Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

A new novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers…

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

May 2025; St. Martin's Press; ‎978-1250370853
audio, ebook, print (448 pages); thriller

Nora Roberts is a very prolific author with well over 200 books written.  She predominantly writes romances under her name and police procedurals under her J.D. Robb pen name.   Many of her books are part of a series.  Every spring she publishes a standalone suspense novel.  Even though her books are hit and miss with me, her yearly suspense novels are always one of my favorite books of the year.  This year's book - Hidden Nature will definitely make my top 20 books of 2025 list.

Sloan Cooper always knew that she wanted to be a Natural Resources police officer.  Her parents were supportive but disappointed that she didn't stay in the family business of providing events and rentals for visitors to their beautiful Maryland lake.  As the book begins, Sloan and her partner are returning after taking down three men who were preying on hikers.  They stopped at a convenience store, and Sloan unknowingly walked into the store in the middle of a robbery.  She was shot and in very serious condition.  Her heart stopped when she got to the hospital, and she was shocked back to life.  When she finally got out of the hospital, she had a long recovery ahead, so she moved out of her apartment and back into her parents' home.

She was bored being out of action and intrigued by a recent news article about a woman who disappeared on a trip to the grocery store.  What was strange to Sloan was that her car was left in the parking lot of the busy store.  She began to do some research to find out if there were similar abductions in her area and finds cases spread across three states.  The only problem is that they were in different locations, different ages, and there didn't seem to be any commonality between them.  When she gets a promotion in her area, she decides to buy a fixer-upper house.  The local handyman has just moved from his job as in NYC to the area to fix up his own house, and when she starts to work with him on ideas for her house, there are sparks between them despite the fact that neither of them wants a relationship with anyone!  The further she goes with her investigation, the more her own life is in jeopardy.  Will she solve the cases before the 'bad guys' take her out?

I found it interesting that there were a lot of chapters from the point of view of the killers, where the readers learn about their lives and the reasons for this killing spree.  Neither of them had any remorse and felt like they were doing a favor for the people they killed.

This book was a real page-turner for me, and I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it.  Nora Roberts once again brings her readers a suspenseful story with some of the cruelest killers I've read in a long time.  There's also a slow-burning romance with a guy who seems perfect for Sloane, family care and love, and a lot about decorating and re-doing houses.  This was a book that I will remember long after I finished reading it.

Buy Hidden Nature at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.