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)

Older classic

Roberts excels at creating characters and family you wish were yours. Add in a believable plot with tension or twists and you get several hours of entertainment.

Story

I thought this was a excellent book. It starts a little slow, but that’s Nora Roberts. It definitely picks up very interesting and exciting.

Kept me on my toes and melted my heart

I didn’t expect much out of this story, but was so pleasantly surprised for it to end up being one of my favorite NR books. The narrator, Joyce Bean, was great but it was the story and the characters that I really fell in love with. Reena (main character) and her family made me wish I had a family like them. Who knew arson investigation could be so interesting. Kept me on my toes!

Emotions!

Man, that was a rollercoaster. The writing combined with the narration provoked all the feelings the author intended to bring out. I don't know why but I really identified with the main character. I liked that she wasn't perfect but she was everything a strong female lead should be. This book made me cry and rage and it also made me smile and lol at certain points. Highly recommend.

I laughed and I cried

why can’t all books be this enjoyable ?
I laughed out loud, I cried for the losses , and I felt the love of family
Thank you, Ms Roberts!

blue smoke

really good book I enjoyed the storyline the performer was excellent she did a really great job and that helped bring the book To Life congratulations on another great book.

Fire obsession

Enjoyable listen. Read this years ago and decided to revisit since I like Joyce Bean, the voice actress.

Blue Smoke

Great book! Love the attention to detail on all the characters. A little to much swearing for my taste but it was appropriate for the situation.

Entertainment from start to finish

Where does Blue Smoke rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Since I have close to 700 audiobooks, it's hard to rate it exactly. I am very fond of Nora Roberts , so this is close to the top.

What other book might you compare Blue Smoke to and why?

I think maybe High Noon. Strong female lead, lots of suspense, good character interaction and good narrators.

What about Joyce Bean’s performance did you like?

I think she did a great job on making the voice of each character seem different from the one before. You got a sense of different people. She didn't make the male voices sound as though it was a female doing them. I like her work.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I really enjoyed the fact that when Bo (who had been searching for Reena for years) looked up and see's her next door, he recognized her as the girl he'd dreamed of since college. For all you romantics out there, it's a moment!

Any additional comments?

I have listened to this book a number of times and always enjoy it. It does have some particularly graphic scenes in it, so you might want to skip over them if you have trouble dealing with that kind of realism. I will listen to this many more times. Well worth the credit.

Fantastic Narration

Range of voices keeps you interested without being reminded it’s a woman trying to sound like a man. Story is a bit predictable as there is no mystery of the bad guy. But good heartfelt story telling of main character’s life from childhood with family mixed in as well. Truly enjoyed the reading and the story.