Dark of Night

Troubleshooters, Book 14

By: Suzanne Brockmann

Narrated by: Patrick G. Lawlor, Renée Raudman

Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

For years, operative James Nash has performed ultra-covert "Black Ops" missions for The Agency, but when he decides to walk away from their dirty work, his corrupt bosses aren't about to let him go. After Nash is nearly assassinated, Troubleshooters team leader Lawrence Decker launches a skillful deception to neutralize the threat and protect his friend. With the FBI's help, Decker fakes Nash's death, then brings him to a safe house with his fiancee, Tess Bailey, to recover from his injuries and strategize their next move.

Only a handful of people know that Nash is still alive - and fellow Troubleshooters Dave Malkoff, Sophia Ghaffari, and receptionist Tracy Shapiro aren't among them. Believing that Nash is dead and that Decker has begun a romantic relationship with Tess, Sophia settles for second best and begins a love affair with Dave, who has adored her for years. But Tracy puts two and two together, discovering the truth about Nash - much to Decker's dismay.

As passions flare, Decker struggles to keep his scheme afloat, and to keep Nash alive. But when he finds himself targeted for death, the game turns even more perilous, and Sophia, Tracy, and Dave are swept into the deadly play. Under fire and racing to unmask their relentless adversary, the Troubleshooters know that the closer they get, the greater the risks. But sacrifices and consequences come with the territory. Forced to choose between love and loyalty, they are no longer just solving a crime - they're fighting for survival.

More in the Troubleshooters series.

©2009 Suzanne Brockmann (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Dark of Night

Surprise!! OMG!! Great listen. Brockman delivers again.

Two readers did not work well

I have listened to over 350 Audible books. One of the most annoying things is when the reader changes their volume during their reading. I have to leave the volume up to an annoying level to hear everything that is said. In this book, Renee Raudman is the volume changer. Add in that Patrick Lawlor virtually always starts at a different volume level than Renee Raudman and I had to downgrade what might have been a more enjoyable book.

What Else Can I Say? Love The Series

If you could sum up Dark of Night in three words, what would they be?

Romance, Action, Suspense

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not really, probably because I've become used to Brockman's form through this 17 book series. It definitely kept my attention - a page turner for sure!

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scenes were the back and forth between Decker & Tracey. It was also a real surprise to get to know Tracey and her smarts. I dismissed her in earlier books as a 'throwaway' character or 'placeholder'. Brockman really did a great job developing her into a believable, central, main character.

I was also glad to learn more of Sophia's story and how her life progresses (no spoilers from me!)

How about my least favorite 2?

#1 Anytime Sam is acting as 'therapist' (with the exception of advising Nash to enhance his love life by using baby duty-hysterical)...I'm all for men having feelings but he is downright emasculated by the author with these scenes.

#2 Brockman's portrayal of Jules relationship scenes. He comes across as a whiny & needy in every one. He's always fretting about his partner and seems to need to be coddled reassured by him. How about an all around strong character with an occasional moment of tenderness.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I'll use this space to praise the narration...both are excellent! Oddly enough Renee Raudman's 'Sam Starrett' is my favorite! How a woman can pull off a strong man, with a sarcastic, Texas drawl is fantastic! That is to take nothing away from Patrick G. Lawlor - his portrayals of both female and male characters is great, too. These two are an ingenious pair and narrate exceptionally!

Any additional comments?

I'll finish out this series in 2 more books-I would rate it as perfection IF ONLY Brockman kept her political views out of them... however, she IS the author & until I write [never going to happen!] a fabulous series with no political sway it will have to do.

NOTES: To the action/suspense crowd, this series is BASICALLY ROMANCE with the other elements included. This is NOT Vince Flynn or Tom Clancy Spec Ops.

A LOT of strong language and some sexual scenes this one also had a bit of gore as well.

great read

one of my favorite books in this series. it has it all, action, romance, humor. what more could you want.

Available on Audible only:

The one Troubleshooter audiobook you won't find in iTunes. I used to purchase audiobooks from that other co; til I found out how overpriced they ate; and I got fed up with their poor access. How great to listen while working & living.
I love the whole series, and I really enjoyed this book. I got a kick ck out of the pairing of Decker and Tracey - who’da thunk it? My heart got all mushy with Dave and Sofia’s story filling out.
Lawlor and Raudman do a great job of narration. Ewbank’s voice is complementary with Lawlor, but I like Raudman’s work better.

suzanne brockman rocks

funny, sad, emotional, can't put it down. Suzanne Brockman has flowing dialog and interesting cases

This one was really good!

I wasn’t as pleased with the story right before this one, that was centered around Izzy but this one was so good!!

love this series

I love this book. I'm so glad Decker got with Tracey. thank you can't wait to hear about them and also I would love to hear about Murphy and Hannah again.

great book

enjoyed every minute listening to this book made my commute quick and painless. highly recommended

Incredibly satisfying and surprising!

Wow! The major complaint of a reviewer before me happened to be my personal favorite theme in the book. Don't let it put you off, you may love it! It was really funny, riveting and filled with tension. Wow! This was definitely my favorite of all the Troubleshooters books so far. It would help if you have read at least Flashpoint and perhaps Into the Storm before this book in order to best appreciate the truly elegant twists in the romantic story arcs. Brockmann gives us enough backstory to fill in the blanks, but nothing can really compare to understanding the characters the way you do if you get to know them over several books. Not to mention the fact that all the books in the series are great. Dark of Night is the only one of the Troubleshooters series that I have given a five star rating to, however and I believe only one of two that have a five star rating from me out of something like 200 audible titles listened to and rated. Masterful storytelling!
Just, WOW.