Remember When

I read Remember When with some trepidation, after all its a big "ask" to seemlessly blend the two styles and established characters from both sides of Nora's writing career. Also, I had never read J. D. Robb before and had no interest in doing so. How wrong I was.The first part of the book is set in present day and written by Ms.Roberts. We have a pretty conventional story between the two leads, Laine and Max, and a nice assortment of background characters including Laine's Father, a con man, thief and lovable rogue.And they are all hunting diamonds. In approx 250 pages we have a great romance, a grand adventure and recovery of part of the haul.So, part two deals with the unsolved mystery of the rest of the diamonds and a view into the world of J.D.Robb's Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her gorgeous husband Roarke. This is the world of the "In Death" series and it does'nt matter if you have'nt read a word of them before - the dialogue and storyline flows.Here it is Laine and Max's granddaughter who becomes involved, when her housesitter is murdered and the old case comes back to haunt them.The whole book was expertly plotted and written - although I guessed the culprit way before the end it did'nt spoil my enjoyment one whit. I would highly recommend it - this one had something special about it , and yes, I'm off to get the back copies of the "In Death" series!Funny. Moving. Different. Highly recommended.

Nora Roberts combines her skills as a contemporary romance author with her alter ego, J.D. Robb, who writes futuristic romantic suspense in this single two-part novel. Part I involves Laine Tavish, attractive owner of a small Maryland antique shop. But when her father Jack's ex-partner Willy tracks her to her business before he is killed in a traffic accident, Laine finally realizes that her past as the child of a con artist has reared its ugly head. Private investigator Max Gannon also meets Laine, as he believes that she may know where Jack hid the diamonds stolen in his most recent heist. In this crafty mix of suspense and romance, Max and Laine become allies personally and professionally as they try to discover where Willy might have hidden the diamonds during his brief visit to Laine's shop, as they must also elude Alex Cross, the mastermind of the heist who wants to recover all of the diamonds. Fast forward to year 2059 when Lieutenant Detective Eve Dallas is investigating the murder of a woman who was house-sitting for her friend, Samantha Gannon, an author who wrote a book about the meeting of her grandparents, Max and Laine, and their investigation into recovering the diamonds, though the one quarter belonging to Alex Cross was never found, and he died in prison. And when Samantha's cleaning lady is found murdered, Eve and wealthy entrepreneur husband Roarke believe that the murders are somehow connected to the missing gems, as they seek to locate the whereabouts of Cross' son. No holds barred suspense, terrific romance between Eve and Roarke are carefully combined with references to the technological advances in the not too distant future.

The idea for this book was sensationally clever, and the best part is that the story does nothing to diminish the sparkling entertainment for which we had hoped! Roberts give us a romantic thriller in Part I -- featuring small town antique store owner Laine Tavish. Daughter of con man and thief Jack O'Hara, she makes a straight life for herself after nearly following in dad's footsteps. When insurance investigator Max Gannon visits her shop hunting for stolen diamonds, he finds not only clues but instant love with the lovely Ms. Tavish. Together they stave off the bad guys, mostly one Alex Crew, and recover most of the gems in a suspenseful plot.JD Robb, author of the "In Death" series featuring NYPD homicide Lt. Eve Dallas, takes over in Part II. Almost half a century later, she is called to a murder scene at the house of O'Hara's granddaughter, author of a popular book about the missing diamonds. Soon Eve, with help as usual from hubby Roarke and sidekick (now fellow detective) Peabody, is headlong into both the new murders as well as hunting for the diamonds. Meanwhile, it seems Alex Crew's descendents may be trying to gain what is their "due", setting up a race to the finish that keeps we readers doing the same thing!We're devoted fans of Robb but had never read "Roberts" before. We had no doubt the popular author was inventive, and that she carries the co-author charade to the extent of two pictures on the back cover tells of her own humor and lust for life. For Eve Dallas fans, this novel is an incredible treat; and for those Robert's fans who haven't met her, enjoy!

Having oneself for a co-author makes a very dependable partnership if the 'two' coconspirators are as exceptional as Nora Roberts. In 'Remember When' J. D. Robb joins her alter ego Nora Roberts to write a two part story about a diamond heist which occurs early in the twenty first century when Jack O'Hara steals twenty eight million in glittering gems along with his friend willy Young and their ruthless and conniving associate Alex Crew. When Crew turns on his associates Jack sends Willy to stash their part of the loot with his daughter Laine Tavish (formerly Elaine O'Hara) while he believes that he is lead Crew away. However, Crew and a handsome private investigator, Max Gannon continue to pursue Laine. Crew wants the diamonds at any cost while Max discovers that he needs Laine more than he needs to find the diamonds. Thus begins the search to find the elusive diamonds. This first part of the tale is engrossing and sets up the second half which features Eve Dallas and Roarke as they investigate the death of a young woman that may be related to the recent publication of a book about the infamous heist of half a century ago. The murder occurred at the apartment of Samantha Gannon, the grand daughter of Laine and Max and revealed that in excess of seven million dollars worth of diamonds were never recovered. Someone wants those gems now worth twice the original value and is willing to kill for them. Together Eve and Roarke must find the culprit and avenge the murders.Both parts of this tale are quite good and the doubleheader is well worth the investment in a hardcover edition. I did slightly prefer the first part as it was more original and the characters were new and refreshing, but both parts were truly worth reading.

I finally got a hold of this book and read it in two days. This book spans 56yrs. of finding diamonds that have been lost in time. Starting in 2003 Lainie Tavish a shop owner runs into a lost old friend who dies on her sidewalk and tells her to look for a china dog,she has no idea what he is talking about. Enter Max Gannon a detective Insurance Agent on the case who is looking for a fortune in lost diamonds and a great mystery is set to go. The second part is 56 yrs.later and Shannon Gannon,granddaughter of Max and Laine is thrown into a murder and Eve Dallas is on the case. I loved this book it has everything. I wish more had been mentioned about Laine's Dad I thought he was cool. I highly recommend this bookif you are a Nora fan or Eve Dallas's In-Death books and you don't have to read all 17-books to enjoy it. Read it and enjoy.