An extraordinarily prolific and popular writer of romance and mystery novels (over 131 published as of this writing), Nora Roberts (a pseudonym of Eleanor Wilder) is often dismissed as a writer of mere escapism successfully aimed at bored women who read her books on the Metro while going to work. However, some qualities stronger than merely escapist themes are present in her fiction and help to account for her enormous popularity. In River's End, her characters are strongly drawn, her heroes sexy, her heroines strong and beautiful, their emotions and sentiments presented with little or no ambiguity or subtlety. These qualities certainly contribute to her popularity. However, examining River's End carefully suggests that the strong connection between her themes and issues of general societal concern, indeed, those that speak to the darker fears of society, especially fears that center in threats to the security and sanctity of...