"Taut romantic suspense thriller"

In an innocuous mall, a mother comforts her three-year-old son taking her eyes off her three-month-old daughter, when someone kidnaps the baby. Twenty-nine years later Suzanne Cullen watches a TV news clip about a Maryland archeological dig when she instantly recognizes her daughter, the site's archeologist Callie Dunbrook. When Suzanne makes contact with Callie, the forensic archeologist is sure the woman is lying because she knows she is not adopted.

Suzanne plants just enough doubt in Callie's mind for her to sneak into her father's private files where she is shocked to see the adoption papers. Her parents swear that they adopted her in good faith through a lawyer who specialized in private adoptions. Callie vows that she will find the people connected to the black market scheme and expose them. Her ex-husband Jake is backing her all the way. There are some people who want the past to stay buried and are perfectly willing to kill to make that happen.

Nora Roberts has written a very creative romantic suspense thriller where innocent bystanders having nothing to do with the black market adoption scam are killed; thus adding a touch of authenticity to the taut plot. The heroine and her ex-husband, who are slowly working their way back to each other, realize that some amoral person lacking any conscience is using misdirection to confuse and wear them down. Callie is a strong resilient woman who bends but never breaks even when the shocks and traumas keep happening. BIRTHRIGHT is a splendid drama that cannot be put down until the finale.

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted March 25, 2003

2004 RITA for Best Contemporary Single Title Finalist

Summary

When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance.

While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the project- fueling rumors that the site is cursed. And she must cope with the presence of her irritating-but irresistible-ex- husband, Jake. Furthermore, when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she is forced to question her own past as well.

A rich, thrilling, suspenseful tale, Birthright follows an inspiring heroine, an intriguing hero, and a cast of fascinating characters whose intertwined lives remind us that there is much more going on under the surface than meets the eye.