One woman versus the Russian Mafia? Umm...Sure.
There are five-star books that make me forget I own a mop, and then there are very good four-star books that allow the dust bunnies to remain at least mildly concerned. The Witness falls into the second category.
At sixteen, Elizabeth Fitch makes one spectacularly bad decision involving a fake ID and a nightclub and ends up witnessing a Russian Mafia hit. Suddenly, she's running for her life. Over the next twelve years, she changes identities, moves repeatedly, and does everything possible to stay one step ahead of the people who still want her dead.
Eventually, as Abigail Lowery, she settles in a secluded home in Arkansas, where she has security systems, a very large dog, and absolutely no interest in making friends. Naturally, this catches the attention of Brooks Gleason, the local chief of police.
I genuinely liked both Abigail and Brooks. Abigail is brilliant, socially awkward, extraordinarily cautious, and equipped with an eidetic memory that has helped keep her alive for twelve years. Brooks is persistent without being obnoxious about it, and I enjoyed watching him slowly work his way past the walls Abigail has built around herself. Their relationship gave the book a warmth I wasn't necessarily expecting from a story involving witnesses, murder, and the Russian Mafia.
Eventually, though, I had to ask my disbelief to go sit quietly in a corner.
Do I believe an extraordinarily intelligent woman who has spent twelve years preparing and protecting herself could be a formidable opponent? Absolutely. Do I believe one woman with an eidetic memory can essentially take on a major criminal organization and bring it down?
Ehhhhhh ... Okay, Nora. I'll go with it.
There was plenty of suspense to keep me interested, but The Witness never became a book that required a lot from me. I didn't need a notebook. I didn't need to keep track of seventeen suspects and four timelines. I didn't spend half the night saying, "Just one more chapter." It was exactly what I wanted today: something suspenseful but light enough that I could simply relax and enjoy the ride.
And yes, there are the requisite Nora Roberts sweaty sex scenes. They're not my thing, but I knew perfectly well what I was getting into when I picked up a Nora Roberts romantic suspense novel. Pages turn. I turned them.
The Witness didn't keep me up all night, and it didn't save the dust bunnies from their eventual fate, so it doesn't quite make five stars on my personal rating system. But it was a very good, satisfying, feel-good romantic suspense with two characters I genuinely enjoyed spending time with.
And as a bonus? The majority of the story takes place in Arkansas. One more state down in my 50 States Challenge! Apparently all I needed was Nora Roberts, a brilliant woman in hiding, and the Russian Mafia.
