Verdict: 4.5 Stars
Roberts is one of those rare writers who can blend genres as easily as flipping on a light switch. Part literary fiction, part romance, and still completely a mystery/spy novel, The Witness really brought something for every reader to the table.
When sixteen-year-old Stepford child Elizabeth Fitch commits one completely typical act of teenage rebellion, her entire life is destroyed. By the end of her one night of abandon, she is the prey of the Chicago-based Russian mafia after witnessing the calculated point-blank hit on one of their own and the murder of the man’s date. Her federally protected safe house is raided by crooked cops just short of her testifying against the kingpins, sending her on a twelve-year hiatus as a fugitive with a new identity every few months.
When Liz-turned-Abigail is finally ready to stop running thanks to letting her guard down just enough to let the local small town police chief into her life, she will call upon her savant-like skills with computer hacking and cybercrime to bring down the mob on her own. To keep it interesting, there’s a local self-appointed power hungry bigwig with some money to throw around making her life all the more miserable.
The thing that made The Witness so enjoyable was the sheer amount of research Roberts puts into her books. There was never a moment where the reader is left thinking, “Give me a break, that can’t happen.” From her knowledge of computer crimes, mafia internet crime rings, even the details on a host of handguns and weapons that come into play in the book, Roberts left no detail to chance. The Witness is a gripping book that leaves you wondering how one woman is going to take down the bad guys—all of them—single handed.
