Night Tales

Rating:
Summary: 4 Stories = 4 times the enjoyment!
Review: "Night Tales" is a compilation containing four separate stories, and each one is exciting, fun to read, and romantic.
The first story, "Night Shift" introduces Boyd Fletcher, a dedicated cop, and Cilla O'Roarke, a night DJ at a local Denver radio station. When Cilla starts receiving threatening phone calls, Boyd is assigned to protect her, and the sparks fly!
Next is "Night Shadow", the story of Cilla's sister Deborah O'Roarke and her relationship with Gage Guthrie and his alter ego Nemesis, a masked hero who protects the fictitious city of Urbana at night. When Deb, an assistant DA, gets into a dangerous situation due to the case she is investigating, Gage and Nemesis take it upon themselves to keep her safe. This story is lots of fun.
Third is "Nightshade", the story of Boyd's ex-partner, Althea Grayson, a fiercely independent cop, and Colt Nightshade, a Private Investigator who likes to play by his own rules. When these two are forced to work together to find a missing girl things really start to heat up!
The last story is "Night Smoke", which introduces Natalie Fletcher, Boyd's sister, and arson investigator Ryan Piasecki. These two are put in close quarters as Ryan investigates the fires at several of Natalie's buildings, and they soon find themselves starting a fire of their own. This was a great way to round out the book.
All in all, "Night Tales" is a highly entertaining and worth-while read!

Rating:
Summary: 4 Stories = 4 times the enjoyment!
Review: "Night Tales" is a compilation containing four separate stories, and each one is exciting, fun to read, and romantic.
The first story, "Night Shift" introduces Boyd Fletcher, a dedicated cop, and Cilla O'Roarke, a night DJ at a local Denver radio station. When Cilla starts receiving threatening phone calls, Boyd is assigned to protect her, and the sparks fly!
Next is "Night Shadow", the story of Cilla's sister Deborah O'Roarke and her relationship with Gage Guthrie and his alter ego Nemesis, a masked hero who protects the fictitious city of Urbana at night. When Deb, an assistant DA, gets into a dangerous situation due to the case she is investigating, Gage and Nemesis take it upon themselves to keep her safe. This story is lots of fun.
Third is "Nightshade", the story of Boyd's ex-partner, Althea Grayson, a fiercely independent cop, and Colt Nightshade, a Private Investigator who likes to play by his own rules. When these two are forced to work together to find a missing girl things really start to heat up!
The last story is "Night Smoke", which introduces Natalie Fletcher, Boyd's sister, and arson investigator Ryan Piasecki. These two are put in close quarters as Ryan investigates the fires at several of Natalie's buildings, and they soon find themselves starting a fire of their own. This was a great way to round out the book.
All in all, "Night Tales" is a highly entertaining and worth-while read!

Rating:
Summary: "Night Tales" satisfies, if not sates
Review: "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.

Rating:
Summary: Four Fabulous Stories!
Review: After being sooo disappointed in "Full House" I had to read something to renew my faith and Nora Roberts did the trick. What an entertaining book and each story stands alone but is connected.

Each story has a great hero and heroine, pretty good mysteries and great romance. One is sort of a fantasy and that one needs you to believe. The others are full out good reads. Thanks you, Nora. I will re-read this whole book again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Four Fabulous Stories!
Review: After being sooo disappointed in "Full House" I had to read something to renew my faith and Nora Roberts did the trick. What an entertaining book and each story stands alone but is connected.

Each story has a great hero and heroine, pretty good mysteries and great romance. One is sort of a fantasy and that one needs you to believe. The others are full out good reads. Thanks you, Nora. I will re-read this whole book again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous book!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Eve and Roarke in the Present!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Eve and Roarke in the Present!
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: "Night" series...Fantastic
Review: 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.