Tag: romantic suspense (Page 15 of 19)

Obsession in Death by JD Robb, narrated by Susan Ericksen

March 30, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I’m a fan of the series and pre-ordered the audiobook.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) Eve Dallas has solved a lot of high-profile murders for the NYPSD and gotten a lot of media. She—and her billionaire husband—are getting accustomed to being objects of attention, of gossip, of speculation.

But now Eve has become the object of one person’s obsession. Someone who finds her extraordinary, and thinks about her every hour of every day. Who believes the two of them have a special relationship. Who would kill for her—again and again…

With a murderer reading meanings into her every move, handling this case will be a delicate—and dangerous—psychological dance. And Eve knows that underneath the worship and admiration, a terrible threat lies in wait. Because the beautiful lieutenant is not at all grateful for these bloody offerings from her “true and loyal friend.” And in time, idols always fall…

What worked for me (and what didn’t): When a lawyer is murdered and a “note” written for Eve Dallas on the wall at the crime scene, it is obvious that the unsub isn’t your run-of-the-mill killer. Obsessed with Eve and thinking they are BFFs, the killer metes out “justice” in a way that Eve cannot, constrained as she is by, you know, the law.

The book takes place immediately after Christmas 2060 and ends up at New Year’s – the next book it will finally be 2061!!! Can you believe that so little time has passed in Eve’s world but there have been 40 full length books? Continue reading

Review at AudioGals

February 14, 2015 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals today with a review of Gone Too Far by Suzanne Brockmann, narrated by Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank. Sam and Alyssa were always my favourite Troubleshooters couple so it was a lot of fun to revisit their story.

Edge by Tiffinie Helmer, narrated by Mia Chiaromonte

February 4, 2015 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: I was provided with a review copy by Audible Studios.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) He’s lost his edge….

Photojournalist Cache Calder lives to chase a great story. He’s just returned from the Middle East after surviving a suicide bombing that left him injured and grief-stricken. The last thing he wants is to travel to the wilds of Alaska on a “Where Is She Now” Assignment. But when his editor informs him that his subject is former kidnapping victim, Amelia Bennett who jump-started his career 20 years earlier, he packs his bags.

She lives on the Edge….

Mel Bennett’s carefully maintained control unravels the moment she meets Cache Calder. Attraction flares for the man who seems to really “know” her. No one at the Edge of Reason Lodge is aware she was the young teenager who’d survived one of the most publicized kidnappings in recent history, and she wants it to stay that way. But she starts to question her heart and her sanity when unexplained incidents begin to happen and a deadly threat returns to finish what he’d started so long ago.

Trigger Warning: Rape (of a child, off page. NOT detailed, but mentioned in the story).

What worked for me (and what didn’t): First, let me say that I’m really glad I listened to this one because, at least in Australia, we pronounce “Cache” with a long “a” (ie Cay-sh) and I just don’t think I could have coped with a hero named after a place you hide things. Thankfully the narrator pronounced the name in the American way so I heard “Cash” which is just fine as a hero name! (*laughs at self*)

I’ve been a fan of romantic suspense for a long time. Perhaps because I love it so much, I have become very picky about it. I don’t mind a heightened reality but I want the world building to be consistent. I prefer more romance than suspense, or at least an even balance, rather than the other way around and I’m becoming averse to “torture porn”. I had high hopes for this book from a new-to-me author (and narrator as it happens). While parts of the book didn’t work for me that well, I did enjoy it and, in terms of the mix of romance and suspense, I think the book got it about right. Continue reading

Review at AudioGals

January 23, 2015 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals with a review of In Deep Shitake by Patricia Mason, narrated by Michael Karl Orenstein. It’s a romantic/suspense comedy full of farce and slapstick humour. It was a bit of a hoot actually.

Review at AudioGals

January 21, 2015 / Kaetrin

I’m over at AudioGals today with a review of Targeted by Katie Reus, narrated by the ever reliable Sophie Eastlake. Like a lot of romantic suspense, check your disbelief at the door, but I liked it and would recommend it to fans of the genre.

Vanished by Kendra Elliot, narrated by Nick Podehl and Amy McFadden

December 30, 2014 / Kaetrin

Why I read it: This is one from my personal library.

What it’s about: (from Goodreads) When an eleven-year-old is abducted on her way to school, the FBI doesn’t waste a moment, sending agents to scour the area and embedding Special Agent Ava McLane with the distraught family. In the eye of the storm is local detective Mason Callahan, whose life is crumbling to pieces – he’s related to the victim, and his longtime confidential informant has just been murdered.

Both he and Agent McLane hole up in the victim’s family home. Every second counts in a kidnapping case, and the stakes keep rising the longer the girl is missing. As Ava and Mason struggle to hold the family together in their darkest hour, the two investigators find themselves drawn to each other.

What worked for me (and what didn’t): With the focus more on the suspense than the romance, I had mixed feelings about this one. There are other books planned for the Callahan and McLane series so I expect the romance will build over time. In some respects I thought there wasn’t enough romance in this one but I also thought that what there was moved too fast. I didn’t quite catch the attraction and build up to desire so when the pair take an (appropriate) time out of the investigation for some sexytimes it kind of came out of left field for me. Similarly by the end, they seemed to have moved farther along the relationship trail than what I could reasonably believe, even allowing for the pressure cooker environment in which they met.

Ava is embedded with the family of the missing girl and her role is less investigative, so I didn’t feel that taking some time out for a bit of romance affected the case very much. So too was Mason not actively investigating and I thought it was a clever way around a thorny RS issue. Continue reading