Tainted Evidence

Evidence, Book 10

By: Rachel Grant

Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella

Some family secrets are deadly....

Inventorying human remains can be difficult at the best of times, without a creepy security guard hovering over Maddie Foster’s shoulder. Nervous about being stuck in the crypt with the strange man, Maddie asks a friend of a friend to drop by and pretend to be her boyfriend to force the guy to back off.

Raptor operative Josh Warner recently moved to Oregon to take over as guardian to his troubled niece and open a new private security branch in the Pacific Northwest. Josh doesn’t hesitate to help Maddie and is intrigued by the brainy museologist. His protective nature kicks into high gear as he discovers she may be in very real danger.

Tensions run hot in the summer heat as Josh’s work puts everyone he cares about at risk, and Maddie’s research into the museum collection raises questions better left buried. As their city teeters on the precipice of violence, Josh and Maddie find themselves embroiled in a deadly scheme that could reshape the nation.

©2020 Rachel Grant (P)2020 Rachel Grant

Not as preachy as advertised

Basically I disagree with every other review.
1) The only reference to BLM and the protests following George Floyd’s murder was in the author’s note at the end. The book itself is focused on fictional white supremacy groups in the PNW trying to undermine tribal rights and treaties, and it was one of the author’s more more masterfully crafted plots, I thought, in terms of who was actually pulling the strings. There is no demonization of police or promotion of looting/rioting. Triggered much?
2) The bisexual piece does actually further the plot; it allows for resolution of a specific insecurity/jealousy that threatens the budding relationship between the lovers and allows meaningful conversation between Maddie and Eva.
I have read plenty of this author’s work and yes, sometimes it gets preachy. This particular book was actually very subdued in that regard, I thought. It is otherwise classic Grant with some real archeology, punchable bad guys, emotionally intelligent heroes, and hot military guys that generally skip the toxic masculinity. Enjoy.

Love, hate and new families

I loved Maddie and Josh’s cinnamon roll single dad, fierce brainy woman romantic suspense tale with a side of politics and racism. This author does a phenomenal job of weaving together exhilarating action, palpable tension, plot twists, mystery, mistakes, and red-hot romance into a complex and multi-layered storyline. Madeline is an museologist who works as a NAGPRA specialist for Aubrey Sisters Heritage Preservation, investigating stolen indigenous remains and relics. She is currently working on cataloging and researching bones that were collected 80 years ago and displayed in a private museum. Josh is a former SEAL who know works for Raptor. He recently moved to Portland to open a new field office in the city after being made guardian of his niece, Ava. When the owner of the private museum tries to intimidate Maddie, Josh is called in to play her boyfriend. Pretend soon begins to feel real for both Maddie and Josh but there are so many complications to pursuing it. To get to their HEA they’ll need to deal with white supremacists, family drama, doxing, high powered families, and politics all while trying to navigate complicated busy personal lives. Ava was a wonderful and integral addition to the story rather than a flimsy story prop. The story would not have been as rich and well rounded without the full development and inclusion of her character. The story included engaging dialogue, three dimensional characters who grow, and a captivating storyline. The deep emotions are intense in this one - phew - I was really feeling them. I am excited to read the next book in this series.

Nicol Zanzarella did a wonderful job narrating the stories and characters into life with enough change of inflection, tone and cadence to voice multiple characters quite convincingly.

Laid it on a little too thick, Rach

I love Rachel Grant as an author and have read most of her books.

I also have no problem at all with an author using their platform to advocate for causes they believe in or to give representation to a group that deserves it. In fact, I think Rachel does a pretty good job of doing this without being too heavy-handed in a lot of her other books.

But my god did she lay it on thick with this one. It was like at every possible plot decision, she said “how can I turn this into a political statement and opportunity to virtue signal”. Ironically, if she spent more of her writing creating fully fleshed-out characters who have complex thoughts and emotions beyond *insert generic liberal take here* and “I must deny myself emotional fulfillment because I’m not worthy for xyz reason that I’ve self-assigned”, she could undoubtedly do significantly more good for the causes she’s trying to promote.

But ultimately I read romance novels to escape, so my gripe isn’t that she didn’t take the best tactical approach to changing people’s minds. It’s that she laid it on so thick, even people who agree are getting stuck in the mud here. I can’t even forget my real-world problems for 2 minutes in this book before something else is happening to remind me of everything all over again. Not to mention, she seems to have sacrificed her usual attention to detail with regards to military training and SOPs (something that, in my opinion, makes her a stand-out in the genre) in favor of creating more opportunities to hit us over the head with the same message again and again.

Lighten up on the moral grandstanding a bit, Rach - we’re all just horny ladies who wanna read about nerdy archaeologists and swoony military men.

Anyway, I’ll still probably finish it cuz I’m a sucker for a hot man wrapped around the finger of a nerdy bad ass lady.

Very Preachy and Woke

I am a huge fan of Rachel Grant. Love her Hero and Heroine characters who are typically smart and strong, fighting together for justice. However, this story felt like I was being lectured to about sexual orientation, race and privilege. The last thing I want is to be lectured to when I am trying to escape the politics of today's headlines. For me, the underly "preachyness" took away from the story. It was a pass for me.

condescending & preachy

I hate quitting a book but I wanted to throughout. The bi aspect of the story just went away & had no purpose other than what seemed to be woke-ism. The police bashing was presented in a completely unbalanced way. Hand-wringing main characters were just another annoying aspect. I hope the this focus is not something Grant continues to incorporate because I’ve been a fan until now.