The Collector

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 15 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts comes a novel about a woman who needs nothing, a man who sees everything, and the web of deceit, greed and danger that brings them together - and could tear them apart...

When professional house-sitter Lila Emerson witnesses a murder/suicide from her current apartment-sitting job, life as she knows it takes a dramatic turn. Suddenly, the woman with no permanent ties finds herself almost wishing for one...

Artist Ashton Archer knows his brother isn’t capable of violence - against himself or others. He recruits Lila, the only eyewitness, to help him uncover what happened. Chalking up their intense attraction to the heat of the moment, Lila agrees to help Ash try to find out who murdered his brother and why. From the penthouses of Manhattan to grand Italian villas, their investigation draws them into a rarefied circle where priceless antiques are bought, sold, gambled away and stolen; where what you possess is who you are; and where what you desire becomes a deadly obsession...

©2014 Nora Roberts (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Roberts is performing at the top of her literary game…An addictive blend of sleek suspense and sophisticated romance that would make Hitchcock proud.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A pair of strong, commitment-averse protagonists, vividly drawn villains—a classy, stunningly beautiful, sociopathic assassin and a soulless recluse, in particular—an abundance of Fabergé egg history and a plot that keeps readers on edge add up to another classic for Roberts.”—Library Journal

“Sizzling suspense…Will keep readers riveted.”—Publishers Weekly

Better than expected

I enjoyed The Collector more expected. It didn't have any big surprise in the end but the path to the end was was very entertaining.

Another of Nora's strong women

Romance, mystery, murder, history, handsome men, strong characters. I looked forward to what came next.

Excellent

I can't remember enjoying a book as much as this. In all areas, 5+ stars. The only negative is I just now finished it, and have to wait a reasonable amount of time before reading it again! Loved every minute.

My first Nora Roberts and not disappointed!!

It takes me a long time to choose which book to start off for Nora Roberts and this one is definitely not a wrong choice.

Robert has created a very interesting character of Lila Emerson. Her lifestyle is something I cannot personally relate to, but the story still flows and everything kinds of run of Lila's life style, to make the story even more engaging.

The relationship between Lila and Ash is very clear through out the novel, that they are very much into each other. There are also certain times that Ash comes out as a control freak that kind of bothered me but most of the times Lila kind of dealt with it the way that I would by. There are also there friends (Julie and Luke) who are the side couples that add very nice touches to the story.

Until the very end of the novel, I kept trying to predict what's going to happen next, just because. And most of the time, even similar to what I had predict, or not, I was happy with what NR comes up with.

You have to give a lot of credits to the narrator for this book. She's so good in making different distinct voices and the emotions are all there. With her narration, I got more involved into the characters and the situations in the book.

Often times while listen, I got so involved that I had to paused the book because I got scared that the murderer would appear or what she would do, just like how Lila was feeling. I also unconciously say out things like "oh my god," "no, no, no" and such while listening to this book.

While some people might not enjoy the Faberge eggs huge involvement in the book, I personally really enjoyed it as I have been interested in these eggs since I was younger when I had learnt about them in an anime (detective conan) and saw them in real life at the MET. They are things that made my eyes widen when the egg was first mentioned in the book!

This book went by really fast for me. Going to try more of NR soon! Can't wait.

I'm a Nora Roberts sucker!

I shouldn't enjoy her books is much as I do, but I just love them. This is one of the best narrators around to boot. Interesting story really enjoyable. I highly recommend it

Great!

I am a huge Nora Roberts fan so I thought I'd do one of hers for my first book on Audible. I had listened to the preview and decided I could listen to this voice as I am picky on narrators.

This narrator was great! I love how she adjusted her tone and accent when reading dialog between people as it wasn't overly done but distinguished enough that you could tell who was speaking. Which must have been difficult as there were a lot of characters in this novel.

And of course, Nora does it again with an amazing story that sucks you in so you can't wait to find out what happens next. The mystery, the intrigue, the suspense alone was gripping. Add the brief bursts of comedy from Lila, Ash, Julie and especially Luke and it lightened just enough for you to laugh. Plus Ash and Lila had a slow burn romance, odd considering it all happened within the span of a couple months, but it wasn't rushed so it was satisfying for the reader when they finally got together.

Great hook! I'm definitely going to try another!

predictable but fun

characters are romantic, story is predictable, history & locations are well-researched, interesting. a good read.

Awesome! I really enjoyed this book.

Fantastic book! Story was great. Great read/listen. It kept me engaged through the whole story.

loved it

one of my favorite narrators makes any book more enjoyable but the story is also great so i definitely recommend it!

Murder, romance AND history!!

This is by far my favorite single story by Nora Roberts and kind of wish she had made one of her famous trilogies out of it.