The Long Way Home

By: Z. A. Maxfield

Narrated by: J.F. Harding

Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's Summary

Ever since the accident that cost him his job on the Seattle police force, Kevin Quinn has been living with psychic abilities he refers to as the 'gift that keeps on taking'. His attempts to use his talents to help the police have been met with limited success. Yet, when teenage boys start going missing from the beach cities of Southern California, Kevin gets on a plane.

Connor Dougal has every reason to believe all psychics are fakes and charlatans. He's still numb from the disappearance of his first love, a boy who went missing 10 years earlier. Everything he aspires to is a direct result of that tragedy, even the acquisition of his detective shield. The irony of having to babysit Kevin Quinn is not lost on him.

These two suspicious men must develop trust and respect for one another to solve the case and, on the way, maybe fall in love.

©2008 Z.A. Maxfield; 2012 Z.A. Maxfield (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Compelling Mystery and Romance

Any additional comments?

Kevin Quinn has psychic abilities he developed after a car accident that nearly took his life. He doesn't have any control over them, and has met with limited success when trying to use them to help different police agencies. However, when his brother-in-law calls the week before Christmas, Kevin is convinced to go home to Southern California to try to find the missing boys and/or their abductor/killer.

Connor Dougal is the new detective assigned to shadow Kevin. But Connor has his own demons that he wrestles with nightly, including the fact that he's really gay.

The romance between Kevin and Connor is one of immediately hitting it off and falling for each other - in other words: "insta-love".

I loved that Connor, seeing what Kevin goes through, is determined to help him any way he can, even if that means stepping in front of him and shielding him.

The mystery is super slow moving, and sometimes got caught up with an enormous cast of characters, which got a bit confusing at time while listening to the story.

I was a bit disappointed in the glacial pacing of the mystery, and felt like Keith and Connor's romantic relationship moved at a bit too fast a pace. I wish there has been a middle ground for both, though, both were quite captivating and in the end are solved quite satisfactorily.

J.F. Harding does a great job overall. Harding's tendency to sound like a crime show voice over narrator really works for this story, drawing the listener in and keeping their focus. I really liked his character voices, and he definitely had a lot to keep track of with this huge cast.

It was an easy listen, with good pacing, and a compelling romance and mystery.

Loved it!

If you could sum up The Long Way Home in three words, what would they be?

Mysterious, hot, suspenseful.

What did you like best about this story?

There was mystery, romance and hot sex.

Have you listened to any of J.F. Harding’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, he did an amazing job as a narrator. He is great with making the voices distinctive.

If you could rename The Long Way Home, what would you call it?

Under the Sea.

Any additional comments?

The storyline was great and the narration was amazing.

Love Conner and Kevin!

I read so much I'd forgotten I'd read this on my kindle, but the opening was so familiar. It was great in audio form too. I sure wouldn't mind this book becoming a series with Conner and Kevin solving cases together.

Great story

Really enjoyable! Never a dull moment, kept my interest throughout and I especially loved the ending!

Good short story

I’m used to reading trilogies so I expected a bigger world and more depth of the world or situation but I realized that this is a standalone single book.
The book is sexy, a bit funny, and beautiful, this book left me happy and have a “feel good” feeling that made me appreciate my relationship.

Nice but...

The main non-romance part of the story was entertaining, though at times there were phrases that seemed stereotypical and out of place. The romance was fine. I’m not sure if it was the almost deadpan delivery of the narration (which was consistent and annoying through the entire story) or if the pair was just meh, but it was difficult to care about the romance. The sex scenes were an oddly jarring combination of euphemisms and allusions mixed with blunt words and phrases which seemed designed to prove the author wasn’t prudish while actually proving their discomfort with writing blatant sex. It made the scenes utterly un-sexy and threw me out of the story every time. I can recall three occasions where I found myself exclaiming my annoyance out loud unintentionally.

If you’ve run out of credits and have no other free books to listen to this is entertaining enough to take up a few hours, but don’t expect much past that.

Sexual homosexual experiences

Very explicit male homosexual experiences - which was too much for me. Story is very strange as well

Did you enjoy 50 Shades of Gray?

I wanted to listen to the mystery part of this book but it was hard with all of the graphic sex thrown into nearly every chapter. I do not enjoy reading graphic sex scenes. These are homosexual but I am just as offended by graphic heterosexual encounters in books.

Just awesome!

Would you listen to The Long Way Home again? Why?

I would listen to this again, just for the dialogue and amazing chemistry. I don't really go for crime books or suspense novels, what got me was the dynamic between the main characters. What started as a slow burning candle, became an inferno. These guys made the most of their time for sure.

Have you listened to any of J.F. Harding’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first JF Harding listen, and it's fantastic!

Any additional comments?

At this point, ZA Maxfield owns a piece of my soul. Please apply your mojo to fantasy so I can switch genres?

Good

Well I have to admit I was a little disappointed the mystery crime part of the story took a backseat to the erotica romance of the story. But overall, the great writing, interesting characters, and the entertaining value of the story kept me listening.

Very good mystery with a dash of psychical ability

Read this in pixels first and after hearing the sample decided to give the audio version a go and I'm glad I did as this is another book I thoroughly enjoyed in audio format. The story is paced well; the unfolding relationship between the two leads blending well with the investigation they're engaged in so that there's a nice balance throughout the book.
The initial suspicion held by Connor for Kevin's ability gradually giving way to belief was well represented as was the hostility of some of the other characters for a psychic helping in an investigation.
The narration was very good, with the characters being pretty well defined and I'll definitely listen to more books narrated by Harding.
I will be listening to this again; it's going on the 'keeper' list.

Great story

Well written interesting story with likeable characters. Narrated by the best voice for bittersweet romance.