Customer Reviews

Night Tales: Night Shift/ Night Shadow/ Nightshade/ Night Smoke

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Four oldies but goodies from Nora Roberts. The woman continues to astound me with her ability to write so many great stories! NIGHT SHIFT: Edge of your seat suspense! Cilla O'Roarke is a night time DJ, she plays the greatest RR in the Denver, Colorado area. One night during the open line request portion of the show she gets a threatening phone call from someone who says he's going to kill her. Although Cilla is stubborn and doesn't want to call in the police, the manager of the radio station calls them in. Detective Boyd Fletcher is one of the two officers assigned to protect her and solve the case. The ensuing drama of catching the man threatening Cilla's life and the heated romance that begins between Cilla and Boyd keep the reader riveted right up to the last page. Highly recommended!

NIGHT SHADOW: Deborah O'Roarke, Cilla O'Roarke's sister from Night Shift, has graduated from law school, passed the bar exam and taken a job as Assistant District Attorney of Urbana. The hero of the piece is Gage Guthrie whose character bears a striking resemblance to Roarke in Nora Roberts series written as J.D. Robb. There's also a mystery hero who roams the streets at night, Nemesis, who reminded me a great deal of Batman! Deborah first encounters the illusive Nemesis when she is attacked one night after visiting a potential witness in a bad part of the city. The story has twists, turns and many surprises. A fantastic read that keeps the readers attention!

NIGHTSHADE: Lieutenant Althea Grayson was Detective Boyd Fletcher's partner in Night Shift. Now Boyd Fletcher is Captain and Althea ends up partnering with Private Investigator Colt Nightshade to find a young girl who ran away from home and was then abducted and held prisoner by a porn-video ring. Althea has her own past shadows that make her a tough cop and an even tougher woman. Colt is an old school friend of Boyd's and is in Denver to find the girl because her parents, old friends, asked that he intervene after they received a letter from a young woman who said she had seen their daughter. Sparks fly between Althea and Colt as she is a `by the books' copy and he is a `no rules apply' kind of guy. The mystery of the girls whereabouts and the powers behind the porno-video ring unfold to a dramatic and class A mystery ending. A terrific read, beginning to end.

NIGHT SMOKE: Natalie Fletcher, Boyd Fletcher's sister, is head of the Fletcher business empire. Natalie is fiercely working on the opening of a new chain of women's high class lingerie when the warehouse containing the majority of her stock burns down. Arson inspector Ryan Piasecki determines the fire is arson and sets out to uncover the motive and the criminal. Natalie and Ryan are exact opposites and immediately lock horns. This book brings back the characters from all the previous stories and it's great to meet them again. There's a dramatic conclusion to the story, with Nemesis lending a hand and the surprise of who is actually behind the fires and the motive.

"Night Tales", a 4-book collection re-issued in this volume, has as its focus heroes who operate best after the sun has gone down -- or at least, that's what the book's jacket would have you believe. In reality, the books are related because the characters IN each of the books are related. Other than a catchy marketing hook, night time doesn't really have a lot to do with anything.

In "Night Shield", Cilla O'Rourke is a radio DJ who is threatened by a stalker. Detective Boyd Fletcher and his partner are called in to investigate, and feelings develop between Boyd and Cilla that make protecting her his new top priority.

Book 2, "Night Shadow", centers on Cilla's sister Deborah and her career as an assistant district attorney in a fictional town called Urbana. For some reason, fictional towns irritate me, and it's probably because they are used in tales that are somehow supernatural or otherworldly. This is the case here as well -- Deborah falls in love almost simultaneously with "two" men, one the wealthy businessman Gage Guthrie, and the other the city's do-gooder crime-fighter known only as "Nemesis". It's obvious to the reader immediately that the men are one and the same, and the reader has to wonder how Deborah doesn't see it right away. In any case, the book is pleasant but if you're not a Batman fan (fictional dark cities, with images of a constant mist shrouding the hero's face), you may not enjoy this.

In book 3, Boyd Fletcher's partner Althea Grayson meets her match in private investigator Colt "Nightshade". The two have to work together to track down a missing girl in a pornography ring, and sparks (both good and bad!) fly. Meanwhile, Althea has to cope with some memories from her own childhood and she has to learn how to be loved.

Of the 4 books, the final book, "Night Smoke", was my favorite. Boyd's sister, Natalie Fletcher, is a businesswoman on the verge of opening up a new flagship store when a string of fires threatens to put a stop to her plans. She has to work with arson investigator Ryan Piasecki to catch the "torch" and meanwhile, the two create some heat of their own.

As with many of Nora Roberts' collections, you can really see the difference in the storytelling from the first book to the last. This is less obvious when the books are all written during the same general timeframe, but when they are separated by a number of years (in this case I believe 7 from first to last), it is very noticeable. This is not a bad thing -- it just shows her continuing progression as a writer.

Nora Roberts develops 4 love stories around a group of family members. The first story Night Shift is about detective Boyd Fletcher and his romantic tale. The second story Night Shadow deals with Boyd's sister-in-law Deborah O'Roarke and her romance. The third story Nightshade is about Boyd's partner Thea Grayson and her romance. The final story, Night Smoke is the story about Boyd's sister Natalie Fletcher and her romance. Each book is a story on its own, but its fun to read the continuing story of this "family". Each book is only about 200 pages, so each story is quick to read. I really enjoyed the stories - it's great to see the same family in all the stories.

I enjoyed the 5th book - the latest Night story Night Shield as well. Its the story about Boyd's daughter, and her romance, so the tale continues. Of course it's in a separate book.

Some of Nora Robert's Early works, the "Night" tales are hard to find. You find them in secondary bookstores used - maybe - and for very high prices. Here you have all four tales (four complete Silhouette novels) in one volume - Night Shift, Night Shadow, Nightshade and Night Smoke. They are some of the best of her early works and it's great to get them all under one cover.

Night Shift has Detective Boyd Fletcher assigned to protect Cilla O'Roarke. She is a nighttime talk Disc Jockey at a local Denver radio station whose life has been threatened. Cilla is a tough cookie, but even she knows she needs Boyd's help. While being her bodyguard, Boyd falls for her, which jeopardizes his objectivity he needs to catch the psycho. But he cannot deny the attraction.

Night Shadow is Cilla's sister's story. Deborah O'Roarke. Deborah is an assistant DA, and she gets into danger because of the case she's involved in. Gage and his alter ego Nemisis (think Daredevil with sight) see it as their duty to protect the gusty DA. The Fantasy element in this is outstanding and I love the strong leads.

Nightshade is the story of Boyd's ex-partner, Althea Grayson (we met her as she helped Boyd protect Cilla in Night Shift). She is an early Eve Dallas (...In Death Series - the "role" model for Eve?) a very independent lass, who is a by the book cop. Sexy Colt Nightshade is a Private Investigator who disdains rules, unless he makes them up. They are both strong willed detectives with their own methods, and naturally clash - on the streets and in bed - as they are forced to work together to stalk a killer.

Night Smoke sees Natalie Fletcher, Boyd's sister clash with arson investigator, Ryan Piasecki. When several of the buildings Natalie owns has fires, she and Ryan clash, soon they are proving where there is smoke, there is in deed fire!

Four early Robert's tales guaranteed to delight her fans.

Everyone who is at all a fan of romance or romantic suspense knows how popular Nora Roberts is. Her books sell for a reason. I think this series is Nora at her best. All 4 of the books are filled with the strong characters, sexual tension, and suspenseful moments that make her such a good writer. I also like having all the related books published together in one package.
Another thing that makes this series unique to me is how each of the books has a common element: the night, but still manages to be fundamentally different too. The first, Night Shift, is pretty standard romantic suspense, but it is also well written. Night Shadow is more fantasy with some supernatural elements thrown in. Night Shade, the third and my favorite of the series, has the most fleshed out characters in my opinion. The clash between the two main characters is what makes this story work. Night Smoke, the last of the stories, is more a classic case of rich girl meets working class boy. Nora adds suspense and good dialogue to raise it above the average romance. Be warned though. The subject matter IS a little dark in these novels. They are grittier than standard romance novels. If you are looking for light fluff, you might want to try some of her other novels. But if you are looking for good romantic suspense, you can't go wrong here.

First of all, I am very much a fan of Nora Roberts. I always buy her books. I love J. D. Robb books and have read them all and wait for October to get the next one. "Night Tales" was a good book, but there were two stories (out the four) that strongly "copied" Eve and Roarke. The female in Nightshade had the characteristics and attitude of Eve, even down to the rolling of the shoulders! The male in Night Shadow was Roarke made over. It made me wonder if an author can be guilty of plagerizing from herself??? Normally every Nora Roberts book would get a "5 star" from me, but this really bothered me. Eve and Roarke are my favorites; Roarke especially is the ultimate! All in all, the first and the last stories were great and did stand well on their own. I have even bought the continuation in Night Shield, although I have not read it yet. If you don't read J. D. Robb books, you will absolutely love Night Tales.

I too am a huge fan of the J.D. Robb "in Death" series with Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her husband Roarke. I haven't read much of the author's "other" works as Nora Roberts, but given the reviews saying this was quite similar to the Robb books, I gave it a try.

I have to agree with Georgia's review - if it were possible to plagiarize oneself, Roberts has done it with these characters. That's not a bad thing, given how wonderful Eve and Roarke are, but these stories left me wanting more. Much like candy, I gobbled them up but was left unsatisfied at the end. The characters are very much Eve and Roarke-like, down to the coffee addiction, attitudes and habits, although to her credit, none of the characters physically resemble Eve and Roarke. The storylines are just the right length for these kinds of romance novels, not too long, but I would have loved to see longer versions of Deborah and Gage's story and Thea and Colt's.

For anyone who hasn't read the Robb books, these are an excellent introduction - you'll get a little taste of the kinds of characters you can expect and a lighter version of the storylines. To belabor the food analogy, these are a great appetizer - but for a real meal, skip to the Robb series, from the beginning.

This book is a collection of four interesting stories. All the characters are well thought out, the plot lines grab your attention, and the emotion of the characters really come through. At one point in the first book, Cilla's fears really show through, an example of very good writting. All in all, the books that make up this one are very good.

I enjoy reading Nora Roberts, but as a few others have noted these stories were very similar and too short. This book has 4 "mini-novels" in them that are very enjoyable. The characters all are connected, and I like to read about each character in his or her own situation and experiences. However, as soon as one gets aquainted with the character, it is time to stop reading because the story is over. I also have Night Shield, but haven't read it yet. I hope it is a little longer.

Night Shift, Night Shadow, Nightshade, and Night Smoke have been reprinted in one fantastic volume.

These were darker, slightly grittier stories that had a JD Robb-ish flavor to them. Night Shadow had a bit of a paranormal element to it for those who enjoy that in their romance. All were engrossing, and as always, I love remeeting characters in subsequent books. As with any Nora Roberts book, these four books were an engrossing, delightful read!