Untraceable

Tracers, Book 1

By: Laura Griffin

Narrated by: Talmadge Ragan

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's Summary

Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive cop husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst, and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on - including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers and a jaded, sexy Austin PD detective - Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth.

As far as homicide cop Nathan Deveraux is concerned, no body means no case. But as much as he wants to believe that Alex's hunch about Melanie's murder is wrong, his instincts - and their visceral attraction - won't let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, Nathan realizes this investigation runs deeper than they could ever have guessed. And each step closer to the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear.

©2009 Laura Griffin (P)2013 Tantor

WOW! WHAT A TREAT!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Untraceable to be better than the print version?

Brand new author for me that I discovered through Audible.com and am so glad I did.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Untraceable?

It wasn't necessarily a particular moment that got to me, it was the entire development of the relationship between Alex and Nathan. I enjoyed and appreciated every moment of their "dance."

What about Talmadge Ragan’s performance did you like?

It was apparent from beginning to end Talmadge did her homework before getting in front of the mic. She had a clear understanding of the characters and the author's pacing and performed them effortlessly. And kudos for the voice of Nathan who still sounded man enough to park his shoes under my bed any day of the week.

Religiously, I search my target genres for books read by (in no particular order) Joyce Bean, Susan Ericksen, Carrington MacDuffie, Kristen Potter, Patrick Lawlor, Jack Garrett, James Daniels and Dennis Boutsikaris. And my new favorite, Talmadge Ragan.

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

Absolutely! My hubby made a fast food dinner run.

Any additional comments?

I've been unhappy with the rash of fantasy/vampire/shape shifter and "erotica" that seem to have flooded Audible's romance genre in favor of smartly written stories that I can sink my teeth into such as this. And before fans of those subgenres want to stone me, I'm not knocking your beloved books. I've tried a few here and there, but prefer other genres more.

Audible, please release the other six books in the series - with the same narrator. Thank you.

Narrator is not for me

This book didn't work for me. It's not that it's terribly bad (I've endured much worse) but it was nothing special. The publisher's description sounded really promising but I found myself falling asleep constantly while listening to it - lucky I wasn't driving :) The story was unexciting and the characters not really very compelling. There was nothing that really made this book stand out for me.

Maybe a better narrator could have lifted the book from the "just OK" level. I'm a huge believer in the importance of the narrator - they can make or break. This narrator did not make the book come alive for me. She slurs some of her words and I found this increasingly irritating. Her largely monotone narration contributed to my tendency to fall asleep while listening.

This book was not my best audiobook experience but definitely not my worst - just very blah.

Some action, good romance

I liked the female protagonist, Alex. She is an unassuming, but determined, individual who takes no interest in material wealth. She is formally uneducated, but intelligent, gaining her considerable computer skills with self-education.

Her love interest, Nat, is a no-nonsense detective with the local police force. There is tension between the two as Alex searches for a missing client and Nat refuses to believe that a colleague had anything to do with the client's disappearance.

No big plot twists, but a few surprises make this book satisfying - there are also satisfying bedroom scenes. Good reader. Overall, well done.

Great start to the series!

Narrator review: Holden Still & Kate Mitchell
Distinguishable between characters: 5 Stars
Impersonating opposite sex: 5 Stars
Accents: N/A
Any critiques: None
Overall enjoyment of Performance: 5 Stars.
Recommend audible version: Yes
Borrowed on Audible Romance Package

Story review:
I read book 12 in the Tracers series, loved it and knew I had to go back to the beginning and read them all. This series has such wide cast of characters that I wanted to get to know their start. Book 1 starts with Alexandra and Nathan.

Alexandra is a private detective. She's known for helping people disappear. When she finds out one of her clients came back home risking exposure only to end up missing again, she is on the hunt to find out what happened to her. Alexandra is pretty persistent. She's one person you want on your side.

Nathan is a homicide detective. He's divorced but a loyal man. One look at Alexandra and he recognizes there is a connection there, he just has to get her to be open to that connection. When Alexandra brings her theory of a corrupt cop to him, he must figure out how to help her and protect her at the same time.

While these two try to uncover what is going on with the missing wife and possibly dirty cop, Nathan is trying to get Alexandra to be open to a relationship. He likes her, he's drawn to her and he can't seem to stay away but Alexandra is easily spooked. It's one of my favorite scenarios. I love to see the man chasing the woman.

While I loved book 12 more, this book was still very good and a great start to the series. I'm looking forward to the next one.

didn't work for me.

I wanted to like this, I like mysteries but I couldn't connect with the characters. The plot was alright, it had a fair amount of suspense but the characters, especially the woman just irritated me more than anything. She was stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason but we were never given enough reason to understand why she would stick to her guns when it didn't make any sense.

The narrator did a good job with what she had to work with.

Untraceable

I have wanted to read this one for quite a while and once I found I could get it in audio I was overjoyed and listened to it in one evening! Alex is a private detective who specializes in helping people disappear. She has a soft spot for those who are considered "lost causes" and one of her causes has turned up missing and presumed dead. Now she is on the hunt for her and/or her killer who she presumes is her husband. She turns to Nathan, an Austin PO but he doesn't believe her at first, however, there is definite chemistry with them. There is a slow burn with them and a lot of twists and turns and an underlying suspense. We are also introduced to the Delphi Org. which is prominent in future books (yes, I have read many of those) and just wait they are so good. This was a good intro to this series and hang on, it only gets better from here.

my first Laura Griffin story

and I think I'll be getting more! the story line was really interesting and surprising and I liked the characters a lot.
the narrator was just ok.

great

great book, just enough suspense to make this book an exciting romance, I loved it.

Laura Griffin is one of the best writers!

I have always felt rewarded after reading her books! The are authors & then there is Laura
Griffin. She is an outstanding author.
Now on to her next book.

Pleasantly Surprised!

I was searching for new authors and gave this book a try. I was very pleased with the flow of the book - one that you wanted to keep listening to, yet didn't want it to end. Fun