Come Sundown by Nora Roberts [Review]

Come Sundown by Nora Roberts
Format: ebook
Source: purchased
Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Date read: February 22, 2024

Purchase Links: Paperback | Kindle

Nora Roberts
| Website | Amazon |

Synopsis (Goodreads):

The Bodine ranch and resort in western Montana is a family business, an idyllic spot for vacationers. A little over thirty thousand acres and home to four generations, it’s kept running by Bodine Longbow with the help of a large staff, including new hire Callen Skinner. There was another member of the family once: Bodine’s aunt, Alice, who ran off before Bodine was born. She never returned, and the Longbows don’t talk about her much. The younger ones, who never met her, quietly presume she’s dead. But she isn’t. She is not far away, part of a new family, one she never chose—and her mind has been shattered…

When a bartender leaves the resort late one night, and Bo and Cal discover her battered body in the snow, it’s the first sign that danger lurks in the mountains that surround them. The police suspect Cal, but Bo finds herself trusting him—and turning to him as another woman is murdered and the Longbows are stunned by Alice’s sudden reappearance. The twisted story she has to tell about the past—and the threat that follows in her wake—will test the bonds of this strong family, and thrust Bodine into a darkness she could never have imagined.

Thoughts on Come Sundown: Hoo-boy. The Bodine/Longbow family are strong, tight-knit, and they live their lives the way they want to live them. Well, except Alice, I guess. But that was absolutely not her fault, she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and that wrong place ground her down until she barely knew herself anymore.

But before we get to Alice's story, we have Bodine and the family back on the ranch. Bodine is smart, sassy, and knows what she wants out of life. When Cal comes back to Montana after years away, Bo sees a lot she still likes about him. Only now it's not just a school girl crush, but something a whole lot deeper. So those two dance around one another to see how well they fit now that they're adults. (And in the background, the other Longbow siblings have their own romances going on which was A LOT of fun to watch.)

Then Alice reappears and she's not the 18 year old who set out with a dream in her heart. Frankly, she's a mess after years of abuse and mental conditioning to be the type of woman her captor wanted her to be. It takes time and the love of her family before glimpses of the person she used to be starts to emerge.

Straight up, Nora Roberts tells wickedly good stories about strong families and the ties that bind them as they face the things life throws in their direction. The Bodine/Longbow clan are stellar both as a family unit and as individuals. *thumbs up*