9. Northern Lights

Book 9: Northern Lights by Nora Roberts (A-)

Such an interesting book! I bought this book at the City Lights bookstore for $1, and I really wasn't expecting much from it. I naturally figured that a book for a $1 had to be marked that low for some reason. So, my expectations were low. Maybe that was why it was such a thrill to read. It was hard to put down.

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In a small town called Lunacy in Alaska, a new chief of police, Nate, comes in from Baltimore. He is running from a dark past of an ex-wife who cheated on him and a partner dying in his arms. Nate decides to dive into his depression in the middle of an Alaskan winter when there are only a few hours of daylight. Instead, he surprisingly finds love in the town with a girl, Meg, who refuses to make a commitment, except to her dogs. They obviously fall in love as the town's secrets become exposed.

A few boys went hiking up a nearby mountain called No Name and discovered a frozen corpse with an ax in his chest - the corpse of Meg's father who checked out of her family sixteen years earlier. All hell breaks loose with the local newspaperman and family man shooting himself in the head with a typed confession on his computer of killing Meg's father. Then, strange things began to occur in the town like Meg's house getting baited with meat causing a black bear to attack her dogs, a local elderly dog being brutally murdered in the middle of the town, and strange vandalism. As the reader, you try to put together the clues with Nate while falling in love with the town of Lunacy and hoping Meg opens up her heart to a heck of a police chief.

I haven't read a murder mystery in awhile, and I readily enjoyed it. I believe I've read Nora Roberts before. I forgot she's such a good writer!! Did you know she's written over 150 books?!! My gosh!!! That's got to be some kind of a record. 
I was quite impressed with how detailed the town was and how even minor characters played important roles in the story. The plot was also so much more than just trying to find out who murdered Meg's father. That's something I need to work on in my own books - multiple plot lines and depth that go below the main crisis.
Ultimately, this book has kind of been tainted thanks to the made-for-TV movie that followed. I believe it premiered on Lifetime... don't hold me to that but it wouldn't surprise me if it had. I don't know if the movie's bad or not, but the whole reason it's sort of "tainted" is because the two lead actors had an adulterous affair with each other in real life during or shortly after filming. And, they just got married like last weekend to each other! Kind of makes you not want to support the movie... or maybe even the book!

Overall, a very enjoyable book. Definitely pick it up!! You might get an awesome read for $1 too!!