Legacy: A Novel

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 26,353 ratings

Price: 1.99

Last update: 12-18-2024


About this item

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents Legacy, a new novel of a mother and a daughter, of ambition and romance, and of a traumatic past reawakened by a terrifying threat…

Adrian Rizzo was seven when she met her father for the first time. That was the day he nearly killed her—before her mother, Lina, stepped in.

Soon after, Adrian was dropped off at her grandparents’ house in Maryland, where she spent a long summer drinking lemonade, playing with dogs, making a new best friend—and developing the stirrings of a crush on her friend’s ten-year-old brother. Lina, meanwhile, traveled the country promoting her fitness brand and turning it into a billion-dollar business. There was no point in dwelling on the past.

A decade later, Adrian has created her own line of yoga and workout videos, following in Lina’s footsteps but intent on maintaining creative control. And she’s just as cool-headed and ambitious as her mother. They aren’t close, but they’re cordial—as long as neither crosses the other.

But while Lina dismisses the death threats that Adrian starts getting as a routine part of her daughter’s growing celebrity, Adrian can’t help but find the vicious rhymes unsettling. Year after year, they keep arriving—the postmarks changing, but the menacing tone the same. They continue after she returns to Maryland and becomes reacquainted with Raylan, her childhood crush, all grown up and as gorgeously green-eyed as ever. Sometimes it even seems like the terrifying messages are indeed routine, like nothing will come of them. Until the murders start, and the escalation begins…


From the Publisher

Legacy Nora Roberts
Legacy Nora Roberts
Hideaway Shelter in Place Come Sundown
Customer Reviews
4.6 out of 5 stars
28,542
4.6 out of 5 stars
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4.5 out of 5 stars
28,888
Price $10.43 $4.92 $15.59
Discover more powerful #1 New York Times bestsellers from Nora Roberts “Pulls you in from the first page.” –Associated Press “A page-turning brio.” —Publishers Weekly “Powerful.” —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)

Top reviews from the United States

  • Sheila M
    5.0 out of 5 stars Returning to Hometown Romance (with stalker and murder)
    Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2022
    FINAL DECISION: The mystery wasn't that strong for me, but I loved the relationship between these characters and the glimpse of these lives that we learn about. Adrian is a great heroine, and Raylan is just adorable. Very enjoyable read even if not perfect.

    THE STORY: Adrian Rizzo met her father on the day he tried to kill her and her mother.
    In the aftermath, her mother Lina brought her to her grandparents who live in a small town in Maryland. Adrian enjoyed that summer and met her best friend -- and her older brother, Raylan. Decades later, Adrian and Raylan are living in the same town and things seem to bring them together. At the same time, Adrian is dealing with a stalker who has sent her threatening poems for years. Her stalker is escalating, however, and is taken with murdering women as he zeros in on Adrian.

    OPINION: This was quite an enjoyable journey with these characters. I really loved Adrian and Raylan, who are both such caring people. Their story was very compelling, and their life as they grow together was engaging to me. I liked that the two of them had complete lives apart, but then their lives begin to overlap.

    Roberts does such a great job of building these towns with characters who are interesting in their own right and yet don't overwhelm the story. What she also does so well is create stories where the romance is essential to the story, and yet this is the story of a woman who has managed to build her own life with friends and family. The man adds to her existence, but she has a pretty good life even without him.

    I've been reading a lot of women's fiction these days, and this book demonstrates what I find missing from those stories. This book has complex characters and never seems to scream -- I'm a powerful woman. Instead, the characters are so good, and I am interested in their lives. Even without the drama of the mystery in the story, I would have been satisfied reading how these characters manage to find one another and create the possibility of sharing a life together. I supposed I should go back and read more of Robert's standalone romances.

    WORTH MENTIONING: This book has significant violence, including abuse, murders, and a school shooting. Most, but not all, of the violence occurs off-screen.

    CONNECTED BOOKS: LEGACY is a standalone book.

    STAR RATING: I give this book 4.5 stars.

    NOTE: I received an eARC of this book via Netgalley. I was not required to write a review or to write a positive review. All opinions contained herein are my own.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Rizzo
    Reviewed in the United States on September 11, 2024
    What an adventure, I loved this story. I laughed and cried and felt so many emotions. Ms Roberts never disappoints, her books are so well thought out and the plots are deep and keep you reading when you know you should be doing other things. Keep up the great work Ms Roberts, thanks.
  • KJ Cairns
    4.0 out of 5 stars Really good read
    Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2024
    I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love the dynamics between all of the characters and the diversity of them. - including all the kids in their idiosyncrasies and of course the wonderful super-hero dogs. The plot was woven in very well throughout the book with an excellent exciting ending. Happy reading!
  • DianeM
    5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the read
    Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2024
    I have lost count of the number of times I’ve reread this book. The characters are just compelling and lovable. Nora Roberts has rarely let me down and this one is no exception.
  • J. Dennis
    5.0 out of 5 stars Another hit!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2024
    I've been a fan of Nora Roberts for 20 years or more and she never lets me down with her spectacular writing. Suspenseful and a page turner with strong characters and a happy ending. Her books always leave me wanting to read more.
  • neicy
    5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful read!
    Reviewed in the United States on October 2, 2024
    I love these kinds of storylines. Love Nora Roberts! Cannot wait until the next book comes out. She made me want to see Ireland through her tales and now I have????
  • Garden Lady
    5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2024
    I do love Nora Robert’s books! This one had me laughing, crying and at some points scared to death! I couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end. The relationships between characters was well written and believable. The dogs were an added bonus! I don’t think you will be disappointed with this book!
  • Marion Marchetto, author
    3.0 out of 5 stars More than one legacy
    Reviewed in the United States on August 16, 2021
    We first meet Adrian Rizzo when she is seven. Her biological father has shown up at her mother’s Georgetown townhouse to confront the woman who bore his child. He is, after all, a revered professor (who loves messing around with the female co-eds) and his reputation might be tarnished when knowledge of his love child gets around. He is a volatile and cruel man and takes his rage out on young Adrian. But her mother, Lina, steps in to protect her daughter and in the ensuing scuffle he falls from the second floor and dies.

    Years later, Adrian is in high school and after living in the shadow of her mother’s career is ready to step out on her own. Lina Rizzo is what’s known as a fitness guru with her own brand on her exercise DVDs, clothing line, and so much more. This is how she provides for herself and Adrian but the relationship between mother and daughter is almost nil – Lina puts her work and her travel schedule before her daughter. Adrian learns to be self-sufficient at an early age. She quietly recruits a tight group of nerdy fellow-students to help her and she produces her own fitness DVDs.

    Throughout her growing years, Adrian has formed a close relationship with her grandparents (Lina’s parents) who live in Traveler’s Creek, a small, country town in Virginia. Adrian feels loved and makes lifelong friends who seem to ground her while supporting her growing fitness line. But soon after Adrian becomes a public figure she begins to receive poems – not of the flattering kind. It soon becomes apparent that she has a stalker. But with the poems coming once a year on Valentine’s Day can this truly be something to worry about? Lina worries for her daughter but advises turning things over to the police, which Adrian does.

    When Adrian’s grandmother dies, she moves in with her aging grandfather. She’s always loved their house and sets about creating an exercise studio in the basement. For companionship and protection she gets herself a large dog named Sadie who falls in love with Jasper, a dog belonging to one of Adrian’s friends. When the stalker/serial killer makes the final move on Adrian, things come to an exciting close.

    There is so much going on in this book that sometimes it was a bit difficult to follow. We have the mystery of the serial killer/stalker; there’s the ever-changing relationship between Adrian and her mother; the growing success of Adrian’s fitness business; and the slow burn romance between Adrian and one of her life-long friends who is healing from the loss of his wife. Any one of these topics would be sufficient for a stand-alone book yet they are thrown together to form a tapestry of words.

    Ms. Roberts is a solid storyteller. No doubt about that as is evidenced by her prolific writing. But for me this novel was a bit slow. The action is concentrated at the beginning and the final twenty pages; the remainder is backstory. In her signature style, Ms. Roberts does a good job of getting inside her characters’ minds and letting the reader feel one with them. And while the suspense grows throughout the story, I think it could have been a little more intense.

    Overall, another winner for Nora Roberts.

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