Blue Smoke

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Joyce Bean

Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

Incomparable #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts delivers a tale of gut-level fear, human triumph, and the bonds that carry us through our darkest times…

Reena Hale’s destiny was shaped in the destructive - yet fascinatingly beautiful - fire that leveled her family’s pizzeria when she was young. Now an arson investigator, she finds her strength and wits constantly tested, although sometimes the job seems like a snap compared to her love life. But she can’t always blame the men. After all, a soot-caked woman barking orders and smelling of smoke isn’t the biggest turn-on in the world. Then she meets Bo Goodnight, who seems different. He’s been trying to find Reena for years, and now that she’s close enough to touch, he has no intention of letting go.

Nor does the man who has begun to haunt Reena’s life - with taunting phone calls and a string of horrifying crimes. And as Reena tries desperately to trace the origins - of the calls, the fires, the hatred aimed in her direction - she will step into the worst inferno she has ever faced...

©2005 Nora Roberts (P)2005 Brilliance Audio

Critic reviews

"Romantic suspense queen Roberts lights up Baltimore's Little Italy with this appealing story of love, family, food and arson." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Bean's versatile vocal range skillfully portrays male and female parts without hesitation." ( AudioFile)

One of Nora Roberts' Best

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would recommend this. It's a modern romantic suspense with well developed characters, a story that isn't entirely focused on whether the main character finds a man, and a plot line that's both interesting and, at times, a little intense.

What does Joyce Bean bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I have to say that I am not usually a big Joyce Bean fan. She has great pacing and inflection but her voice (and the voices she gives to the characters) can border on annoying. I'm not sure I could name anything she brought to the story that couldn't be experienced by reading the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

This one was hard to stop listening to. I often listen at work or while I'm cleaning and this made me want to keep scrubbing so I could listen more.

A Good Thriller

This romantic suspense has an arsonist as the villain who sets people on fire. Reena is being stalked, but she doesn’t know it. The romance takes a back seat in the one, but to thriller plot is really good.

One of my favorite Nora Roberts audios

l keep listening over and over 😀😀 at least once a year try it.

The interaction between Beau and Rina.

There needs to be more of a pause between chapters and shifts in character perspective.

Kept me on my toes

A little predictable but enjoyed the book. I'd like to meet Bo someday!

AWESOME!!

This one is an excellent read!! I highly recommend this book!

Good Read

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Sure. It's a pretty good book. It happens over a long period of time which gives the story depth. There were some extremely violent parts of the book that made me a bit uncomfortable when listening, though.

Very violent

Very violent story but performed well with a lot of characters. Have to really pay attention to the voice to distinguish the characters.

classic Nora ...

classic Nora ...funny,sooooo very funny ,intriguing ,heart renching and ,informative. Loved every moment.Thank you Nora

Kept my interest

The narrator is so important in an audible book. If their voice isn’t right it can make you not finish the story. This narrator made the story believable. I could see each character and wanted to hear the rest. It was a good read for me.