward phrasing. Lots of incomplete sentences that sound more like facebook status updates than normal dialog. Example: At one point Fiona asks Simon if he was thinking about something. His response was, "It crossed." Not, "It crossed my mind" or even "Crossed my mind" which I could understand people saying. That's just one of many examples of odd word choices. There were some cute one liners, and I did enjoy many of Simon and Fiona's interactions, but the strange dialog kept jolting me out of the story.

(less)

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Aug 14, 2012 Karla rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Karla by: Dorsey aka Wrath Lover

Shelves: audiobook

3 Stars!! I'm still "SEARCHING" for the excitement!

Okay, so the book had it's moments, but I really expected more in the way of a thrilling read. I did like the two main characters, Fiona and Simon. Fiona was easy going, funny and a dog trainer extraordinaire! Simon was gruff, demanding, pushy...but it added to his appeal and they played well off of each other. I enjoyed the dog training aspect of the book, I love dogs, but when a book is titled The Search and the underlying plot is about a seri...more

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Jul 24, 2011 Pam rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

If you have a dog and want to train him/her then by all means pick up this book as this reads more like a "how to" guide. I like dogs but this was overkill. Seriously, page after page on how to train your dog and what's involved in search and rescue missions.

She gets a point for starting off the book really well but that's about it. There was no suspense and the killer storyline could have been so, so much better.

What I found to be unbelievable was the romance between Fiona and Simon. Nothing a...more

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Dec 27, 2010 Hazel rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: No one

Shelves: romance

I ordered this from the library for the Bodice Rippers. But it's not going to win the poll, so I can stop now. :-) But it's been an interesting experience. I think this is what you'd call romantic suspense, and I suspect it has all the elements of a successful genre novel. There's a marvellous atmospheric setting on an island in ?Washington state (Apologies, my US geography is quite poor); an independent heroine with a tragic past and an admirable job; a mysterious, slightly-rough-around-the-edg...more

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Nov 15, 2012 LibraryLass rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, library-book, s-romance, 2012

Not one of my out and out favourites of NR's, but I would far rather read one of her books than most others out there today any day of the week.

Loved Simon and Fiona both. Loved the whole premise of rescue dogs, the training involved etc. I quite enjoyed all the obvious research that went into this book.

But what I love the most about Nora Roberts books is that she never changes her characters to suit her plotlines. Simon started out gruff, impatient, grumpy and a loner and he consistently stayed...more Not one of my out and out favourites of NR's, but I would far rather read one of her books than most others out there today any day of the week.

Loved Simon and Fiona both. Loved the whole premise of rescue dogs, the training involved etc. I quite enjoyed all the obvious research that went into this book.

But what I love the most about Nora Roberts books is that she never changes her characters to suit her plotlines. Simon started out gruff, impatient, grumpy and a loner and he consistently stayed that way even when he reluctantly found himself in love with Fiona (and Jaws!). I loathe the way some authors change the guy so much between the beginning and the end that sometimes he becomes unrecognisable. I love alpha heroes, but I don't like how some authors wuss them down to suit their heroine. Simon's character never wusses (is that a word?) down, he stays who he is throughout the whole book and I just love it. NR is stunningly good at being able to keep her characters true to themselves.
She does the same as J D Robb with Eve and Roarke... although her characters always grow through her stories, they never lose themselves or their identity or their very human character traits.

IMHO this is what makes Nora Roberts a consistently great author, she is character driven, her characters are ppl you really could imagine meeting (not always liking tho). I think the realistic level makes the HEA that much more satisfying (at least to me). And to top it off I love the way she has of connecting her couples... they are just so entertaining and satisfying.

So having said that, why not a 5 star you may ask? Nitpicky things really... There was very little background on Simon (though he could park his slippers under my bed any ole time he wanted!). So although I loved his character, I would have liked a little bit more of a history for him. And the only other nitpicky thing (!) is I felt that Fiona was just a wee bit too together for me. I know that it worked for the book, but for me it just caused a bit of a pause in my reading to read that she was so together especially towards the end when things really should have gotten to her. But as I said, it worked for the book... I just personally like a bit more heroine angst in my books.

Solid 4.5 stars. (less)

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Oct 04, 2010 Brenda Audiobooks Only rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-i-ve-listened-to

Narrated by Tanya Eby Narration 4*s

I'm a big Nora fan. I'm also a dog fan. The combination of a good storyline from a favorite author with the detailed research on dog training, especially in regards to search and rescue, worked really well for me.

I really enjoyed the romance between Simon and Fiona and how it built over the course of the book, they were a great couple. This was one of my favorite romances of 2010.

The audio book version was excellent even if you had to work a little harder to he...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. I don't know how Nora Roberts writes so many high quality novels, but she's done it again with The Search. The heroine (Fiona) was strong without being harsh/bitchy, the hero (Simon) was a delightful combination of handsome, competent, loyal, and cranky without ever becoming annoying. Watching these two fall in love was a treat.

But the real stars were Fiona's and Simon's dogs. Ms. Roberts did an amazing job giving each dog their own distinct personality and they lit up the page every time...more

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Jan 27, 2011 Denae rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone (adult) who likes a good thriller

Recommended to Denae by: saw it at the library... sounded good

Shelves: mystery-books, human-interest

Found this book to be very suspenseful and hard to put down! Had to see where it ended up... liked the writing style of this author, have not read any books from her before.

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Mar 29, 2013 Stacy rated it 3 of 5 stars

I once read that Nora Roberts sued another author for plagiarism. Is it possible to sue one's own self?

This book is very similar to many other book she has written. All of her books are nearly the same to me. Same plot, same type of characters, same situations, same mysteries. Just different character names and locations. I just read this, and went back and browsed some more of her books and came across The Witness by her and the description matches what The Search is about exactly almost to a T...more

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Mar 21, 2013 Jhobell Kristyl rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-maven-s-picks-bookshelf

Source: http://bookmavenpicks.wordpress.com/2...

The Search is written by the number one New York Times best-selling author, Nora Roberts (my number one favourite author of all time!). It was published in 2010 by Putnam.

I am so happy that I purchased The Search, even if it’s in hardcover and a little bit more expensive than the paperback version. I can’t afford to wait for the less expensive paperback for this kind of amazing book.

At just the first chapter, I already cried. Miss Nora writes so we...more

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Feb 07, 2013 Al added it

EDITORIAL REVIEW:

**The #1 *New York Times*-bestselling author presents a riveting novel where a canine search and rescue volunteer fights danger and finds love in the Pacific Northwest wilderness. **

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescues. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviv

...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Lori rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: author, books-i-have-liked, books-with-dogs-as-characters, cozy-suspense-thriller, romance, suspense, mystery-cozy

I put this novel under the 'cozy mystery/cozy suspense' category of mine because that is how I felt when reading it (or rather listening to it on audio). Roberts has cleverly crafted a unique novel that has two plots going at the same time. However, an easy read. Her main character (Fiona) has a prime passion for heading a search and rescue team for canines to shine in what can canines do best -- using their both their noses and their sixth senses. However, in this novel is taken to a new level...more I put this novel under the 'cozy mystery/cozy suspense' category of mine because that is how I felt when reading it (or rather listening to it on audio). Roberts has cleverly crafted a unique novel that has two plots going at the same time. However, an easy read. Her main character (Fiona) has a prime passion for heading a search and rescue team for canines to shine in what can canines do best -- using their both their noses and their sixth senses. However, in this novel is taken to a new level by having the canines finding missing persons. Fiona was almost once a victim of a being a missing person herself but she escaped her captor -- a serial killer. Fiona not only deals with survivor's guilt as her fiancé was not so lucky but she also soon finds out that the man who was put behind bars for his sick crimes now has a copycat working for him and Fiona would be his number one prize. Being a strong-willed woman, that weighs heavily on her shoulders but she still lives life to the fullest and with wild abandon as found and seen in this novel.

Fiona not only heads a search and rescue team but she also holds training classes for canine owners. The book starts out with a man showing up at her door with what he feels like an out-of-control puppy that is hopeless to learn. While Fiona is trying to get her life back together from becoming so close to being a serial killer victim and keeping busy with her position as team leader for the search and rescue team (as well as teaching canine behavior classes) she finds herself in the middle of a possible budding romance with the gentleman who showed up at her door.

The characters come alive in this novel (as well as those precious canines) and a well paced dialogue keeps the reader's attention and readers easily feel like they know the characters. The novel was well-written with plenty of wit, humor and action. Yet, it is also one of those novels whereby you can miss several chapters and still have no problem following the story. I was grateful for this since the audio version I got from my local library had several CDs that were scratched and I had to fast forward or move onto another CD. Yet I didn't miss a beat! (less)

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Dec 19, 2012 Sumando Libros rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

¡Hola a todos!!
Aquí (yo) con otra reseña de Nora Roberts, una autora que ha sabido hacerse un espacio en mi biblioteca con sus libros de mujeres fuertes, decididas y con una lengua bastante filosa cuando se trata de convivir con hombres jejeje.

Hay que mencionar que Nora Roberts tiene una formula muy sencilla al crear un personaje principal femenino a la hora de escribir (independiente del libro/saga) pero que sin duda no deja de funcionar por el éxito de sus novelas, la formula de la que hablo c...more ¡Hola a todos!!
Aquí (yo) con otra reseña de Nora Roberts, una autora que ha sabido hacerse un espacio en mi biblioteca con sus libros de mujeres fuertes, decididas y con una lengua bastante filosa cuando se trata de convivir con hombres jejeje.

Hay que mencionar que Nora Roberts tiene una formula muy sencilla al crear un personaje principal femenino a la hora de escribir (independiente del libro/saga) pero que sin duda no deja de funcionar por el éxito de sus novelas, la formula de la que hablo consiste en: Mujeres exitosas por si mismas y completamente independiente en la carrera que decidan ejercer…. y siempre, siempre, tienen la opción de tener una pareja (repito, es una opción NO una necesidad).

En Embosacada Fiona Bristow es la protagonista, quien después de sufrir un secuestro y estar muy próxima a la muerte siente la necesidad de encontrar algún tipo de control, siendo así adiestradora de perros y encargada en jefe de un escuadrón de búsqueda canina, o sea, ella es parte de esos equipos que salen a buscar personas desaparecidas (o muertos) Aunque todo esto dentro de una pequeña isla u otras a su alrededor, trabajando así con otros adiestradores e inclusive con la policía cuando es solicitada su ayuda.

Fiona a mi parecer es una mujer que se encuentra muy centrada en mantenerse ocupada (solo deben ver su itinerario para un día normal) con el fin de olvidar la experiencia traumática que vivió hace unos años donde no solo afectó su confianza sino también su vida sentimental… por lo cual cuando llega Simon (¡¡¡babaaaaa!!!) con un don de la palabra tan parecido al de ella, con una brutalidad enloquecedora y una figura memorable ademas de un perro realmente revoltoso :P Crea sin duda una relación de 'golpes van y golpes vienen' jajaja convirtiendo toda interacción (debido al perro) en una competencia de quien se saca de quicio antes de que el otro pierda el conocimiento (es muy entretenido de leer xD)
Sobre todo porque Simon de esos hombres sin filtro que te puede decir muy calmadamente (No eres atractiva, no he salido, no salgo, ni saldría con mujeres como tu… ¡Y sin que le mueva un pelo! O.o)
Mientras Fiona es capaz de decirle muy calmadamente y con una mano en el pecho: Gracias, has llegado a mi corazón (con una sonrisa de oreja a oreja)

Aunque claro… ¬¬ todo esto se vuelve más intenso y problemático cuando un fanático del ex secuestrador y asesino del pañuelo rojo (que una vez intento asesinar a Fiona) regresa con el fin de terminar la tarea.
Bueno, hay que reconocer que estas situaciones son parte esencial de las novelas de Nora Roberts y que a mi parecer y el de muchos otros... es el toque infaltable de su sello.

Rachel.(less)

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Nov 22, 2012 Phyllis Sommers rated it 4 of 5 stars

Another truly delightful Nora Roberts novel, "The Search" captivated my attention from the moment I picked it up and didn't let it go until the final sentence of the final chapter. Fiona Bristow, a feisty redhead in her late twenties, is a dog trainer who gives private lessons and holds group classes in her small home on the island of Orcas. In addition, she organized and leads a local Search & Rescue group, selecting and training the K-9 team used for this purpose. After almost a decade, Fe...more Another truly delightful Nora Roberts novel, "The Search" captivated my attention from the moment I picked it up and didn't let it go until the final sentence of the final chapter. Fiona Bristow, a feisty redhead in her late twenties, is a dog trainer who gives private lessons and holds group classes in her small home on the island of Orcas. In addition, she organized and leads a local Search & Rescue group, selecting and training the K-9 team used for this purpose. After almost a decade, Fee's life is finally feeling settled, a sense of peace at its forefront, knowing that the man who had kidnapped and killed 12 other college coeds during Fee's last year of college, is in prison for life and thus unable to harm her. Fiona had been "The Red Scarf Killer"'s one failure, even as he left her emotionally scarred, having killed her policeman fiancé and his K9 partner as they successfully rescued her.

For the first time since those nightmare years, Fiona finds herself attracted to another man, furniture maker and artist, Simon Doyle, who has left Seattle for Orcas, to make a quiet life for himself, a life he wants to dedicate fully to his craft. Unfortunately, Fiona's sense of peace and Simon's sense of quiet are soon shattered when they learn of RSK copycat-style murders that begin to occur. It is not long before the FBI and the local Sheriff's Department determine that this "RSK II" is likely a protégé of the original criminal, George Perry, and surmise that the killer's ultimate goal is to get to Fee and rectify Perry's one mistake.

"The Search" is a perfect blend of romance, psychological and sexual tension, and is even an effective guide for some of the ins and outs of dog training. The novel imparts much insight into how dogs learn and the kinds of discipline they (and their masters) need, both for individual purposes and for the dogs and masters who are excellent candidates for the Search and Rescue team. I actually learned some things that will be helpful to me, should we ever decide to get another dog.

"The Search" is a fast-paced, delicious read, a page-turner and highly recommended.(less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Kathy Davie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: suspense, romance

A romantic suspense involving a dog trainer and a woodworker just outside Seattle.

My Take
I want to be here! Well, not the serial killer parts, but I have fallen in love with Simon's property and his workshop. I can smell the sawdust and the varnish, the brine of the ocean outside his door, the smell of the forest where he and Fiona walk with the dogs. Yup, I can smell the dogs after they've chased those balls into the ocean as well!

This is an amazing story. Well, yeahhh, it's a Nora Roberts. Jus...more

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Sep 30, 2012 Nicole rated it 3 of 5 stars

When the highlight of a book is the main character's dogs, it is probably not going to rocket onto my list of all-time favorites.

Fiona is the sole survivor of a serial killer. She managed to overcome her abductor, escape with her life, and put him behind bars - but not before he managed to destroy her life. But Fiona is a fighter and she slowly fought to get her life back, a life she enjoys as, now eight years later, she lives on Orcas Island off the coast of Seattle and runs a dog training scho...more When the highlight of a book is the main character's dogs, it is probably not going to rocket onto my list of all-time favorites.

Fiona is the sole survivor of a serial killer. She managed to overcome her abductor, escape with her life, and put him behind bars - but not before he managed to destroy her life. But Fiona is a fighter and she slowly fought to get her life back, a life she enjoys as, now eight years later, she lives on Orcas Island off the coast of Seattle and runs a dog training school out of her home. She also established a volunteer canine Search and Rescue squad to help find people who have gotten lost in the woods that dominate the island. Life is going well until copycat murders begin occurring, which makes her wonder if she will be the final target; and a handsome artist, Simon, moves in down-the-way, which makes her wonder if she is ready for the feelings he brings about that she hasn't felt in nearly a decade.

Okay, synopsis done. Now, my thoughts. My big problem with this book was the manner in which the two leads - Fiona and Simon - handled their feelings. I think NR wanted to create characters who were down-to-earth, not overly romantic, and realistic about their relationship and its challenges. I appreciate all of those aspects and it could have been a nice change from typical romance novels. However, and this pains me to say, NR went too far and developed the characters into blunt, no-romance people who were either too confrontational or too forgiving. We never got any kind of background on Simon so he just came across as a soft-hearted ass with no reason as to why and Fiona, for some reason, found his bullheadedness wildly entertaining.

As for the mystery, there wasn't a lot to it. We know from early on who the culprit is and, despite a few minor surprises, why he is doing it. However, the police are not privy to this insider information but we don't have a lot of insight into their actual investigation so this comes off as more like the tracking of an individual as opposed to a mystery. That was okay, it didn't bother me too much, but the motive wasn't incredibly complex and I would have enjoyed just a little more there.

But, then there were the dogs! Fiona had three labs (a yellow, chocolate, and black) that she trained as S&R dogs and they were total show stealers. Throw in Simon's puppy, Jaws, and I was ready to go out and adopt a pack on my own! I thought the parts that described Fiona's training classes were interesting and the S&R portions were wonderfully described. On the non-canine side, there were some great supporting characters including Sylvia, Fiona's stepmother, and Mai, vet/fellow S&R/best friend.

Overall, a solid novel by NR, which I enjoyed and read cover-to-cover in two short days. However, as far as her novels go, it will be filed away with books like Tribute and Carolina Moon instead of reaching the favorite list like Midnight Bayou and Black Hills.(less)

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Sep 20, 2012 Sarah Yoffa rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: hard core Nora Roberts fans who have an interest in dog-training

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Genre: Standalone Romantic Suspense novel (not very suspenseful though)
My usual type of read? (yes/no) Could've been!
Plot type: Could've been a taught murder mystery/crime thriller but instead was a long, drawn out and boring police investigation into something we never even got to see until the end of the book. ZERO investment into hating the Villian(s) and less than ZERO believeability in the Heroine's ability to save herself. The Hero had no interest in saving her e...more My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Genre: Standalone Romantic Suspense novel (not very suspenseful though)
My usual type of read? (yes/no) Could've been!
Plot type: Could've been a taught murder mystery/crime thriller but instead was a long, drawn out and boring police investigation into something we never even got to see until the end of the book. ZERO investment into hating the Villian(s) and less than ZERO believeability in the Heroine's ability to save herself. The Hero had no interest in saving her either.

#

First let me say I'm a pretty big Nora fan and I absolutely love dogs, especially working dogs so I find dog-training to be an interesting topic about which to read, even when it interrupts my romance novel to blast me with the info dumping thereof. What I did not enjoy was the verbosity and repetitiveness of this novel. Others have said the same thing, Nora could have trimmed 100 pages here and 50 pages there and ended up with a MUCH better book.

Instead, we got a great story concept, with a fabulous Hero and Heroine that had an amazingly entertaining dynamic between them -- and then the whole thing droned on for so long, it just fell flat. The pacing was sluggish, like dragging myself through mud just to get through each page. Every last good thing about the book was lost in the forest for the sake of the trees (no pun intended but even my snark is more witty than Nora was in this book - what the heck happened to her great wit?)

To say the least, I was really disappointed.

I think this is the first and only time I have actually had to struggle to finish a Nora Roberts book. Usually, I just fly through her work in a day, certainly in no more than 2 or 3 sittings (usually one or two) but this book...dragged, meandered, droned, repeated, mulled, mulched, chewed and then regurgitated some more. It really did not live up to "Nora Roberts" standards. It's like a first draft she declined to edit.

I got

at the same time I got this book and figured I'd have them both done in the 2 weeks my library loaned me the books. As it turned out, I had to renew (which I rarely have to do and hate doing) and now have only 4 days left to read the second book (after renewing it) because I spent a month dragging through the first book. These are not a series of books or AFAIK connected in any way, but they seemed to be themed and published around the same time so I figured I'd check them both out. I really hope the firefighters in Chasing Fire can save the day--I'd hate to have to renew the book for a THIRD time just to manage to read it! Nora books are usually done in 1-2 days, not weeks or months. Yikes, Nora, what happened? (less)

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Jul 17, 2012 Liz Collins added it

Shelves: nora-roberts

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Feb 18, 2012 Lyndi rated it 4 of 5 stars

I'm giving this book 3.5 stars.

I did like it. I did. Way more than a lot of other books I've read. I have a few complaints, though (as usual).

#1. This was an insanely long book. I usually manage to fit at least one book into a day. And that even leaves time for things like eating and sleeping. The Search took foreeeverrr! Not enough happens in this book to justify its length. But even though I'm complaining about this, I can't think of any specific scenes that could have been edited out. Maybe s...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Hands down the best suspenceful romance I have read in years -- and truly Nora Roberts at her best. If you love dogs, you'll also learn a lot about how to work with your dog (at least I did). The main character, Fiona is the only survivor of a psycho serial killer named Perry. And it is because of her that he finds himself in prison for life. However, the win over Perry cost Fiona her then-fiance, Greg and his K-9 companion, Kong. Partially to pay homage to Greg & Kong, Fiona begins a busine...more

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Jan 19, 2012 KatiD rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: a-review-ish

The Search, Nora Roberts - Fiona Bristow is a dog trainer. She works Search and Rescue with any of her three faithful Labrador retrievers, Peck, Bogart or Newman and also teaches obedience and high level training classes to other dog owners. Fee is also a survivor. She is the only person to have escaped the famed Red Scarf Killer and was influential in his capture and putting him in jail. But at no small loss to herself. Before he was captured, the Red Scarf Killer captured and killed both her d...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Nicole rated it 4 of 5 stars

It has been awhile since reading my last Nora Roberts book. As with all of the other books of hers that I have read I have enjoyed this one. The one thing I liked about this book was the action and mystery. Of course you can't forget the romance story as well. There was a bit too many romance scenes for my taste but thankfully I was listening the audio version and could fast forward.

This book is about a woman named Fiona. When she was 20 years old a serial killer captured her. With luck she was...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Robert Spillman rated it 5 of 5 stars

Engaging and sensual story about a woman who trains dogs and who works with authorities on missing person searches with her own dogs. She identifies customer's dogs that have the potential to become tracking dogs and meets one dog owner who slowly, often reluctantly, becomes a part of her life. The story revolves around an incident that occured earlier in her life with a now-imprisioned murderer. Her life is slowly transformed as this past event starts to interfere, or possibly accelerates, her...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Emily Crall rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

This book was a fast read for me. The storyline was a little expected, but with a few surprising twists. The suspence of it was ultimately what kept me going.

Fiona is a dog trainer and search and rescue volunteer. She had been stun-gunned at 21 by a serial killer, but managed to escape just before he killed her. The serial killer is now in jail, but 8 years later, killings are occurring again with the same "fingerprint" of his killings. Copycats.

From jail, the serial killer has trained someone...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Melanie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have found in the last few months that I am a sucker for a good young-adult, paranormal romance. I am still not a sucker for adult romance novels. My mom happily forced this book on me because the main character, Fiona, reminded her of me and she wanted me to read the story SO BADLY. So I caved but this book did not make me a die hard fan of the genre. I suppose I prefer more innocent love rather than a whirlwind fling turned relationship.

Ok, so you have a person who has been to depths of hell...more

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May 24, 2011 Linda Vermillion rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: always-entertaining

If you are a Nora Roberts fan, this is a typical formula book in the Nora Roberts tradition. Since I am a big fan, I found this book totally satisfying. I know that there will be romance with problems, a mystery and a happy ending. She researches her books well and is a wealth of information on the subject she is dealing with. In this case it is a search and rescue team of people and dogs. I love the information on each unique subject of a Nora Robert's book and this is no exception. If you are...more

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May 12, 2011 Tracy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romantic-suspense, non-series-stand-alone-novels

A Hit With This Dog Lover
Some call her a victim. Eight years ago she was the lone woman to escape a serial killer's deadly web. Some call her a hero. Seven years ago her fiance and his K-9 police partner were gunned down by the killer in revenge for her escape, but it was her testimony that put the murderous sociopath behind bars. Fiona Bristow considers herself a survivor. She endured. She lived. She fought back, got away, and stepped up, then pulled herself back from the shaky precipice of gri...more

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Apr 26, 2011 Shannon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Nora Roberts can always be counted on to write a good story, and this one wasn't bad. The thing is, it wasn't up to her usual standards, thus the two stars. Yep, I'm grading on a curve.

Any number of reviews will give you a synopsis of the book so I won't bother with that. I'll just cut to the chase: I didn't particularly like the protagonists. Well, okay, I liked them apart from each other. Fiona, or Fee, was kind, smart, and a good friend. She was level-headed and had come back from incredible...more

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Jan 08, 2011 Mom rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-during-2011

Really good. I like labs, am interested in search & rescue, and liked the characters.

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life-a quaint house on an island off Seattle's coast, a thriving dog-training school, and a challenging volunteer job performing canine search and rescues. Not to mention her three intensely loyal Labs. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare...Several years ago, Fiona was the only survivor of the Red Scarf serial killer, who shot and kille...more

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About Nora Roberts

aka
J.D. Robb
Sarah Hardesty

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sopho...more aka
J.D. Robb
Sarah Hardesty

Eleanor Marie Robertson was born on October 10, 1950 in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA. She was the youngest of the five children, also the only girl, of a marriage with Irish ancestors. Her family were avid readers, so books were always important in her life. She attended a Catholic school and credits the nuns with instilling in her a sense of discipline. During her sophomore year in high school, she transferred to a local public school, where she met Ronald Aufdem-Brinke, her future first husband.

In Augusy 17, 1968, as soon as she had graduated from High School, Eleanor married, against her parents' wishes. The marriage settled in Keedysville, Maryland. Her husband worked at his father's sheet-metal business before joining her parents in their lighting company. While, she worked briefly as a legal secretary. "I could type fast but couldn't spell, I was the worst legal secretary ever," she says now. After their sons, Dan and Jason, were born she stayed home. Calling this her "Earth Mother" years, she spent much of her time doing crafts, including ceramics and sewing her children's clothes. The marriage ended separating, and they obtained the divorce in January 1985.

In February 1979, a blizzard in forced her hand to try another creative outlet. She was snowed in with a three and six year old with no kindergarten respite in sight and a dwindling supply of chocolate. 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 as Nora Roberts, a shortened form of her birth name Eleanor Marie Robertson, because she assumed that all authors had pen names.

Eleanor wrote under the pseudonym Jill March a story for a magazine titled "Melodies of Love".

Eleanor met her second husband, Bruce Wilder, when she hired him to build bookshelves. They were married in July 1985. Her husband owns and operates a bookstore in Boonsboro, Maryland called "Turn the Page Books". Since that time, they've expanded their home, traveled the world.

In 1992, she decided adopted other pseudonym so to publish a futuristic-suspense novels, she first decided to use the pseudonym D.J. MacGregor, but she discovered that this pseudonym was used by another author. In 1995, her first "In Death" serial novel was published under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, the initials "J.D." were taken from her sons, Jason and Dan, while "Robb" is a shortened form of Roberts.

Eleanor has also been known as Sara Hardesty, because when the "Born In" series was released in U.K. it carried that name instead of Nora Roberts. She has since changed publishers.

Eleanor has been plagiarized by another best-selling romance writer, Janet Dailey. The practice came to light after a reader read Nora Roberts' "Sweet Revenge" and Janet Dailey's "Notorious" back-to-back; she noticed several similarities and posted the comparable passages on the Internet. Calling the plagiarism "mind rape," Eleanor sued Janet Daily. In 1997, Janet, admitted to repeatedly plagiarizing from Nora Roberts' work, and that both "Aspen Gold" and "Notorious" lifted heavily from Nora Roberts's work. Both of those novels were pulled from print after Janet's admission. She acknowledged the plagiarism and blamed it on a psychological disorder. In a settlement, Janet paid Eleanor an undisclosed sum, which Eleanor donated to the Literacy Volunteers of America.

A founding member of the Romance Writers of America (R.W.A.), she was the first inductee in the organization's Hall of Fame. She also is a member of several writers groups and has won countless awards from her colleagues and the (less)

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“Everything I know, I learned from dogs.” — 55 people liked it

“She heard music. Angels singing? she thought, dizzy. It seemed odd for angels to sing after table sex. She managed to swallow on a throat wildly dry. "Music," she murmured.

"My phone. In my pants. Don't care."

"Oh. Not angels."

"No. Def Leppard.” — 31 people liked it

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