The Search

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Tanya Eby

Length: 14 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

A canine Search and Rescue volunteer fights danger and finds love in the Pacific Northwest wilderness in this riveting #1 New York Times bestseller from Nora Roberts.

To most people, Fiona Bristow seems to have an idyllic life - a quaint house on an island off Seattle’s coast, a thriving dog-training school and a challenging volunteer job performing Canine Search and Rescue. But Fiona got to this point by surviving a nightmare: an encounter with the Red Scarf Killer, who shot and killed Fiona’s cop fiancé and his K-9 partner.

On Orcas Island, Fiona has found the peace and solitude necessary to rebuild her life with her three loyal Labs. But all that changes on the day intensely private wood artist Simon Doyle barrels up her drive with an out-of-control puppy, desperate for her help.

As Fiona embarks on training Jaws, and Simon begins to appreciate both dog and trainer, the past tears back into Fiona’s life. A copycat killer has emerged out of the shadows, a man whose bloodlust has been channeled by a master with one motive: to reclaim the woman who slipped out of his hands...

©2010 by Nora Roberts. (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"[T]he romance is finely done, with Roberts's trademark banter lighting up the page. Fiona and Simon are the main attraction, but the setting and the supporting characters - with paws and without - provide a vivid backdrop." (Publishers Weekly)

“Search-and-rescue dogs are a focal point of this wonderful tale of love and adventure. Roberts has a marvelous ability to blend in the perfect amounts of character drama, realistic romance and chilling suspense. The result - an unputdownable read! Roberts again proves why her name is synonymous with excellence.” (RT Book Reviews)

“Strong romantic suspense.... The serial killer subplot is not new, as the copycat has been done before, but Nora Roberts makes it seem fresh with her incredible writing skill as she uses the Search and Rescue canines as key elements in the exciting story line. Readers will enjoy Ms. Roberts’ entertaining Puget Sound thriller.” (Midwest Book Review)

Great read. Very Suspenseful .

Hard to put down. The use of trained dogs for rescue and to search for villain added great interest for me. It was like you could see their faces and reach down and touch them yourself.

Anticlimatic

Narrator was good. The story was slow, never got that page turning feeling. I'm a longtime fan of Nora Roberts but this was not one of her better ones.

Had potential

Unique story=plus. Terrible Male character =minus. Decent Lead=neutral. Crude language=fail.
I held on to the story, it kept my interest but the F-bombs throughout were very disappointing. The love interest was awful and made it feel like the strong main character was settling. Narrator was pretty good but I had trouble differentiating characters at times. I really expected more from a Nora Roberts book.

Bravo! what a great book

Loved it! danger, mystery, love, murder.... Great book. Kept me on the edge seat! Feinstein recommend if you love serial killer novels!

Doggone Dog Training Book

If you’re more interested in how to train your dog(s) than a good mystery/suspense, then this is your book. Otherwise, this romance book is mostly about dog training, and then dog training,—and oh, did I mention, more dog training? While I love animals, I’m disappointed I wasted my money on this book.

Another brilliant job by Nora

absolutely love her books, each time I read one it's like a actually know the characters personally. This was a great story line . highly recommend this book.

5 for storyline, 4 for audiobook

It was a great story and characters, but didn’t love the narrator and delivery as an audiobook.

Good Book

I've read this book before and loved it. I have trouble reading now, and listen more to books. I don't care for the narrator. She makes every character sound the same. All voices and inflections are identical. It's hard to tell who's doing the talking in the book because they are all alike. However, the story is great. I think I'll stick to the print version of this story.

Great character development

Unlike a runaway train that starts slowly, building up speed as it progresses until the spectacular chaotic clash between destiny and destruction, The Search maintains the riptide of suspense in a thriller that is also the story between two individuals who are happy living their lives as they are. Some individuals are able to build fulfilling years, decades even, with satisfying career paths that don’t necessarily mean they are workaholics. Yet brought together by bizarre circumstances, they find a way to meld their existence into something combining functionality and art simultaneously. Then there is the love story. . . Oh, did you think I was only referring to the individuals who become romantically involved? Well think again! The partners in crime form as strong a bond as the intense relationship of the new couple and their respective animal partners. Some violence and an adequate level of suspense throughout the book. The mystery remains as to who survives, which bonds are broken, and ultimately all are profoundly affected in the end. A fairly quick read for mature audiences.

I really enjoyed it

I read a lot of the reviews, and a lot of people complained about the dog content and the narrator's lisp. I didn't have any issue with her lisp, I personally didn't find it distracting. I also don't think the book was full of dog training. I found the book full of good content and a very interesting story. I also find dog searches fascinating so I enjoyed those portions too. At times I do wish Simon and Fiona had talked more about their past, I felt their romance started fast and it didn't feel like many exchanges had happened. But in the end I really liked the book, and would recommend it.