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    High Noon
    High Noon
    High Noon
    Audiobook16 hours

    High Noon

    Written by Nora Roberts

    Narrated by Susan Ericksen

    4/5

    ()

    • Family

    • Police Work

    • Personal Relationships

    • Revenge

    • Personal Struggles

    • Strong Female Protagonist

    • Friends to Lovers

    • Redemption

    • Reluctant Hero

    • Damsel in Distress

    • Family in Danger

    • Love Triangle

    • Hero's Journey

    • Family Secrets

    • Loyal Friend

    • Relationships

    • Family Dynamics

    • Friendship

    • Hostage Negotiation

    • Family Relationships

    About this audiobook

    Phenomenal #1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents a spine-tingling novel about a female cop who walks fearlessly into danger—but must draw on her courage to let love into her life.

    Police Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara found her calling at an early age when a violently unstable man broke into her family’s home, trapping and terrorizing them for hours. Now she’s Savannah’s top hostage negotiator, who puts her life on the line every day to diffuse powder-keg situations.

    After watching her talk one of his employees off a roof ledge, Duncan Swift is committed to keeping this intriguing, take-charge woman in his life. Phoebe’s used to working solo, but she’s finding that no amount of negotiation can keep Duncan at arm’s length. Especially when a man throws a hood over Phoebe’s head and brutally assaults her—in her own precinct house—and threatening messages begin appearing on her doorstep. Duncan backs her up every step of the way, as she establishes contact with the faceless tormentor who is determined to make her a hostage to fear—before she becomes the final showdown.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBrilliance Audio
    Release dateJul 10, 2007
    ISBN9781423337331
    High Noon
    Author

    Nora Roberts

    <p>Die preisgekrönte Schriftstellerin sitzt jeden Tag acht Stunden am Schreibtisch. Inzwischen sind fast 250 Romane geschrieben, die weltweit regelmäßig auf den Bestsellerlisten landen. Vom <em>New Yorker</em> wurde sie zu »Amerikas Lieblingsautorin« ernannt. Auch in Deutschland erfreut sich Nora Roberts einer großen Fangemeinde. Sie lebt mit ihrem Ehemann in Maryland.</p>

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    Related categories

    Reviews for High Noon

    4/5

    768 ratings35 reviews

    What our readers think

    Readers find this title to be one of Nora Roberts' best books, with a great story and suspense that keeps them hooked until the end. The characters are well-developed and the family relationships add warmth to the story. The narrator, Susan Erikson, is brilliant and brings the characters to life. While some readers felt that the author may have struggled with the details and character build-up, the overall consensus is positive. High Noon is a must-read for fans of Nora Roberts.

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I read High Noon when it came out in 07'. When I saw Susan Ericksen (who happens to be my favorite narrator of all time) was the narrator, I immediately purchased this book. And, she did not disappoint! The plot was excellent and the narrator was on point. You get drama, suspense, comedy, and romance. I loved the build up to Phoebe and Duncan's relationship. They could easily be my second favorite book couple. I hate that Phoebe had to live her life around her agoraphobic mother but, in the same instance, I also loved that she didn't mind the sacrifices she had to make. I wish Nora would've delved a little more into Dave and Ava's relationship. It would've been nice to see them finally come together as a couple. Overall, I'd give High Noon two thumbs up and five stars! I'll definitely be listening to it again in the near future.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great book!!! Would recommend to all Nora fans !!!

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      One of her best books. I loved the suspense all the way to the end.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Female police hostage negotiator is targeted by a male underling. She meets an incredible guy. Romance takes off. Bad things happen. First half of the book is amazing. Not so much when she finds out who is doing the bad things. Her family is a mess.
    • 5/5
      What a great book, suspense, mystery, and then love. A fun read
    • 5/5
      Great story
      Would listen again kept you wanting for more
    • 4/5
      Great book . Was totally shocked to find out. It wasn’t who I thought it was interesting. Would have liked to witness the father given a badge of honor to the negotiator.
    • 5/5
      Another excellent novel by Nora Roberts! Highly recommended!
      As a police negotiator, Lieutenant Phoebe MacNamara gets blamed for the deaths of people she couldn't save during the negotiation. Her job and past hurt prevent her from trusting another man until the inevitable mutual attractions flourish.
      Two antagonists want nothing more than to end Phoebe's career or her life. One is a misogynist, and the other a good cop turned evil. The family relationships colored the story with warmth and happy feelings, too.
      Susan Erikson is brilliant as she performed all the characters in the audiobook. It is no wonder that she is one of my favorite narrators.
    • 3/5
      Bought on impulse as part of a two-book special offer and instantly regretted, but it turned out not to be that bad. A bout of illness left me feeling in need of something not too demanding on my poor brain but not so fluffy that I gave up. Described as a 'romantic thriller,' a phrase that I didn't see until I got the book home and one reason for the regret, the book tells the story of Phoebe McNamara, a hostage negotiator, who meets Duncan at the bar he owns when a former employee is threatening suicide on the roof. Duncan is instantly taken with Phoebe but her job and complicated family life make it difficult for her to let her guard down and admit her feelings back. A violent colleague who may or may not be stalking Phoebe adds further complications to the relationship.It worked well, although the character I liked best (if you can call it a character) was Savannah itself, it sounds like a beautiful city. I could see a series of Phoebe books that focus on her job and probably would read them (perhaps not buy them) and enjoy them as light reading. It didn't quite have the Southern Women/Southern Eccentric feel that some other writers have captured and I have enjoyed but perhaps it wasn't supposed to. I will definately try another one (since I bought two in the special offer that is a good thing) but won't be rushing out to buy more from this author although if I come across one in the library I will be more inclined to give it a go.I was disappointed by some loose ends though. Phoebe and her family are tied to a house by the terms of a will which are never properly explained. It seems to require that Phoebe lives there but she has at times moved out. A clear explanation on that would have been good. Ava seems to have married and divorced while living in the house but I can't for the life of me remember if anything was said about where she lived during the marriage or where her husband went afterwards.
    • 3/5
      I feel like the author had a solid idea in the beginning, got overwhelmed halfway when she overcommitted with all the details and character build up, and eventually gave up at the end.

      Kudos to the narrator though. She was pretty much the only reason I kept listening at some points.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I’m still amazed. Wow. She’s good. Couldn’t stop listening until it was over

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      good police procedural novel.
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars. Because Susan Ericksen narrates, I had some trouble with differentiating Phoebe from Eve Dallas and is it just me or did Liz Alberta sound suspiciously like Roarke? It is, however, 1 million times better than the Lifetime movie... :)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This Nora Roberts standalone novel starts off with a bang. Phoebe McNamara is the top hostage negotiator for the Savannah Police Department and she is called in to talk down a man threatening suicide. She heads out on the ledge with him and is able to get him to put down the gun and come inside. This is just part of the job for Phoebe as she has worked suicides, kidnappings, hostage situations and robberies gone wrong with very few fatalities. The man who is talking to "suicide Joe" when she arrives is Duncan Swift who recently won several millions in a lottery. He falls for Phoebe and will not give up until she agrees to go out with him. Phoebe is not looking for a relationship as she is a single mother to a 7 year old daughter and she is the breadwinner and caretaker for her agorophobic mother. Unfortunately for Phoebe, something is happening and she does not know what. Someone is stalking and tormenting her. Dead animals are tossed on her porch steps, a man she has spent hours negotiating with is shot down as he walks out with his arms in the air, and Phobe doesn't have a clue who is taunting & terrorizing her. She is also dealing with a suspended police officer who hates her and when she is attacked in the stairwell of her own police building he is fired and only given community service. As the violence escalates, she fears for her family and the man she is falling in love with, Duncan Swift.

      Nora Roberts never fails to deliver action, suspense, intrigue, chemistry, and romance. The plot development and action were well written. The suspense kept building and building as the stalker grew more violent and brash. I was never sure who the stalker was and neither was Phoebe until just before the final showdown (hence the title, High Noon). The family dynamics and history added another interesting storyline which added another dimension to the characters. The chemistry between Phoebe and Duncan was believable even if it did happen very fast. He was a great character, honest, loyal, loving and putting Phoebe's family right up there with her. He was the prince on the white steed, but not mushy or unbelievable. My only complaint was the abrupt ending. I would have loved an epilogue of what happened after that final scene where the showdown takes place. I assume they got married, but would love to have had something end the story a little less abruptly. A great romantic suspense novel for anyone who likes reading this genre.
    • 4/5
      Well rounded three dimensional characters who I really missed after the end.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorites that i've read by her so far. I am slowly trying to get through her books, and enjoy them all.
    • 2/5
      Normally I love Nora Roberts, but this was only ok for me. A little too hard core with the sexual assault scene for what I was anticipating to be a good vacation read and the ending felt really rushed. I think I may stick to her non-thriller/suspense things from here on out.
    • 4/5
      Have you ever loved someone or something so much that if anything happened to them you would stop at nothing to seek retribution for your loss. That is exactly what this book is about love, loss, and the power they both have over people's lives. I have to say that I loved this book from beginning to end. The best and worst part of this book is that the characters were so real that you didn't want the book to end so, when it did you were left hanging wondering about the well being of all the characters not just those in the last few pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes romance, suspense, and a good mystery.
    • 4/5
      I was really looking forward to reading High Noon. I always can expect a well written, and well research novel from Nora Roberts. And she didn’t disappoint me.The most positive aspect of the book was the characters. I am always amazed at the depth Nora puts into them. Phoebe was a strong, independant woman, trying to balance a sucessful career and a family. She was a character that any woman would admire. I really enjoyed Duncan and Phoebe’s love story. They had tons of chemistry, but it was a natural chemistry. It was not rushed or forced. This just made their relationship seem more real life. Another really strong character in this novel, even though she was only in a few chapters was Detective Liz Alberta. I would love to see her featured in one of Nora’s future books.The only fault I found with the book was the ending. I thought it was rushed. I didn’t have that satisfying feeling when I closed the book. Overall, another excellent novel from Nora. Now I can sit back and wait for the next one.
    • 3/5
      The thing with Nora Roberts is....she often has what I consider forced or awkward dialogue. Its not consistantly a way that people talk now a days...you see the phrase..."I'm going to thank you for that..." and it leaves me wanting to say to no one in particulair...just thank someone without announcing you're going to thank them. This type of dialogue is common, and it put me off reading her books for awhile...but I do encounter one of her books every now and then that intriques me, cause shes good with plot, imagination and interesting characters...who generally turn or are very horny people. This story was a good one, and the dialogue wasn't that bad, so I rated it thusly....did you like that turn of phrase?
    • 4/5
      Police Lieutenant Phoebe McNamara is a hostage negotiator, a calling she came to after being a hostage herself as a young girl. She’s a professional and she’s good at what she does, but not every situation can come to a successful ending.
      With one exception, Phoebe has the respect of her peers. Her home life includes her seven-year-old daughter and an agoraphobic mother. Duncan Swift meets Phoebe when she talks one of his employees off a rooftop. The attraction is mutual, and Phoebe, who has been committed to travelling her life solo, finds that having a loving partner can enhance life and ease some of the burdens. Then she is brutally attacked in the precinct house and disgusting messages appear on the steps of her home and life begins to take a terrifying turn. There was a blizzard near my home, but this book kept me in good company during the storm
    • 4/5
      The book started out a little slow, but picked up pace nicely. Roberts characters are rich and deep. The characters seem like real people with real problems, and the plot is never dull. When you think that you know where the story is going, it surprises you with a different way of looking at the problem. Well worth the read.
    • 4/5
      It amazes me that after what, 100+ books?, Nora Roberts can continue to create new characters and new storylines. Phoebe MacNamara and Duncan Swift are two of my favorites so far. I liked their easy report with each other, and the way their relationship wasn’t the big drama in the story. There was a really obvious red herring in the story, but it didn’t really take away from anything. Overall, another Nora classic!

      P.S. The Lifetime movie was actually pretty decent, too. I haven’t been impressed with most of them.
    • 4/5
      Good as usual
    • 5/5
      Sometimes I like Nora Roberts and sometimes I don't. This one I liked and enjoyed
    • 4/5
      I'll read almost anything Nora puts out -at least her new stuff. I started reading her several years ago at the recommendation of my aunt. I'm so thankful. She consistently entertains with her trilogies and mystery romances. I finished High Noon on June 22, 2008, right before I started this blog.

      In High Noon, the characters are wonderful. Phoebe is a strong single mother, who also happens to be a hostage negotiator. She is driven to keep her family safe after a turbulent childhood which left her mother confined to the house because of fear. She doesn't have much time for dating as her daughter always comes first in her life.

      Duncan meets Phoebe during a crisis with one of his employees. He is wealthy yet down to earth. He works hard yet has a sense of humor and fun which he shares with his best friend's family. He's drawn to Phoebe immediately and sets about trying to get to know her better.

      Phoebe is threatened by one of her fellow police officers and then strange warnings are left at her home. Someone is out to get her and make her pay for a mistake they think she made in the past. She and Duncan try to make connections while keeping their families safe. It comes to a head in a hostage situation where Phoebe's extensive training is tested.

      I really enjoyed this book because I felt the characters were very real, very normal. The conversations between Phoebe and Duncan could have happened to any couple across the world. The plot was great but the characters made this book. The only thing it lacked was some sort of epilogue to tie it all up.
    • 4/5
      Assuming I get this posted in a somewhat timely manner, High Noon is the latest blockbuster from the prolific Nora Roberts.

      Police Lt. Phoebe MacNamara is a hostage negotiator. She meets Duncan Swift while trying to prevent the suicide of a bartender Duncan just fired. It's love at first sight for Duncan--or at first acquaintance, anyway, because he's entranced with her strength and skill (and beauty, of course). It takes Phoebe a little longer.

      Phoebe really has too much going on to think about romance, anyway: a house she can't afford but can't move out of, a mother who's severely agoraphobic and can't leave the house, a 7-year-old fashionista of a daughter... to top it off, she's training cops in rudimentary hostage negotiation, and is catching a lot of flack from one particular misogynistic but well-connected cop.

      And then she's brutally attacked in the stairway of the police station, and threatening messages and dead animals start showing up on her doorstep.

      Duncan, well... Duncan won the lottery a few years ago. And he owns parts of several businesses. His best friend is a lawyer, and he's adopted his friend's family as his own. Basically, he's got plenty of free time to spend acting like the perfect man.

      *sigh* Yeah, we're getting to why I'm giving a new Nora Roberts book only four stars. I... you could say I'm a fan. I'm not a squeeing fangirl for Nora the way I am with Crusie or Butcher or Pratchett or Kinsale or Gaiman, but I own every single one of her books and have read most of them multiple times, I moderate an email list, used to run a fan website, did a short stint as a moderator on ADWOFF, and have been to several signings at TTP. Yeah, I'm a fan. I tend to like her books a lot.

      But too many things in this book just went nowhere. Phoebe's mother's agoraphobia, for example. Okay, she has agoraphobia, she can't leave the house. It eventually gets explained why she's not doing anything about it, but then it's just left hanging there. The house is apparently completely impregnable, so there's never a worry that she'll HAVE to leave the house for her own safety, and we never find out the terms of the will, so there's never a worry that if Phoebe marries Duncan she'll lose the house. I don't consider that a spoiler--it's not a major part of the plot--I consider it fair warning.

      And the romance... just wasn't. It was love admiration at first sight for Duncan (though that's better than just lust, I admit), and Phoebe just seemed to bow to the inevitable presence of Mr. Perfect in her life. There was no development of emotion between them--Phoebe just kept listing obstacles and Duncan just kept using his money and charm to remove them.

      Part of that, I admit, is my own preference--I can't think of anything more boring than a "perfect" hero. Never argues, never complains, never has a thought in his head that doesn't mesh exactly with the heroine's. *yawn* I can see how this fantasy would be appealing to some people. Just not me.

      Worse yet, the romance/family plot and the suspense plot really didn't overlap except only briefly. I'd expected the villain to break in or bomb or burn the house, so that there would be a point to Phoebe's mother's agoraphobia, but there wasn't. There wasn't a point to the daughter being obsessed with shoes, either, and that could have tied in so easily. There wasn't even a romantic conflict over the danger in Phoebe's job. Perfect man Duncan just calmly supported her.

      The suspense plot was great, though. It kept me guessing, and I enjoyed the resolution very much.

      It's as if this were two stories, loosely connected: a suspense novel, and a slice-of-life women's fiction story. I'd have preferred the suspense novel to stand alone. Cut out all the agoraphobia, and Duncan's friend's family picnics, the fashion-conscious 7-year-old (that's my own prejudice, but it got on my nerves), and the romance, such as it was. That would bring the suspense story down to 350 pages, and I'd probably have given it 5 stars.
    • 3/5
      I picked this up in an airport bookshop last weekend, when my plane got stuck in Atlanta. High Noon wasn't a bad read and certainly kept the boredom at bay as I waited for my flight to depart, but it wasn't up to Roberts' usual standard.

      The plot is laid out above and I will say that the characters were interesting by the end of the novel. Unfortunately, it seemed like two much was going on with the thriller plot to allow Roberts to flesh out the characters early enough for me to really connect. By the time we got around to Duncan's backstory I wasn't even that interested in learning about it which is a shame. Too many characters and way too many subplots made this a messy read for me; I think the bones of the plot were good, but the editor should have put this book on a diet.

      I find it interesting that the problems suffered by Phoebe's mother did not get resolved in the blink of an eye through the intervention of the hero; for that alone the book probably deserves 3.5 stars.
    • 4/5
      I love Nora Roberts. She is one of my favorite guilty pleasures. She writes Mystery/Romance novels, and I don't think anyone does it better. She's incredibly prolific with many, many titles to her credit. One of my favorite things about her is that she picks all kind of interesting occupations for her characters. She researches them thoroughly, so you learn things while you are reading and trying to figure out whodunnit. One of the characters always seems to fall in love rather rapidly, and the other one is somewhat resistant. She balances the tension well. In this story, the heroine is a hostage negotiator. Interesting, and very well done. Our hero won the lottery. As always, a great read.
    • 4/5
      I am a HUGE Nora Roberts fan and this book did not disappoint. What most impresses me about her writing is that I am engaged from the very first page because her stories draw you in immediately. I love how each character is so fully developed, I feel like I can picture each one and get to know their personalities like a new friend. Each character also has a unique profession that is artfully woven into the story with such detail that it is clear Ms. Roberts has put a lot of time and research into learning about her character's chosen vocation.

      The main character in this book is a hostage negotiator for the police department in Savannah. She meets the love interest by talking his former bartender down from the roof of a building. I learned a lot of fascinating aspects of hostage negotiation from this book, something I never expected to be interested in. I cared about the characters right away and I loved how the central character had both a prickly and a vulnerable side to her. The climax of the book was very suspensful and the romance was crafted perfectly. Highly recommend!