cover image Born in Shame

Born in Shame

Nora Roberts. Jove Books, $7.99 (357pp) ISBN 978-0-515-11779-0

The final installment in Roberts's Ireland-based trilogy about three sisters who are brought together by a packet of old love letters, tells the story of Shannon Bodine, the American-born half-sister of Maggie (Born in Fire) and Brianna (Born in Ice). There are few surprises here--the characters and basic plot have been deftly set up in previous novels, but the story takes on an unexpected poignancy when Shannon reluctantly accepts Maggie and Brie's invitation to visit Ireland. Shannon plans a quick trip, just long enough to satisfy her curiosity about her sisters and the father they shared. What she hadn't planned on was finding herself, and the man from another lifetime who haunts her dreams. With prose that's lively and compelling, Roberts' creates exceptional characters whose relationships with each other develop and grow, and live on in the reader's imagination and heart. (Jan.)