"Contemporary Romance Meets Futuristic Romantic Suspense"

Nora Roberts combines her skills as a contemporary romance author with her alter ego, J.D. Robb, who writes futuristic romantic suspense, in this single two-part novel. Part I involves Laine Tavish, attractive owner of a small Maryland antique shop. But when her father Jack's ex- partner Willy tracks her to her business before he is killed in a traffic accident, Laine finally realizes that her past as the child of a con artist has reared its ugly head. Private investigator Max Gannon also meets Laine, as he believes that she may know where Jack hid the diamonds stolen in his most recent heist. In this crafty mix of suspense and romance, Max and Laine become allies personally and professionally as they try to discover where Willy might have hidden the diamonds during his brief visit to Laine's shop, as they must also elude Alex Cross, the mastermind of the heist who wants to recover all of the diamonds.

In Part II, readers fast forward to year 2059 when Lieutenant Detective Eve Dallas is investigating the murder of a woman who was house-sitting for her friend, Samantha Gannon, an author who wrote a book about the meeting of her grandparents, Max and Laine, and their investigation into recovering the diamonds, though the one quarter belonging to Alex Cross was never found, and he died in prison. And when Samantha's cleaning lady is found murdered, Eve and wealthy entrepreneur husband Roarke believe that the murders are somehow connected to the missing gems, as they seek to locate the whereabouts of Cross' son. No holds barred suspense and terrific romance between Eve and Roarke are carefully combined with references to the technological advances in the not too distant future.

Reviewed by Sheri Melnick
Posted October 16, 2003

Summary

Laine Tavish is an ordinary woman living an ordinary life in the small town of Angel's Gap, Maryland, as the proprietor of Remember When, an antique treasures and gift shop. At least, that's what everyone in Angel's Gap thinks. They have no idea that she used to be Elaine O'Hara, daughter of the notorious con man Big Jack O'Hara. Or that she grew up moving from place to place, one step ahead of the law . . .

Laine's past has just caught up with her, though—in a very dramatic way. Her long-lost uncle suddenly turned up in her shop, leaving only a cryptic warning before dying in the street, run down by a car. Soon afterward, her home is ransacked. Now it's up to Laine, and a sexy stranger named Max Gannon, to find out who's chasing her, and why.

The answer lies in a hidden fortune-a fortune that will change not only Laine's life but also the lives of future generations. And danger and death will surround that fortune for years to come. Until New York City detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas gets on the case.

A thrill-ride of a novel that blends present-day romance and futuristic suspense, Remember When is a tale of deceit and secrets, of strong women and fascinating men-a brilliant combination of the incomparable talents of the two sides of Nora Roberts.