Tribute [Hardcover]

Nora Roberts (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2008

Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley is a long way from Hollywood. And that’s exactly how Cilla McGowan wants it. Cilla, a former child star who has found more satisfying work as a restorer of old houses, has come to her grandmother’s farmhouse, tools at her side, to rescue it from ruin. Sadly, no one was able to save her grandmother, the legendary Janet Hardy. An actress with a tumultuous life, Janet entertained glamorous guests and engaged in decadent affairs—but died of an overdose in this very house more than thirty years earlier. To this day, Janet haunts Cilla’s dreams. And during waking hours, Cilla is haunted by her melodramatic, five-times-married mother, who carried on in the public spotlight and never gave her a chance at a normal childhood. By coming east, rolling up her sleeves, and rehabbing this wreck of a house, Cilla intends to find some kind of normalcy for herself.
Plunging into the project with gusto, she’s almost too busy to notice her neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer—but his lanky form, green eyes, and easy, unflappable humor (not to mention his delightfully ugly dog, Spock) are hard to ignore. Determined not to perpetuate the family tradition of ill-fated romances, Cilla steels herself against Ford’s quirky charm, but she can’t help indulging in a little fantasy.
But love and a peaceful life may not be in the cards for Cilla. In the attic, she has found a cache of unsigned letters suggesting that Janet Hardy was pregnant when she died—and that the father was a local married man. Cilla can’t help but wonder what really happened all those years ago. The mystery only deepens with a series of intimidating acts and a frightening, violent assault. And if Cilla and Ford are unable to sort out who is targeting her and why, she may—like her world-famous grandmother— be cut down in the prime of her life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Roberts sets her underwhelming latest in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, where former child star Cilla McGowan rehabs her famous grandmother's long-neglected farm. Cilla's movie-star grandmother, the Marilyn Monroe–like Janet Hardy, who died mysteriously on the farm at age 39, haunts Cilla as she transforms the former hideaway of the rich and famous into habitable living space and tries to resolve whether Janet committed suicide or was murdered. While cleaning out the attic, Cilla unearths a collection of unsigned love letters to Janet from a local suitor, which adds spice to the puzzle of Janet's death. Meanwhile, Cilla's hunky graphic novelist neighbor, Ford Sawyer, provides the requisite sizzle and encourages Cilla to follow her dream of becoming a top-notch building contractor—much to the dismay of Cilla's headline-hungry diva mother. Amid the demolition and sheet rocking, Cilla comes up against a disgruntled local, and a series of unnerving threats and occurrences (vandalism, torched Cilla dolls) almost unhinges Cilla. The terror tactics (and the revelation of who is behind them) are half-baked and distract from what's ostensibly a girl meets boy, boy wants girl, girl finally wants boy story. (July)
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From Booklist

Cilla McGowan always sold the properties she bought and then rebuilt, but this time Cilla planned on keeping the place for herself. Cilla knew restoring her grandmother’s retreat in the Shenandoah Valley would take lots of time, money, and hard work since no one had lived there since Cilla’s grandmother—glamorous Hollywood actress Janet Hardy—committed suicide 30 years ago. What Cilla hadn’t factored into her plans was just how distracting her sexy new neighbor, graphic novelist Ford Sawyer, would be. Or that after Cilla discovers a packet of her grandmother’s letters, someone in the small town will stop at nothing to keep some secrets buried in the past. Once again the extraordinarily imaginative, prolific, and popular Roberts creates a cast of magnetic and superbly nuanced characters and a cleverly ordered plot spiced with subtle suspense and sexy romance. She also evinces a dry wit that serves to enhance the sheer pleasure of her latest completely captivating novel of danger and desire. --John Charles

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; First Edition edition (July 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399154914
• ISBN-13: 978-0399154911
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (139 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Change Your Opinions, Keep Your Principles; Change Your Leaves, Keep In Tact Your Roots. - Victor Hugo, July 10, 2008

By 

Cherise Everhard (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tribute (Hardcover)

Cilla McGowen was raised in the spotlight. Her Grandmother was the famous Janet Hardy; a child star turned Hollywood actress and famous singer. Her mother, Dilly, wasn't quite as famous as Janet but managed to stay in the Hollywood spotlight all her life. From a very young age Cilla was thrust in front of the cameras by her mom. She was part of a successful TV show, made a few records, but by the time she was an adult she was pretty much a has-been.

Happy to be out of the public life, Cilla now makes her money flipping houses; it is a labor of love. Finally getting her hands on her famous Grandmothers long neglected farm, Cilla is rehabbing to make herself a home. Questions surround her Grandmothers too early death and as Cilla repairs the house, she seeks answers. But someone doesn't want Cilla around and is making things very difficult for her, her friends and workers. Finding a friend and an unexpected love in her graphic novelist neighbor, Ford Sawyer, Cilla gets some much needed TLC.

This is a lengthy new novel by Nora Roberts, but amazingly enough I flew through 451 pages, easily, I absolutely loved it.

What Nora does better than anyone is create unforgettable and magnificent characters. This book is filled with people who are written so well, you can see them so clearly and you feel like you know them. Every character in this book added something to this story; love, sex, fear, annoyance, growth, laughter, and sadness. You get as invested with the side characters as you do with the main characters. I love that about her work

Cilla is a heroine not without flaws; she's both hard and soft and has been emotionally drained. She's personable and knows her strengths and weaknesses. I found her extremely relatable. Ford was funny, charming and sexy as hell. It took me all about a page to fall for him and his crazy dog.

The story is strong and takes the reader through past and present day at the farm with clever little visits from the Grandmother. Uncovering the secrets of the past and dealing with the danger of the present lead you through a suspenseful and gripping read. I admit I knew whodunit pretty much from the start, but Nora added a little something extra that threw me off and added plenty of surprise at the end.

This book has everything; a solid mystery, a love story, humor and healing. I really enjoyed it. I am also one of those HGTV junkies that enjoy house flipping and rehabbing and I got a total kick out of the demo and rehab of this house. It was fun to watch it change and I had no trouble picturing the results. This book showcases every reason why I love Nora Roberts writing so much, enjoy!

Cherise Everhard, July 2008

54 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Getting Old and Stale, July 18, 2008

By 

30 Book A Month Reader (Ohio) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Tribute (Hardcover)

Cilla McGowan is going back to her roots. As the grandchild of the famous Janet Hardy, Cilla had been exploited and used her entire life, and all she wants is to never see Hollywood again. Looking for a family connection, Cilla arrives at in the Blue Ridge Mountains at her grandmother, Janet's, farm. While Cilla is setting up housekeeping and renovating her grandmother's farm, she meets and falls in love with graphic artist, Ford Sawyer. Life is really looking good for Cilla if it isn't for the reoccuring incidents of vandalism and terror that become more and more frequent the longer Cilla lives in the valley. Apparently, not everyone is happy to see Janet's family come home, and as time goes by, the suspicion crosses Cilla's mind that maybe, just maybe, Janet didn't commit suicide as everyone believed. Maybe she was murdered...

Nora Robert's latest, Tribute, is just like every single other book Nora has put out lately. In fact, her writing - which use to thrill me - is just getting stale. Lately her plots have pretty much all been the same, but what really is driving me crazy are Nora's heroes. They are all just so damn perfect and understanding anymore. It used to be the Nora Robert's feature couple had a little spice in each of the characters, as well as conflicts to resolve. Now the heroine is full of angst and emotional disorder, and the hero is sweet, patient, understanding and just plain wonderful. Now don't get me wrong. I don't want to go back to the alpha males of the 80's in romance, where they were mean, cruel and creepy up to the last chapter, when all of a sudden they finally saw the heroine was wonderful and all lived happily ever after, but I don't want all my heroes to be such blandless wimps either. Instead of having all this suspense as a backdrop to the story, what happened with having suspense between the two characters as they work out their difference and unpeel the layers of each other. I truly don't believe Nora has wrote a really, really good book (except for her JDRobb series) for a long time. As for Tribute, it is just an average book. I would wait for the paperback.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes! Another great one from Roberts, July 10, 2008

By 

Deborah Verlen "Deborah" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tribute (Hardcover)

Cilla, child actress turned house flipper, and Ford, a graphic artist, at first glance make an odd pairing for a romantic couple. However, Nora Roberts has scored a success with this hardcover in making this unlikely pairing work on several levels. The mystery/romance also works as Cilla tries to untangle the mystery of her famous actress/grandmother's death as well as threats to her own life.

If you are a fan of Roberts you will also enjoy some glimpses into her hobby of gardening and the research she did on home restoration!

The book is crisp and tightly written, although with judicious editing, twenty to forty pages probably could have been trimmed. I did not care for Angel Falls (too far fetched), Birthright (felt the coincidences were too over the top) or my least favorite of all her books--Northern Lights. I waivered on whether to buy Tribute, but the 40 percent off combined with a sticker that said "Signed Copy" swayed me to purchase it. Glad I did.

The book is solid Roberts at her best.