The Obsession, Nora Roberts, 2016
My favorite quote: “You put something behind you, Nome, it’s got its eye on your back. I’d rather keep it in front of me, so I can see where it’s going.”
Notable characters: Naomi Bowes/Carson, a photographer and daughter of a serial killer; Xander Keaton, the Nora-Roberts-style sexy car-mechanic-love-interest who makes men everywhere look and feel substandard; Mason, Naomi’s brother, the FBI profiler
Most memorable scene: What young Naomi discovers in the root cellar in the woods out back
Greatest strengths: Smooth(ish) head-hopping. I’m still not a fan of unexpected point-of-view shifts within the same scene, but I’ll say that good old Nora does it about as well as it can be done
Standout achievements: Its twist ending. I thought for sure I knew who the baddie was. I thought wrong
Fun Facts: Nora Roberts was the first author to be inducted into the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame
Other media: While I wouldn’t doubt there’s some Hallmark-esque film version of this floating around out there somewhere, I’ve found no evidence of its existence
What it taught me: That romance can go anywhere. That’s what I like about Nora Roberts. It’s romance, sure… but it’s also suspense and drama and comedy and horror and … well, you get the idea
How it inspired me: I think about Nora Roberts a lot when I’m writing scenes that involve the squishing of the gibbly bits. I like the way she does it … not too tame, but not too explicit, either. Of course, I always go straight for the vein when it comes to parking the Plymouth in the old love garage, but I do admire Nora’s subtler sexual finesse. In short, no one does gland-to-gland combat quite like her
Additional thoughts: Even if you’re not into romance novels, this one’s worth checking out. It’s been a long time since I read it, but as I recall, the love story wasn’t in the driver’s seat. Or maybe that was just my perception — I’m far more interested in the suspense elements
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Alistair Cross 
“Parking the Plymouth,” haha, I’ve never heard it put quite like that.:-) Interesting analysis of Roberts’ book.
LOL! Gotta be careful how you word these things. I wouldn’t want anyone thinking I wasn’t all classy and stuff