Book Review: Hot Rocks

Question: What happens when you mix together con-men, an antique store owner, a sexy private investigator, 28 million dollars of missing diamonds and small town USA?
Answer: You get a great, suspense filled, romantic read in the book Hot Rocks by Nora Roberts.

Hot Rocks is the story of Laine Tavish, owner of the antique store Remember When, who also happens to be the daughter of one of the most sought after con-men of the time. Laine would prefer to hide from her past, and seems to be doing a fairly good job of it, until a ghost from her past (an old family friend) gets killed right in front of her antique store. What was he doing there in the first place? Seems that her dad has gotten Laine involved in a multi-million dollar diamond heist without her knowledge. What follows is a hot affair with the private investigator who is tracking her dad and the missing diamonds-- Max Gannon; as well as a run-in with the master villain behind the con,  Alex Crew. During it all, Laine is forced to ask herself many questions...including, who are we really? Can we ever really escape our past? Do we run from love or face it even though it seems to go against all of our rules?

This book was a great suspenseful read. Personally, I have read many of Nora Roberts' books in the past and I could not see the ending coming.  While the story line seemed familiar throughout, there was some surprises to be had in the book. I found myself pulling for Laine's father to really go to the good side and for Max to get the girl and not mess up his relationship with her. The story was fast paced and was very well written.

The only negative about the book was that there was no real wrap-up to what becomes of the major villain in the book, Alex Crew. Unlike other Roberts' books where the villain dies or is incarcerated, there really is no ending to Crew. After doing some research, it looks like this is on purpose as Ms. Roberts' has released the story Big Jack under her other known author name, J.D. Robb. This book seems to be a continuation of the story 2 generations into the future.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who was looking for a great suspenseful read. It kept me on the edge of my seat and was highly entertaining!