Birthright

by Nora Roberts

Paper Book, 2003

Publication

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, c2003.

Collection

Call number

Fiction R

Physical description

465 p.; 24 cm

Status

Available

Call number

Fiction R

Description

Fiction. Literature. Romance. Suspense. HTML:From beloved author Nora Roberts comes the #1 New York Times bestseller about shattering loss and shocking discoveryâ??set in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountainsâ?¦ When five-thousand-year-old human bones are found at a construction site in the small town of Woodsboro, the news draws archaeologist Callie Dunbrook out of her sabbatical and into a whirlwind of adventure, danger, and romance. While overseeing the dig, she must try to make sense of a cloud of death and misfortune that hangs over the projectâ??fueling rumors that the site is cursed. She must cope with the presence of her irritatingâ??but irresistibleâ??ex-husband, Jake. And when a stranger claims to know a secret about her privileged Boston childhood, she must question her own… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member miyurose
This is the first Nora Roberts book I've read (under her own name, at least -- I'm a J.D. Robb fan). I thought it was pretty good. The plotlines were interesting, and I thought things were woven together well. The climax of the book was unexpected. The only thing I thought was a little too neat was
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the way everyone (except the villains, of course) ended up with what -- or who -- they wanted in the end. I do wonder how someone who has written 80 books can come up with enough unique story lines and situations. I'm interested in reading another of her books to see if I spot formulaic things.
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LibraryThing member madamejeanie
In the middle of a beautiful spring day, while working a backhoe digging a foundation for one of the new houses going up along the creek at the far end of town, one of the workers brings up the shovel and finds a skull grinning back at him. When it is discovered that the skull belonged to humans
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who lived 5000 years ago along that same creek bank, it sets off a chain of events. Archaeologists arrive in droves, headed up by Dr. Callie Dunbrook, a young hotshot with a string of impressive work under her belt. The man who owns the property, developer Ronald Dolan, doesn't want to have his worksite cluttered up by archaeologists and when they get an injunction to stop him from building on his own land, he's more than pissed. Legend has it that the woods around this site are haunted anyway, and when Dolan's body is found floating in the creek the day after a major confrontation on site, it's anybody's guess who did it. Rumor's of a sort of "mummy's curse" cloud the dig and seem to be affirmed by a second death on site. But Dr. Dunbrook's got another problem that is of a more personal nature. After an appearance on a local news program talking about the dig, she receives a visit from a local woman who is convinced that she is the daughter that was stolen from a stroller in the mall 30 years ago. While Callie tries to brush off the woman's claims, her scientific mind won't let her until she uncovers the truth, layer by layer, just as she does at the dig. And what she learns is unsettling and shakes the very foundations of her life. It's a strange feeling to learn that you aren't who you thought you were. And matters aren't helped any when Callie's boss brings in the best anthropologist available to help on the dig and she looks up from her work to come face to face with her ex-husband.

Ok, so this is Nora Roberts and there's going to be some hot steamy romance scenes in this book. That's a given. But she writes them well, IMO, and they don't seem to intrude on the plot too much. This book has a good story with lots of twists and turns. I had the "bad guys" pegged all wrong, which is always refreshing. And Ms. Roberts is a master at writing dialog and creating characters that are multi-dimensional and people that you feel like you know by the end of the book. This was a good little book for summertime escapism and I'll give it a 4.5.
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LibraryThing member AnneCurrin
Really enjoyed this book....
LibraryThing member bgillilan
Great book
Nora Roberts keeps you drawn into her story and leaves you wanting more
LibraryThing member wareagle78
When archaeologist Callie Dunbrook is asked to work on a site expected to contain Neolithic remains, she is thrilled. Little did she know that her life would be completely upended by this site. A woman claiming to be her mother and a furious site-owner/wanna-be site-developer bring unexpected, When
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archaeologist Callie Dunbrook is asked to work on a site expected to contain Neolithic remains, she is thrilled. Little did she know that her life would be completely upended by this site. A woman claiming to be her mother and a furious site-owner/wanna-be site-developer bring unexpected, unwelcomed and unfortunate events raining down on Callie. And an ex-husband thrown in the mix just adds to the drama!

I enjoyed this story. Nora Roberts again develops characters who are believable, likable, and interesting. The dig background adds interest layer by layer (pun intended). And while I did not find the "who-done-it" aspects to be riveting, they were reasonably thought-provoking. and unfortunate events raining down on Callie. And an ex-husband thrown in the mix just adds to the drama!

I enjoyed this story. Nora Roberts again develops characters who are believable, likable, and interesting. The dig background adds interest layer by layer (pun intended). And while I did not find the "who-done-it" aspects to be riveting, they were reasonably thought-provoking.
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LibraryThing member kaulsu
I thought I was going to hate it.

In the first 20 minutes of listening, she "sucked down a diet Pepsi," and "girded her loins" for a confrontation. Either the clichés died down or I became too involved in the story--and I did enjoy the freshness of the story--but I stopped noticing the hackneyed
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narrative after awhile.

Roberts is a mixed bag: she avoids giving prices--which dates a book pretty quickly--but then uses slang, which does the same thing. She builds tension nicely, packing surprises along the way but then drifts into bodice-ripping territory.

Oh well, she isn't going after any literature prizes. I thinks she writes to entertain, and at that she succeeds.
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LibraryThing member AddictedToMorphemes
Birthright by Nora Roberts

This is a very full and well-developed story following Dr. Callie Dunbrook, a 29yo archaeologist who has been called to a site in rural Woodsboro, Maryland, after human bones were found by workers preparing the ground for a new housing development. The bones were carbon
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dated to be thousands of years old, which is an exciting find for scientists. Not such exciting news for the locals whose livelihoods are dependent upon the construction jobs provided by the developer.

Callie is not-so-pleasantly surprised to learn that her ex-husband has also been hired to work the site as their anthropologist. Jake Greystone and Callie have been divorced for nearly a year but still love each other. They are both hard-headed and stubborn and have to work through that in order to make peace with each other.

Callie receives a second surprise when a strange woman pays a visit to her after seeing her on the news, claiming she is her long-lost birth mother, even providing her birth certificate and baby pictures, as well as family pictures of other relatives who look strikingly like Callie. The only problem is that Callie wasn't adopted...was she?

As Callie studies the past lives of the humans from the ancient settlement they are excavating, she also must delve into her own past as she learns that she was kidnapped when she was three months old and then adopted by her unwitting parents. The site of the dig becomes a place of danger, arson, even murder, but they are at first unsure whether the threats are coming from the locals who want the scientists out or if there is a more sinister plot underfoot.

Roberts does a good job once again of introducing interesting characters whose lives intertwine as friends and family. There is more than one love story in this book, and it is fun to watch the various characters find their way in both romantic love and family matters.
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LibraryThing member whybehave2002
A new layer of mystery at every turn!
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
was very good
LibraryThing member sanyamakadi
Another great NR read. The characters are likeable and fun, and it centers around one of my childhood obsessions, archaeology.
LibraryThing member N.W.Moors
A good story dealing with murder and archeology with a lot of twists and interesting information. The characters are fine and the writing is typically good.

Awards

RITA Award (Finalist — 2004)

Language

Original publication date

2003-03

ISBN

9780399149849
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