Mini Review: Twisted by Laura Griffin

Twisted (Tracers #5)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: April 17, 2012
Publisher: Pocket Star Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin chills with her newest novel of suspense and romance in the award-winning Tracers series, when a woman police detective in a small Texas town discovers that the only thing more terrifying than a killer you don’t know . . . is the one you do.

Motive, opportunity, and no alibi—it seems close to a slam-dunk. But while rookie detective Allison Doyle’s department has ID’d a suspect in a young woman’s vicious murder, she is uneasy. Then legendary FBI profiler Mark Wolfe shows up with a startling theory: if he’s right, the real murderer is an elusive psychopath just days away from another kill.

Using Allison’s contacts at the Delphi Center crime lab, Wolfe is finally in striking distance of the monster he’s pursued for ten years. Except that as they work together, Wolfe finds the ambitious, stubborn woman a tempting distraction. And with this brutal predator, every thread of evidence can make the difference between being the hunter . . . and the prey.

3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Laura Griffin has me hooked on her books. Every time I pick up one of her stories, I can and have to sit down for a few hours and finish it in one sitting. She hooks me with her story telling and her characters and I am unable to let go of the story until I'm done with it. The same thing happened with Twisted and it's characters.

Twisted follows rookie detective Allison Doyle and FBI veteran Mark Wolfe. Their differences are striking so sometimes they would both stubborn and it was interesting in reading then trying to find common ground. Like all the previous books in the Tracers series, Twisted's serial killer is horrific and scary and the case scares me to the bone. Also, the romance is slow burn just like the rest in the series.

Laura Griffin has a set formula that I love so I just gobbled up Twisted. Can't wait to read the next book.

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Review: Snapped by Laura Griffin

Snapped (Tracers #4)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: August 30, 2011
Publisher: Pocket Star Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

SOPHIE BARRETT THINKS SHE’S LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

SHE MAY BE DEAD WRONG.

On a sweltering summer afternoon, Sophie Barrett walks into a nightmare. A sniper has opened fire on a college campus. When the carnage is over, three people—plus the shooter—are dead, and dozens more injured. Sophie escapes virtually unscathed. Yet as details emerge from the investigation, she becomes convinced that this wasn’t the random, senseless act it appeared. No one wants to believe her—not the cops, not her colleagues at the Delphi Center crime lab, and definitely not Jonah Macon, the homicide detective who’s already saved her life once.

Jonah has all kinds of reasons for hoping Sophie is mistaken. Involving himself with a key witness could derail an already messy investigation, not to mention jeopardize his career. But Sophie is as determined and fearless as she is sexy. If he can’t resist her, he can at least swear to protect her. Because if Sophie is right, she’s made herself the target of a killer without a conscience. And the real terror is only just beginning…

3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Snapped literally starts off with a bang. Sophie Barrett, whom we met in the previous books, is at the local college campus to register for classes when she gets caught in the middle of a nightmare. A shooter has open fire on campus and it's mayhem. Jonah Macon, also in the previous books, is on the scene to help. Once the shooting is over, the police tries to close the investigation quickly but Sophie has reasons to believe that the case is far from over.

I thoroughly enjoyed Snapped. Laura Griffin hooked me with the premise of the book, it hit a little too close to home considering all the school shooting that have happened. The suspense portion of the book hooked me as did the romance but only to an extent. I really enjoyed Sophie and Jonah's characters in the previous books but there were some moments that made me perplexed by Sophie's antics. Just like Mia in Unforgivable, Sophie reacted in a way that made me questioned her. She had survived an attack and here she was, acting irrationally. Also, I just couldn't love Jonah. I liked him but there was something about him that stopped me from loving him.

All in all, I am enjoying this series and I look forward to reading the next one, Twisted.

Review: Unforgivable by Laura Griffin

Unforgivable (Tracers #3)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: November 30, 2010
Publisher: Pocket Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

TRACING KILLERS IS MIA VOSS’S BUSINESS.
AND HER WORK JUST GOT PERSONAL.

At first, Mia Voss thinks it’s just bad luck when her already lousy day ends with a carjacking. But what seems like a random incident is followed by another sinister episode. A DNA expert, Mia has made it her mission to put away vicious criminals. Suddenly, she’s become the target of one. And the only way to protect the people she loves most is to deliberately destroy her reputation and risk letting a killer walk free.

Once, Mia trusted Detective Ric Santos. That was before Ric let his turbulent past ruin his chances with Mia, the sexiest, most intriguing woman he’s ever met. But he can tell when she’s lying—and when she’s scared. The key to catching a sadistic madman lies within a long-buried cold case that has haunted Mia for years. Only she can uncover the truth, but first, Ric will have to get her to entrust him with her secrets . . . and her life.

3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Unforgivable captured my attention from the first page. Having met both Mia Voss and Ric Santos in the previous novels, I was excited in getting to know these two characters. In the previous books, we get the feel that there is something brewing between the two and so I was a little surprised to see that nothing really ended up happening. However, after reading the previous books in the series, I knew that Griffin would somehow rectify this.

The story follows Mia as she becomes of a victim of a carjacking, which in turns deadly and is part of bigger problems for Mia and her life. Ric becomes involves when he's assigned to her case and he battling a lot of emotions attraction towards Mia but also the reluctance to act it. The suspense aspect of the book had me turning pages at lightning speed because I was hooked and curious at who would want to hurt and kill Mia. I found it so interesting and worrisome at how Mia was being asked to destroy evidence and in turn how quickly it can kill her reputation and career.

The romance part of the story irritated me a bit, to be honest. There were some instances where Mia made some questionable choices, choices that in turn put her in danger and made me question her intelligence. Also, Ric is constantly manhandling her, expecting her to answer/do everything/anything he asked only to leave her with no look back, and he continually flipped his mood and emotions on how acted and felt towards her. So I definitely had trouble liking Ric and in liking how their relationship progressed. I would have been happier if Ric would have owned up to his reasons and told Mia why he was such a commitment-phobe at an earlier time instead of just brushing her off. It would have made him a better person and made things clearer with Mia.

Overall, I was happy with how the story progressed. The suspense part of the series is always my favorite parts of the book and that's because Griffin just knows how to suck in her readers into the story. I would have preferred a little bit more of an epilogue of some sort but I know I'll see these characters in some form in the next book of the series. I can't for more of these books!

Mini Review: Unstoppable by Laura Griffin

Unstoppable (Tracers #2.5)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: March 27, 2012
Publisher: Pocket Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

Forensic anthropologist Kelsey Quinn goes to a remote Texas border region to dig up ancient bones, but ends up unearthing a deadly secret. When Kelsey’s discovery jeopardizes not just her dig, but her life, she turns to US Navy SEAL Gage Brewer, who may be the only person brave enough—and lethal enough—to help.

3 stars out of 5 stars

Unstoppable was a quick novella where I met forensic anthropologist Kelsey Quinn. We’ve heard of her in the previous Tracers series book and so it was nice getting to know her in her own book. Unstoppable is a short novella, only 80 pages, but it filled with suspense, danger, and a hot Navy Seal. We meet Navy Seal Gage Brewer and boy oh boy is he an interesting one.

Gage and Kelsey are thrown together in a situation that puts them both in danger and it was so interesting seeing how they both leaned on each other. I'm curious to see if they continue the story line that was started in this book and if Laura Griffin will bring it into the Tracers' plot. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing these two again and really get to know them. A good and quick novella!

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Review: Unspeakable by Laura Griffin

Unspeakable (Tracers #2)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: June 29, 2010
Publisher: Pocket Books
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

ELAINA MCCORD WANTS TO FIND A KILLER.

BUT HE’S ALREADY FOUND HER.

Elaina McCord’s dream of being an FBI profiler is in danger with her first case—investigating a string of murders near a Texas beach resort. The victims, all young women, were drugged and brutally murdered, their bodies abandoned in desolate marshland. Elaina’s hunch—met with disbelief by local police—is that these are only the latest offerings from a serial killer who has been perfecting his art for years, growing bolder and more cunning with each strike.

True-crime writer Troy Stockton has a reputation as an irresistible playboy who gets his story at any cost. He’s the last person Elaina should trust, let alone be attracted to. But right now Troy, along with the elite team of forensics experts known as the Tracers, are her only allies in a case that’s turning dangerously personal. A killer is reaching out to Elaina, taunting her, letting her know how ruthless he is and how close he’s getting. Now it’s not just her career that’s in danger—it’s her life…

3.5 stars out of 5 stars

Unspeakable follows Elaina, an FBI rookie agent, being sent to a small beach town in Texas to provide help in a case where she is not wanted but definitely needed. Troy, a true-crime writer, has some clout with the police department decides to help her but for personal reasons we later learn. The story follows at a steady pace which had me nervously wondering who the killer was throughout the whole book. The romance of the story wasn't exactly what I cared for but that's because I didn't see the appeal of Troy. However, I'm noticing that in Laura Griffin's books, the romance is not the only appeal of the books so I can overlook it and it'll be fine.

My only complaint was how Elaina finally get a shot at her dream job and she turns it down to be closer to Troy. She said she wanted to gain more experience but she can do that while working at her dream job. Troy is a true-crime writer, he can write from anywhere so he could have told her he would follow her instead.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book, a novella called Unstoppable. I am loving all the romantic suspense and you should definitely check out this series.

Mini Review: Untraceable by Laura Griffin

Untraceable (Tracers #1)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: November 24, 2009
Publisher: Pocket Star
Format: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal Copy
Review by: Jenn

Be careful what you look for…you might find it.

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 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 detective who’s helped her before--Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth, one clue at a time.

Homicide cop Nathan Devereaux wants to believe that Alex’s hunch about Melanie’s murder is wrong, but his instincts—and their visceral attraction—won’t let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, he realizes this investigation runs deeper than they ever imagined. And each step nearer the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear. . . .

4 stars out of 5 stars

Untraceable follows Alex and Nathan as they navigate a case that is personal for Alex. One of her former client is missing but according to Nathan, there is no proof of any foul play.  So they both go on to investigate what really happened together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was such a quick, easy read and I was unable to put down the book. The plot and the romance hooked me from page one. I'm hooked and will continue to read the rest of the series. Laura Griffin has made a fan out of me.

Mini Review: Deep Dark by Laura Griffin

Deep Dark (Tracers #10)
Author: Laura Griffin
Release Date: May 24, 2016
Publisher: Pocket Books
Format: ARC
Source: Pocket Books
Review by: Jenn

The moment detective Reed Novak steps onto the crime scene, he knows the case is going to rock his world. A beautiful young woman murdered at home. No sign of forced entry. No motive. She’s obviously not the killer’s first victim, and Reed’s instincts tell him she won’t be his last. Reed’s first clue comes via a mysterious text that links to a dating profile, but even more intriguing than the clue is the person who sent it.

As a white-hat hacker in the Delphi Center’s cyber investigation unit, Laney Knox sneaks into some of the deepest, darkest corners of the Internet looking for predators. Laney would prefer to stay away from Austin PD’s most recent murder case, but she can’t ignore the chilling similarities between that crime and her own brutal attack years ago. Laney offers to help the sexy lead detective, but he wants more from her than just a promising tip—Reed wants her trust. Laney resists, but as their relationship deepens she’s tempted to reveal the closely guarded secrets that could make her a key witness…or the killer’s next victim.

4 stars out of 5 stars

*I received an ARC of this book from the publisher. However, that did not influenced this review in any way.*

I was hooked from page one of Deep Dark. It had been ages since I picked up a romantic suspense novel and this book bought everything that I love from this genre. Laura Griffin wrote a hero and heroine I could root for, some slow burn sexual tension that I love, and a story and villain that terrifies me. I love these kinds of novels and I can’t wait to go back and start this series from the beginning.

If you love suspense with some romance, then I sincerely recommend this series. All books can be read as standalone, so you don’t’ have to read them in order. So go pick up this book!