Midnight Bayou

by Nora Roberts

Ms. Roberts has done it again. She’s created a fast and fun read with a bit of the paranormal thrown in for the perfect summer read. Set in lively New Orleans, the city is the perfect backdrop for haunted souls, Creole history and modern day romance. Roberts has created an infectious spirit with her dialogue littered with French phrases and descriptive imagery of the people and quarters of the city.

Declan Fitzgerald, arriving in the Big Easy to escape his Yankee upbringing, Ivy League law degree and a fiancée whom his mother whole-heartedly approves of, purchases Manet Hall. Situated on the bayou outside of New Orleans Declan sets about restoring the dilapidated plantation and discovers a haunted past shared between this world and the next. Declan is the man that most women are searching for. He is kind, has a tender nature and a big heart of gold.

Lovely Lena Simone is guarded and flippant who has other things on her mind besides a relationship with the trust-fund Yankee. Lena is a business woman who enjoys men but isn’t looking for anything more than fun. She is probably one of my favorite female characters in a Roberts novel because she reminds me of me. Quick with a smart ass remark and not susceptible to suave men. She can give as good as she gets. Theirs is a spicy romance which is thoroughly enjoyable to read.

I loved the supernatural aspect of the story involving the Creole history of the bayou and the rich plantation families. Exploring their feelings for each other, Declan and Lena share visions of a past life with a ferocious intensity. Are the visions merely clues to solve a past murder or are they a pathway to finding love and happiness in this life?

I felt like I knew where the story was going but I think Ms. Roberts did it with skill interweaving the stories between present and past. Definitely a must read if you love romance or Nora Roberts.