It has only been within the last several years that I started to read books by Nora Roberts. I was quickly hooked on them and have been picking up her new titles ever since. I just finished Tribute, her summer 2008 release.

Cilla McGowan was a former child star and granddaughter of Janet Hardy, a popular actress who had died before Cilla was born. Cilla had been in a successful sitcom for several years. After the show ended, basically so did her career even though she still made some bad movies. Cilla had left that life behind to remodel and flip houses, something her mother Dilly didn't understand. Dilly craved the type of fame her mother had, but she had never achieved it for herself. Cilla now owned her grandmother’s farm - the place where Janet died of an accidental overdose - and she intended to refurbish it and live in it once she was done.

The house and grounds had been neglected for many years. Cilla had many plans and didn’t waste time getting started, which did gain the attention of some of the locals, including her neighbor Ford Sawyer. She intended to keep him at a distance, but he was interested in her in right away and even used her as the inspiration for a character for a new graphic novel. The two of them did become closer and started a relationship. When cleaning out the attic, Cilla discovered a collection of unsigned letters that indicated that Janet had been involved with a local married man and pregnant at the time of her death. That raised new questions for Cilla, but she was still focused on the work on the house. It quickly became clear that someone wasn’t happy about what Cilla was doing when some minor vandalism occurred. Things got more dangerous as the vandalism increased and there was an attack on the property.

With over 400 pages, Tribute was a long book and there was a lot going on throughout it. The main plot was focused on Cilla’s work on the house and her trying to figure out who was vandalizing the house. There were subplots connected to her troubled relationship with Dilly, her growing relationship with Ford, her relationship with her father, things that were connected to Janet, and Ford’s new graphic novel. Some of the subplots received more attention than others. I did think everything that was going on worked and blended well together. Those things made a very entertaining and interesting book.

Almost every Nora Robert’s book that I’ve read has included at least a little bit of mystery. Tribute was no different in that regard. The mystery was connected to the letters Cilla found, which also connected to Janet, as well who was vandalizing things around the farm. I was very interested in those aspects of the plot and in finding out exactly what was going on. I felt that the mystery was fairly strong and kept me guessing. There was a bit of suspense in some scenes as well. Certain things that happened were predictable, but that didn’t lower my enjoyment of the book. I was quickly pulled in and I didn’t want to stop reading once I started.

A lot of time was devoted to Cilla’s work on the house and several details about it were included throughout Tribute. Several of the projects were only briefly mentioned while others received more attention. I have helped on several remodeling projects, but none were as extensive as what Cilla was doing. I do watch several of the shows on TLC that deal with remodeling as well, so I did enjoy that aspect of the book. Cilla came up with most of the plans for what was being done, though she wouldn’t hesistate to consult others on certain things. She didn’t just come up with the ideas. She did a lot of the work herself and she was hoping to get her contractor’s license and start up a full time business. I enjoyed reading about what was being done to the house, even when I didn’t always care for some of her ideas.

Some time was also devoted to Ford’s work as a graphic novelist. He had written a few novels about the Seeker, a character who tried to do something good for the wrong reasons. His girlfriend was killed and he ended up becoming invisible and he then turned to fighting crime. There wasn’t much more about the character shared, but I did think it was very interesting and wouldn’t have minded if there had been more about him. After meeting Cilla for the first time, when she was using a sledgehammer for demo work, Ford was inspired to create a new character. The woman would become a powerful warrior goddess type of character who used a magical double headed hammer. I thought it was really interesting how Ford came up with the idea for the new character and what was going to became a new series of graphic novels. He even ended up basing a few other characters on other people he met because of Cilla. One of those people was a huge fan of the Seeker. I think it would be really cool to be the inspiration for a superhero type of character. I really enjoyed that aspect of the book and actually would have liked it if more of the storyline that Ford came up with for the new character was shared.

Cilla, her mother and grandmother, and even her father to some degree, were connected to the world of Hollywood. Janet had started performing at a young age and managed to transition from child roles to adult roles - and no I don’t mean pornographic. She was still very famous when she died, and the press still like to stir up speculation connected to her at times. Certain things about Janet’s life were mentioned throughout the book, including how there was a story about her having an affair with a married, popular real actor. A few things connected to Cilla’s acting career were shared as well, like how she had some guest spots on a few popular television shows like E.R.. It was also mentioned how she had been up for the role of Batgirl in Batman & Robin. When he found that out, Ford did make a comment about how horrible that movie was. His opinion of Jar Jar Binks also came up at one point. I thought those little details helped to make things more realistic and interesting.

Relationships also played an important part in Tribute. Cilla had a complicated, strained relationship with her mother. It had been that way for years. One of the reasons seemed to be that Dilly was obsessed with fame and pushed her daughter to become famous as well. Dilly kept pushing to try to keep Cilla in the business even when she made it clear she wasn’t interested. Cilla also had a somewhat strained relationship with her father Gavin. He had grown up in the area of Virginia where the farm was and had returned there and became a teacher after his acting career and marriage to Dilly fell apart. Cilla was wary of personal relationships, especially since her mother and grandmother had been married multiple times. She and Ford did develop a relationship as the book progressed. They were attracted to each other, but they didn’t rush into anything. Their relationship was important to what was going on without detracting from the other aspects of the books. There were some sex scenes and sexual situations that were descriptive without being overly graphic.

Cilla had several issues connected to her childhood and her strained relationship with her mother. She had been very famous as a child because of a television show. Once that show ended, she struggled to keep her acting career for several years until she decided she wanted out of that life. Cilla had managed to find a new career and was very happy at it, something that some former child stars can’t seem to do. Cilla was a kind, smart woman that could sometimes be stubborn. She was very talented and able to do a lot of the remodeling work herself.

Ford was a successful graphic novelist who lived across the street from the farm. He had a unique way of looking at things at times and was very creative. He was sometimes inspired by people he knew when creating new characters for his work. He couldn’t do any kind of remodeling work, which was a running joke with his friends. Ford was a very kind man who did get protective of Cilla at times. His parents and friends turned up in a few scenes as well. Some of those friends were involved in the work at Cilla’s house. Steve, Cilla’s best friend and exhusband, made a visit and stuck around to help work on the house for a while. He had actually gotten Cilla into remodeling and flipping houses. Steve was a very interesting character.

Several other characters were around at different times. Gavin turned up a bit more often as the book progressed and his relationship with Cilla improved. He seemed like a kind man who had made some mistakes with Cilla. His second wife and daughter were also around a few times. Dilly was mostly only around through her phone calls to Cilla. Dilly had a tendency of trying to manipulate her daughter and she wouldn’t believe that Cilla didn’t want to get back into acting. Dilly wanted everything to revolve around her. Mario, Dilly’s fifth husband, also made a few short appearances. He seemed to be able to deal with Dilly when she was in her moods. Other people from around the area also turned up at times. None of them were as developed, but that was fine since they weren’t as integral to what was going on.

Nora Roberts also writes a series of futuristic romantic suspense books as J.D. Robb. The In Death series is set in a futuristic New York City and focuses on Eve Dallas, a homicide detective and the different cases that she works on. There is a group of several returning characters for the series. Those books tend to have stronger mysteries and be more violent than the books that she writes under her own name. One book, Remember When, has both names listed as authors. The first half of the book took place in current times and the second half concluded in Eve’s time. The two halves of the book were connected by a mystery. Eve’s portion of Remember When takes place between Imitation in Death and Divided in Death.

I really enjoyed Tribute. There was a decent mystery and interesting subplots. It is another very entertaining book by Nora Roberts that her fans should enjoy.

Since Ford writes graphic novels, this review is part of elvisdo’s 2008 Funny Pages Write-Off.


Nora Roberts Book Reviews
Angels Fall ~ Birthright ~ Blue Smoke ~ Chesapeake Blue ~ Engaging the Enemy ~ Genuine Lies ~ High Noon ~ Homeport ~ Midnight Bayou ~ Montana Sky ~ Once More With Feeling ~ Northern Lights ~ Sweet Revenge ~ Three Fates ~ The Villa ~

Trilogies
Three Sister’s Island Trilogy
Dance Upon the Air ~ Heaven and Earth ~ Face the Fire ~

Key Trilogy
Key of Light ~ Key of Knowledge ~ Key of Valor ~

In the Garden Trilogy
Blue Dahlia ~ Black Rose ~ Red Lily ~

The Circle Trilogy
Morrigan's Cross ~ Dance of the Gods ~ Valley of Silence ~

The Sign of Seven Trilogy
Blood Brothers ~ The Hollow ~ The Pagan Stone ~

Silhouette Series
Reflections ~ Dance of Dreams ~ Hidden Star ~ Captive Star ~ Secret Star ~ Night Shift ~ Night Shadow ~ Night Smoke ~ Night Shield ~ Cordina's Crown Jewel ~ Cordina's Royal Family ~

Nora Roberts and J.D. Robb
Remember When ~

Recommended: Yes