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Northern Lights

by Nora Roberts

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 · rating details · 23,584 ratings · 582 reviews

The colorful, compelling novel about two lonely souls who find love-and redemption-in Lunacy, Alaska.

Mass Market Paperback, 637 pages

Published September 27th 2005 by Jove (first published January 1st 2004)

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Jan 01, 2010 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

"This book is a perfect example of why I love Nora Roberts so much. It takes a lot for me to want to move anywhere in the north where winters are long and harsh. Yet, even long after finishing Northern Lights, there is a part of me that really wants to move to Alaska. Her descriptions of its harshness, quirkiness, and more importantly, its beauty, leaves me breathless every time and makes me want to experience it myself, even though I hate winter and snow.[return][return]Meg is the perfect heroi...more

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Mar 27, 2008 Evaine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was Nate's book, not Meg's, and man, was that ever cool. One of Nora's biggest strengths is her wonderfully flawed, quirky, sexy, fully-fleshed out male characters; and with Northern Lights she finally gave the man a starring role. Depressed and broken Nate arrives in Alaska and finds a reason, a multitude of reasons, to not give up. That's the gist of it, in a nutshell. But Nora does it in such a way that it's an incredibly entertaining read.

This book wasn't so much about the romance and...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Le Letture Rosa di Anita rated it 5 of 5 stars

Ecco il libro che mi ha finalmente fatto ritrovare questa autrice dopo la delusione di "Segreti". E' la storia della rinascita di Nate, ex poliziotto di Baltimora, che accetta l'incarico di capo della polizia di Lunacy, Alaska, per superare la depressione causata dalla perdita del suo migliore amico e collega. Nate è davvero un personaggio straordinario: dolce, protettivo, dedito ad aiutare gli altri ma anche intransigente, forte e inarrestabile. A Lunacy conosce Meg, personaggio altrettanto for...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Mónica Silva rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Opinião no blog http://howtoliveathousandlives.blogsp...

Assente no Alasca, este livro permitiu-me viajar até às montanhas inóspitas, ao frio cortante da neve, ao aconchego da vila de Lunacy. Senti uma vontade irreprimível de procurar esta região, encontrar um chalé onde pudesse passar o meu tempo com uma manta nas pernas, uma chávena de chocolate quente numa mão e um livro noutra. É esta a magia das descrições de Nora Roberts, fazem-nos ansiar por uma realidade bem diferente da que vivemos!

Surpr...more

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Apr 08, 2013 Cristiana Ramos rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este livro conta-nos a história de Nate Burke, um polícia que nunca mais foi o mesmo quando assistiu à morte do seu colega, culpando-se e pensando que ele é que devia ter partido. Para tentar fugir aos seus fantasmas e para se isolar acaba por aceitar o cargo de Chefe de Polícia no Alasca, um ótimo sítio para o estado da alma dele. Se Nate achava que naquela remota vila iria descobrir a calma e a solidão, enganou-se e bem enganado! Começa por não ser totalmente aceite pela a população pelo facto...more Este livro conta-nos a história de Nate Burke, um polícia que nunca mais foi o mesmo quando assistiu à morte do seu colega, culpando-se e pensando que ele é que devia ter partido. Para tentar fugir aos seus fantasmas e para se isolar acaba por aceitar o cargo de Chefe de Polícia no Alasca, um ótimo sítio para o estado da alma dele. Se Nate achava que naquela remota vila iria descobrir a calma e a solidão, enganou-se e bem enganado! Começa por não ser totalmente aceite pela a população pelo facto de ser uma pessoa de terras estrangeiras, o que o deixa um bocado desanimado, mas tudo mudo quando um beijo com Meg Galloway na noite de ano novo. Este gesto de carinho acaba por mudar completamente Nate que se começa apaixonar por Meg e tenta reconstruir a sua vida, tal como a sua alma.

Meg é uma rapariga que também está habituada a estar sozinha e a ser independente tendo apenas a companhia dos seus dois cães, já que o seu pai desapareceu quando ela ainda era uma criança e a sua relação com a mãe não é das melhores, havendo um ambiente bastante hostil entre as duas mulheres, piorando quando a mãe de Meg, Charlotte, pretende conquistar Nate mas o chefe da polícia só tem olhos para a filha dela.

Poderia-se afirmar que aquela pequena vila no Alasca não tinha grande controvérsias os piores exemplos podiam ser um roubo, vandalismo, partidas dos adolescentes ou até acidentes com alces e ursos. Até que um dia o corpo do pai de Meg é encontrado congelado numa das montanhas, com uma picareta agarrada ao peito e dias mais tarde Max, jornalista da vila, aparece morto no seu escritório com um tiro na cabeça, deixando no computador as suas últimas palavras dizendo que tinha matado o pai de Meg e que não podia viver mais com aquela culpa. Apesar dos federais que investigavam o caso terem dito que Max tinha sido o assassínio, Nate tem um sexto sentido que o verdadeiro culpado continua naquela vila, à espera de realizar o próximo passo. E aí começa uma investigação que vai envolver Meg e todos os habitantes da vila.

Temos a escrita habitual de Nora Roberts, na terceira pessoa e em várias perspectivas. Alguns capítulos dos livros temos ainda o conhecimento de algumas passagens do diário do pai de Meg, dando-nos algumas pistas de quem seria o assassínio. De todas as obras que já li desta escritora, este volume foi o segundo lido em que a personagem central de toda a história era um homem (Nate), tornando Meg quase como uma personagem secundária. Temos todas as personagens bem descritas e construídas, todas elas bem apresentadas ao leitor. O cenário volta a ser majestoso, com uma descrição tão fantástica que se por momentos fechasse os olhos poderia imaginar o Alasca inteiro. Mais uma vez, só descobri o vilão da história quando foi revelado (eu não era nada boa para investigadora).

Aconselho este livro a todos aqueles que gostam de um romance sensual e divertido, com uma mistura de policial. Para os fãs de Nora Roberts, não se vão desiludir com este livro!(less)

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Jan 17, 2013 Ryssa Edwards rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library_audio_book, research, 60december-2013

The setting in Alaska barely rescued this book from unreadable to tolerably boring.

The weird thing about this book is that the "minor" characters like the mayor, the pregnant waitress, Peach (the chief's dispatcher), the ex-Marine turned cop, the rookie cop, were all way, way more interesting than the main characters.

The female lead was unlikeable. How do I say this in these days of political correctness? Well, she acted like a guy when he's trying to put on his "guy-act" to protect himself from...more

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Jan 17, 2013 D-wee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nora-robert-reading-challenge, owned, romance

re-read baca novel2 NR gara2 ikutan RC di blog Ren, akhirnya bongkar2 lemari n container buku buat nyari koleksi novel2 NR lama, ketemulah setumpuk novel NR dan JD Robb yang emang dari dulu merupakan salah satu pengarang favoritku :))

setelah menimbang dan mengukur..*halah* novel yang jadi pilihanku untuk memulai Rc ini jatuh pada Cahaya Kutub/Northern Lights. Dimulailah petualangan di pagi buta (mulai baca jam 1-5 pagi berlanjut curi2 baca di kantor) suasana pagi yang hujan diselingi angin menam...more

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Jan 15, 2013 Mollie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've only read two Nora Roberts' books--this one and Tribute--and I liked this one much better. I'm still thinking about the characters weeks after finishing. I feel like I miss them and could pick the book back up and open it to a random page just to visit with them for a little while. The story is set in a remote village in Alaska, and the main character is a cop from Baltimore who gets hired by the mayor to become chef of police after his partner was killed in the line of duty. The characters...more

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Dec 12, 2012 Kara Jorges rated it 4 of 5 stars

Nora outdoes herself again. Just when it seems she has reached her peak and her work is in danger of becoming too predictable, she manages to break new ground, even while wrapping us in the familiar comfort of her prose. This book is a little different, focusing almost exclusively on the thoughts and inner turmoils of the hero, and barley scratching the surface of the heroine. Nora has made the hero the focal point of several previous novels, but her other heroines have shown more of themselves...more Nora outdoes herself again. Just when it seems she has reached her peak and her work is in danger of becoming too predictable, she manages to break new ground, even while wrapping us in the familiar comfort of her prose. This book is a little different, focusing almost exclusively on the thoughts and inner turmoils of the hero, and barley scratching the surface of the heroine. Nora has made the hero the focal point of several previous novels, but her other heroines have shown more of themselves than this one, who is so private we barely get a glimpse of who she is.

What we know of Meg Galloway is that she’s a tough, intensely private woman who flies bush planes for a living, lives five miles outside a tiny town in the Alaskan interior, alone with two dogs, and callously goes through men like Kleenex. Meg is rather more up front about sex than any other known woman, except perhaps for Sex and the City’s Samantha. She’s comfortable in that, which is okay, but we could have used more insight to explain why she is this way, since it is a trifle unusual. Similarly, Meg’s volatile relationship with her mother is also not deeply explored.

Instead, we are plunged deep into the psyche of our hero, Nate Burke, recent arrival to Lunacy, Alaska, population 504. Nate arrives in Lunacy by way of the Baltimore PD, which he quit after his partner was killed in an alley. Nate is in a deep depression, written sympathetically, but without any obvious heartstring tugs. Instead of trying to make us cry over Nate’s sadness, we are shown his efforts to fight it off and move on to better things.

After several weeks of busting up fights and corralling drunks, Nate suddenly has no time to brood on his past when, after having gone missing 16 years before, Meg’s father’s murdered body is discovered in an ice cave 10,000 feet up a mountain. Another murder occurs in town, fixed to look like a suicide, and Nate believes the same killer is responsible. While going through his daily small town cop routine, Nate singlemindedly pursues his murder investigation, tracking down clues and finding dead ends. Just when it seems the investigation has gone on long enough, a final damning clue lands in his hands and Nate figures it all out.

Although Nate’s collar of the murderer is a shade too dramatic, an obvious showdown to give the reader one last page-turning thrill, it plays out okay. This is a good, entertaining read filled not only with twisting, turning suspense, it gives a very engaging picture of life in a small town at the foot of the mountains in the Alaska wild. The descriptions of everything from a blizzard to the spring thaw take the reader right there, making one long to take a vacation to the far north. This book definitely gets an A.
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Jul 27, 2012 Tempo de Ler rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nate, atormentado e deprimido pelo passado, chega ao Alasca para exercer as suas funções de agente da autoridade numa pequena cidade onde não é visto como sendo mais do que um estranho.

Lutando para se integrar, estabelece contacto com os diversos moradores daquela localidades - pessoas moldadas à altura do ambiente que os rodeia: forte, agreste e, por vezes, rude.

Uma destas pessoas é Meg uma mulher que, apesar de pouco sedutora, conquista Nate com a sua simplicidade. E depressa ele se recompõe...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Andrea Hussey rated it 1 of 5 stars

Of course we start out with an unlikable character using crude language and talking about sex in a completely trashy manner, two characteristics that are sure to come in a Nora Roberts book. He’s talking about him and his group all sleeping with the same whore before they leave to go to the mountain. Ew. He’s cheating on his wife and family. How admirable.

We pick up with the main guy and there’s more crude language. The 1st person he meets tells him there’s an older woman that’ll try to get in...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Jane Stewart rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: romantic-mystery

Really good mystery, some romance to go with it, feel good ending, enjoyable escape.

STORY BRIEF:
Nate was a cop in Baltimore. His partner was killed on the job. Nate felt responsible and was sad, withdrawn and depressed for months. He left Baltimore to become police chief of a small town in Alaska, hoping to further lose himself. He meets Meg who is a fiercely independent bush pilot, flying people and supplies around Alaska. She has more masculine traits than feminine and is the initiator of casu...more Really good mystery, some romance to go with it, feel good ending, enjoyable escape.

STORY BRIEF:
Nate was a cop in Baltimore. His partner was killed on the job. Nate felt responsible and was sad, withdrawn and depressed for months. He left Baltimore to become police chief of a small town in Alaska, hoping to further lose himself. He meets Meg who is a fiercely independent bush pilot, flying people and supplies around Alaska. She has more masculine traits than feminine and is the initiator of casual sex. Some mountain climbers discover a dead body with an axe in his chest. The body has been sitting in a cave on the mountain for 16 years. Nate’s cop instincts awaken as he investigates. The murderer starts doing things to stop the investigation.

REVIEWER’S OPINION:
It was a long book and a little slow at first. But the last half made it worthwhile and kept me interested. It was an interesting group of characters. I enjoyed watching what life was like for a small town police chief, breaking up fights, taking care of drunks, dealing with teenage orneriness. Nate was a good man, taking care of his town. But when murder happened, he turned back into the tough, Baltimore cop - investigating and protecting. Solving the murder and his relationship with Meg brought him back to life.

I would have liked a little more understanding of the motivation for the murder. The love story between Nate and Meg could have used more relationship development. It started with Meg wanting casual sex and later they sort of realized they were in love. It was ok but could have used a little more sizzle. I enjoyed the Alaskan lights in the sky, the beautiful wilderness, and the lifestyle.

DATA:
Story length: 635 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 10. Setting: 1988, 2004 and 2005 Alaska. Copyright: 2004. Genre: romantic mystery.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a listing of my reviews of other Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb books, see my 4.5 star review of "Angels Fall" posted on 6/30/08.(less)

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Dec 28, 2009 Tina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance-contemporary

I liked this one. Nora Robert is, in recent books of hers that I've read, 3 for 3 with the prickly heroines/cool heroes. Like Birthright and Tribute, I liked the hero more than I liked the heroine.

Police Detective Nate Burke comes to a small town Lunatic, AK (pop. around 600) to get away from the crushing despair he's felt since his partner in Baltimore died in an alley in his arms. Nate is hired on as the Sheriff of the small town. Over time he begins to heal while taking in the quirks of both...more

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Jan 10, 2010 Chinablue_25 West Bostedor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is about a Baltimore Homicide Detective, Nate, who lost his partner and best friend in the line of duty, and suffering from great depression decided to take a job as the first sheriff in a small town in Alaska. The towns name is Lunacy which is oh so symbolic of some of the townspeople and of the pointless crimes that plague the town. The petty theft and damage of private property starts after a local mans body is discovered on the mountain frozen solid for 15 years from when he was th...more

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Nov 19, 2010 winda rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-borrowing

Cerita tentang Nate Burke, seorang detektif yang dulunya merupakan detektif Kepolisian Baltimore. Dia memutuskan berhenti dari pekerjaannya sebagai detektif karena merasa bersalah atas kematian partner baiknya kemudian menerima pekerjaan sebagai kepala polisi di kota Lunacy. Kota Lunacy adalah sebuah kota yang terpencil di pegunungan Alaska.
Kota Lunacy merupakan kota yang sangat tenang dengan kepemimpinan seorang wanita,Anastasia Hopp. Selama beberapa minggu bertugas, tidak ada kejahatan berat d...more

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Nov 11, 2010 Cheryl Landmark rated it 5 of 5 stars

Although I'm not a fan of her romance novels, I've read a number of Nora Roberts' mysteries and fantasy trilogies and I think she's a very prolific and good writer. I found this book to be no exception. I loved Nate's quirky sense of humour and his interactions with the many colourful characters in the small Alaskan town where he moves to pick up the pieces of his life and start over again. I love my female heroines to be strong and independent, but sometimes Meg was just a little too prickly an...more

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Oct 11, 2012 Pat rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, always-worth-re-reading, mystery, naughty-bits, random-novels, romance, suspense-thriller

3.5stars actually. Reflection & Redemption

The story starts off slowly as introductions are made all around and we become familiar with the breathtaking beauty and the eccentricities of Lunacy, Alaska just as former Baltimore detective Nate Burke takes up his duties as the new sheriff. Nate is still struggling to deal with a severe case of survivor’s guilt and job burnout when he realizes he still has some living to do and a number of reasons not to give up. One of those reasons comes in the...more 3.5stars actually. Reflection & Redemption

The story starts off slowly as introductions are made all around and we become familiar with the breathtaking beauty and the eccentricities of Lunacy, Alaska just as former Baltimore detective Nate Burke takes up his duties as the new sheriff. Nate is still struggling to deal with a severe case of survivor’s guilt and job burnout when he realizes he still has some living to do and a number of reasons not to give up. One of those reasons comes in the form of bush pilot Meg Galloway who also has a matching set of crazy luggage and stirs Nate as he hasn’t been stirred in a while. In a refreshing change of pace (for me) this journey is more Nate’s (re)awakening than Meg’s. Nate settled into the community, earning respect as he went. The new friendships and romance that were built helped him come to grips with his past, live within his present and work toward his future. So for him Lunacy is a place for redemption and reflection.

I felt the broad strokes of relationships and representations of the township were initially caricatures of normal life in an insular remote township. They became clearer (or more acceptable) to me as they did to Nate since to me he represented the reader discovering life in “The Last Frontier”. (The official state motto is also apropos for Nate.) The idiosyncrasies of the people from the blowsy, aging former beauty who still thinks she can and should have every man to catch her eye to the non-traditionally feminine women who know that life here is only a few steps from the wilderness read perfectly. The quirks of the battling brothers to the fishermen that drink according to their body clocks as opposed to the physical clocks and watches give the town a realistic feel. I think the character most easily overlooked or taken for granted here is the backdrop of Alaska itself, as this is no less a love-letter to the sometimes cruel unforgiving beauty of the land. The relationship between our star couple didn’t seem balanced and I liked Nate a lot more than I liked Meg. I never connected with her or found her a sympathetic character (too brash for my taste). Also to me the sex felt more a meeting of the bodies than a meeting of desire, though that could be because of my non-feelings for Meg. The strongly written and gently woven mystery is a part of the story before you realize it and added the perfect amount of tension – but went on overlong for me. While I did like the final reveal, I thought the arrest was overly dramatic.

I’ve had this so long, I’d forgotten about it but a Nora Roberts novel is good no matter when you read it. And despite my grumblings, I did enjoy my visit to Lunacy.
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May 14, 2012 Hope rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I got this book from my local library, it’s been a while since I read any Nora Roberts books. The reason I wanted to read this book was because I saw that there was a movie based on this book. So I thoughts to myself I will read the book first and then I am going to watch the movie. I have not seen the movie yet, but I am planning to do so sometime soon.

Northern Lights was a good read but I have to say that this book was too long. It was around five hundred and seventy five pages, in my opinion...more I got this book from my local library, it’s been a while since I read any Nora Roberts books. The reason I wanted to read this book was because I saw that there was a movie based on this book. So I thoughts to myself I will read the book first and then I am going to watch the movie. I have not seen the movie yet, but I am planning to do so sometime soon.

Northern Lights was a good read but I have to say that this book was too long. It was around five hundred and seventy five pages, in my opinion it was two hundred pages too long. This story could have been told in 350 pages tops and nothing would have been lost story line wise. I was getting bored towards the end and inpatient, I just wanted it over with. The story line and the setting was very good and I enjoyed reading about Alaska and their winter and spring. It was interesting and I wanted to visit this place and try living there. But then I got over it because I do not like winters and cold. But I do like snow which does not make sense I know. How can you like snow but hate winters and cold? What can I say sometimes I do not make sense!

Nate Burke moves to Lunacy Alaska after his partner gets killed in line of duty, he moves there looking for a new start something that will not remind him of his previous life. I liked Nate, he was a well constructed character, he is smart, attractive, brave, kind, good at his job and does not kiss ass. I do not think that I have read any Nora Roberts book that were written from male POV. Like I said it’s been a while since I read anything by Nora Roberts. Meg Galloway, was also a fun character, I liked how free and independent she is. I like the fact that she does not conform to the stereotypical female role that we usually see in romance books. But rather we have a female who is a bush flyer, knows how to hunt moose and bear and other wild like. She knows how to survive in wilderness of Alaska. I liked the Nate and Meg together, I liked the fact that it was not love at first site, but rather lust at first site. I liked the way their relationship progressed throughout the book. Also I liked Meg’s mother and how their relationship is messed up. I think Meg thinks herself different than her mother but underneath it all they are the same.

The author does a good job with the mystery part of the story, finding of Pat Galloway’s in a cave. The murder of Meg’s father was interesting twist to the story, but I have to say that half way through the storyline becomes boring. It is boring because it is so slow moving. It was boring even with another “suicide” that occurs. It was just to slow moving for my taste and that is why I thought that the book could be 200 pages shorter.

Overall this was a good read. It was well written and there was a lot of character development, beautiful and interesting setting. Mystery was well done, bit on the long side. I give this book 3/5 STARS – Happy Reading!!!(less)

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Dec 14, 2012 Jacob Proffitt rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: steamy, romance

I've come to think of some of Roberts' books as travelogues. These highlight a location (and sometimes a profession) that is unusual or distinctive in some way. Roberts does an excellent job of evoking these locations and the people who live there. She draws you into their lives and brings you not just to understand them but to see why they are who they are and what their homes mean to them as well.

Needless to say, this book is one of this type. In this one, we get to know a small town in Alaska...more

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Sep 01, 2009 Jean Oram rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: chicklit-romance-womensfiction

I have to admit, this is the first Nora Roberts I’ve read, and it’s a big, fat one.

Take one depressed Outsider cop from the lower 48 and toss him into a secluded Alaskan town named Lunacy. He’s the first chief of police they’ve ever had. Take one tough, supremely independent woman who owns Alaska’s a$$. Add in the discovery of a 16-year-old murder. Stir in a bunch of grumpy locals who all seem to have motives and means, and at the same time, don’t. Voila, you have a rocket full of conflict ready...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Delicious Strawberry rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nora-roberts, romance

I am a person who generally goes for science fiction and historical novels, but I am willing to try other novels. Danielle Steel disgusted me, and I was afraid that I might feel the same if I picked up a Nora Roberts book. My first read was the Jewels in the Sun trilogy (which I didn't enjoy that much) but I decided to give Ms. Roberts another chance.

I wasn't disappointed. While not quite five-star, this book does come close. The storyline is interesting and fun to read, the plot twists keep you...more

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Aug 02, 2012 Jennifer rated it 2 of 5 stars

I’m going to open by saying it took me a long time to read this book. There was a good plot and a sweet subtle romance; the story just didn’t jump up off of the page at me.

Chief Ignatious (Nate) Burke’s story will break your heart and make you want him to have a happily ever after. His wife leaves him after telling him she was having an affair, he gets shot, his partner gets killed. It he had a dog it would have been run over by a truck. In the throes of depression, he decides to take a job at t...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Christianne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This novel would've been perfect except for Charlene's attitude or better yet her presence. I actually though that she would have a more important role or that we would get to see her change in the book. I mean, she did change but not enough for me to be convinced that she's an okay person.

It's kinda funny though that Nate's scared of Charlene. And he's always in the middle when mother and daughter butt heads. Meg was very straight forward and headstrong. I liked her but it just bothers me th...more

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Dec 30, 2011 Lingling rated it 4 of 5 stars

Accidently picked up this one in a snowy afternoon. Thought it will be a light read among Nelson Demille; Lisa See & Jeffrey Archer. Oh boy, was I wrong on that note! Never known the night sky in Alaska can be so spectacular and surreal; never understood a person's depression can be such a dark void like a black hole. Only on Chapter 5, kept wondering... will love fight off the depression in real life? is the night in Alaska truly as beautiful as it was described??? The bottom line is that o...more

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Jul 13, 2010 Samantha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

Out of the many, many Nora books I've read, this one pleasantly surprised me. It's unlike any of her other books, this one having more "gore"... but it was still such a nice read. Very well written, and of course, no one can set a scene that makes you feel like you're standing in the middle of it like Nora Roberts can, even if that scene is Alaska.

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Aug 16, 2009 Debbie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: brain-candy

I bought this book to read as I needed something light to while away a plane flight after a torrid trip away. This was perfect escapism and as always Nora Roberts sets her stories in places of beautiful scenery which also helps to transport yourself away from reality.

This book is set in Alaska and is a mystery/romance combination. Damaged cop Nate accepts a job as Chief of Police in a very small town called Lunacy in the backblocks of Alaska. He had been shot and wounded in Baltimore in a confro...more I bought this book to read as I needed something light to while away a plane flight after a torrid trip away. This was perfect escapism and as always Nora Roberts sets her stories in places of beautiful scenery which also helps to transport yourself away from reality.

This book is set in Alaska and is a mystery/romance combination. Damaged cop Nate accepts a job as Chief of Police in a very small town called Lunacy in the backblocks of Alaska. He had been shot and wounded in Baltimore in a confrontation that took the life of his partner. Nate blames himself for the death of his colleague and is suffering from depression and survivor guilt. Alaska is a make or break decision for him and he arrives at the beginning of winter, where daylight only lasts for a few hours and the cold is intense. It doesn't seem like a good place to recover from depression!

Nate gradually gets to know the colourful residents of Lunacy, some of whom are resentful of him being an 'Outsider'. He finds himself attracted to a bush pilot called Meg Galloway, while fending off the advances of her oversexed mother. While the depression still overwhelms him at times he starts to feel a sense of purpose in this close knit, isolated community, and the petty crime matters he is called upon to deal with are enough for him in his damaged state.

Then three boys become lost on a mountain and take shelter in a cave where they discover a frozen corpse with an iceaxe through the chest. The corpse turns out to be Meg's father who took off one day and simply never returned. As he was an unreliable character everyone had assumed that he had simply taken off and the realisation that he had been murdered is a shock. Then one of the residents of Lunacy is found dead in an apparent suicide with a note left on his computer confessing to the murder of Meg's father. While the Federal police are happy to accept this, Nate's instincts tell him that there is something fishy here and he sets out find out the truth as to who murdered Meg's father. In doing so he also rediscovers his purpose in life and is able to beat his depression.

The mystery aspect was well written with a number of possible suspects. I guessed at who it was but later rejected that choice so Nora Roberts had me wondering right to the end. The romance was enjoyable and the Alaskan scenery simply stunning. I don't think I could survive a winter in such a harsh climate with so little daylight, but I'd love to see it in summer. Perfect aeroplane reading.

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Dec 01, 2009 Stacy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-romance

Nate Burke, a Baltimore police detective, blamed himself for the death of his partner in a shootout, and the resulting anger and grief sent him into a depression so dark and deep he thought he would never climb back out. Then Nate decides to accept the position of police chief in the small town of Lunacy, Alaska, and it seems as if life is giving him one more chance. Things are certainly different in Lunacy, and Nate begins to enjoy his encounters with the town's colorful inhabitants, especially...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Elizabeth rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book very much.

I liked Nate and Meg, as well as a hosts of everal other colorful towns peole in this story.

I understand the politics behind Nate, and his being "appointed" as the chief of police in this small town in Alaska. Nate being considered an "outsider", by many with his "lower 48" ways.......

As ususal, there was the strong willed, independant woman, Meg, who was not looking for love, but it found her anyway.

This was a fast read, and an enjoyable tale.

As usual, Nora, with h...more

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Jan 05, 2009 Morgan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: alaska, romance-p-q-r

I don't like to give bad reviews, but sorry, Nora really missed it with this one. As an Alaskan woman, I was offended by her portrayal of Alaskan women. The only character in the book I liked was her hero. Every other character came across as stupid, slutty, selfish, greedy, or a combination of all the above, and it didn't matter if it were the men or the women.

I once read a reader review in which the reader gushed about how she now knew what Alaska was really like. Well, that was Alaska in some...more

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Feb 18, 2011 Bridget rated it 3 of 5 stars

I am not going to review every Nora Roberts book that I have read in the past because she is quite prolific and it would get redundant and I honestly cannot remember all the plots. I think someone finds someone else attractive but at least one cannot admit it so there is sexual tension, then lots of sex, and then they live happily ever after? Sometimes there is some magic , a family legacy, or a mystery. Certainly not great works of literature (however still 100% better than “the grapes of wrath...more

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Memory in Death
by J.D. Robb

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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Trivia About Northern Lights

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Quotes from Northern Lights

“I don't kick a man when he's down, unless I'm the one who put him down in the first place. I don't put him down unless he deserves it. And I don't break my word if I give it. So I'll give you my word.” — 142 people liked it

“What are these?”
Meg looked at the rings of keys in Nate’s hand, deliberately furrowed her brow. “Those would be keys.”
“Why do you need so many keys?”
“Because there are so many locks? Is this a quiz?”
He jingled them in his palm while she continued to give him a sunny, innocent smile. “Meg, you don’t even lock your doors half the time. What are all these keys about?”
“Well… There are times a person needs to get into a place, and hey, that place is locked. Then she would need a key.”
“And this place that, hey, is locked, wouldn’t be the property of that person. Would that be correct?”
“Techincally. But no man is an island, and it takes a village, and so on. We’re all one in the Zen universe.”
“So these would be Zen keys?”
“Exactly. Give them back.”
“I don’t think so.” He closed his fist around them. “You see, even in the Zen universe I’d hate to arrest my wife for unlawful entry.”
“I’m not your wife yet, buddy. Did you have a search warrant for those?”
“They were in plain sight. No warrant necessary.”
“Gestapo.”
“Delinquent.” — 20 people liked it

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