The Witness

By: Nora Roberts

Narrated by: Julia Whelan

Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

In her stunning 200th novel, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts proves why no one is better when it comes to flawlessly fusing high-stakes suspense with red-hot romance" (Booklist, starred review).

Daughter of a cold, controlling mother and an anonymous donor, studious, obedient Elizabeth Fitch finally let loose one night, drinking too much at a nightclub and allowing a strange man’s seductive Russian accent to lure her to a house on Lake Shore Drive.

Twelve years later, the woman now known as Abigail Lowery lives alone on the outskirts of a small town in the Ozarks. A freelance security systems designer, her own protection is supplemented by a fierce dog and an assortment of firearms. She keeps to herself, saying little, revealing nothing. Unfortunately, that seems to be the quickest way to get attention in a tiny southern town.

The mystery of Abigail Lowery and her sharp mind, secretive nature and unromantic viewpoint intrigues local police chief Brooks Gleason, on both a personal and professional level. And while he suspects that Abigail needs protection from something, Gleason is accustomed to two-bit troublemakers, not the powerful and dangerous men who are about to have him in their sights.

And Abigail Lowery, who has built a life based on security and self-control, is at risk of losing both.

©2012 by Nora Roberts. (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Great story and fabulous performance

In addition to the positive comments other reviewers have made, one thing that impressed me about this story is that Ms. Roberts was able to draw two such different characters as Abigail and Brooks-- so opposite in personality, especially at the beginning-- but yet she was able to comprehend and describe each character in a way that was convincing and compelling. I also thought Abigail's growth and change over the course of the book made sense, and didn't feel improbably rushed like some stories do. And I appreciated that Brooks was persevering without being obnoxious or pushy.
Julia Whelan's narration, especially of the two MC's voices, was so remarkable. She brought out their personalities so well in her delivery, and made Brooks sound totally convincing and appealing (not always easy for a female narrator to narrate the male lead convincingly). Over and over I was amazed at how Ms. Whelan could go from Abigail's tension and precise delivery in one sentence to Brooks' reassuring ease in the next sentence. The line delivery and timing was so expressive of their personalities, and consistently hit such a high standard throughout the book.
If I could give this audiobook seven stars, I would! I stretched it out over several weeks just because I was enjoying it so much and didn't want it to be over. Great job, Ms. Roberts and Ms. Whelan!

Again Nora Roberts nailed it!

The writing and presentation Nora Roberts incorporates is perfectl. She is my new favorite Author.

Wonderfully written

This book is almost 3 stories in 1 and each is riveting on its own. Elizabeth Fitch, the main character, is brilliant and brilliantly written. After 15+ hours of listening I truly did not want the story to end. The book was read by the amazing Julia Whelan who, as I joke all the time, I could listen to read a dictionary. This book has everything that makes it an excellent listen!

Really enjoyed this

I listened to this very quickly, because it was so captivating!
I so enjoy Nora's writing talent.
I got lost in the story ❤️

Hooked from Page 1

Fantastic story from beginning to end. A page turner that held my interest with lots of twists and turns

Classic Nora - Outstanding!!!!

This is one of the best single titles from Nora ever....I was engrossed within the first 10 minutes - couldn't turn it off - listened straight through to the end. My idea of a perfect book is when the last couple of paragraphs are read/heard - you give that sigh of satisfaction from reading/hearing a great book! I highly recommend this one...

EXCELLENT!

The only reason I'm not giving this book 5 stars all around is because I like a little more heat in my readings/listens, but wow! I'm so glad I gave Nora Roberts another shot. I loved the heroine in this book!
After having been raised by "Mommie Dearest" and at 16-years-old becoming the solo witness that could bring down the Russian Mafia, it was a trip to see her emotional growth, survivable and finally her triumph.
Don't get me wrong, there's romance, a very sweet romance; the hero was just the perfect supportive (loved him too) character for Liz and the story.

NARRATION
Julia Whelan was amazing!! Fantastic narration! Her portrayal of 16-year-old Liz's was right on target, and equally fantastic was her interpretation of 28-years-old Abigail.
Her command of the different accents and voices was impressive and a tremendous show of her talent.
Excellent performance.
Sensuality: Warm

Roberts version of Dragon Tattoo protagonist

Since the "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo",strong intelligent tech/geek women have been the female protagonist do jour.... I guess it's no surprise that Roberts has her own entry...in the form of Lizzy ( aka Abagail), a young woman with Mensa level intelligence who, as a teen,accidentally connects with the Russian mob, goes into witness protection, escapes the bad guys and is on the run from everyone for a decade.` etc etc etc.

This same type of woman shows up in "The Informationist ",( Audibles listeners choice award) and "The Breach" a sci-fi trilogy with similar female lead. Each of these 4 female protagonists is quite similar, they all have amazing computer programming and hacking abilities, are Chuck Norris with martial arts and Jack Reacher with knowledge of firepower . I wonder how many more versions of this clone will appear in novels to come......
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The plot and character development are much improved over what Roberts has been phoning in the past several years--I've been picking them up at the used book store and have read just one book of the last 2 trilogy series due to negative reviews and personal experience with the initial book. I'm pleased that she put more effort into this book.

Roberts knows her readers, and knows what they want so even though this lead character is slightly different than her usual-still her writing remains the same. This time it's a more w take charge female protagonist and equally strong male protagonist who wants to take care of his little woman and bad guys who have chased after Lizzy (Abagail) since she was 17.

And while loyal readers will enjoy the better quality over the past couple of works, still this is a definite rip off of the Dragon Tattoo (minus the tattoo) main character. Still the writing is tight and crisp and plot is not quite predictable. It held my interest more than the last 2 trilogies did and worth the credit for those of us who appreciate Roberts when she's writing well.

Julia Whelan gives a very nice reading of the novel, bringing it to life and doing a good job of male characters voices...not overly dramatic or soapy.

All in all an above average listen to typical Roberts writing and plot.

Outstanding!

This book is quite a step up from Nora's last couple of trilogies and is worthy of her reputation. The story is original, the characters are well-developed and likable, and its nicely balanced with humor and heat. The narrator would not have been my first choice (Susan Ericksen would have rocked it!) but she did an adequate enough job that it didn't detract from the enjoyment of the story. Thanks, Nora, for giving the people (your fans) what they want!

Loved it!

What made the experience of listening to The Witness the most enjoyable?

I so enjoyed having murder, mobsters and a love story combined. Packed full of enjoyable moments.

What did you like best about this story?

I like how intelligent Liz is. It's refreshing how her character is portrayed.

Any additional comments?

Its a great listen from start to ending. In my opinion its well worth a credit. I happened to get it on sale and that was even better.