Review: Twisted

Twisted
Laura Griffin
Romantic Suspense
Tracers Series/Book 5
Pocket/April 17, 2012

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.

If you haven't started this series, start it Now.  Griffin continues to get better and better, expanding her characters and plots while making them believable.  Not only do we get well developed characters, the police procedural aspects and the DNA analysis are well written.  This is one romantic suspense series, heavy on the suspense, that you do not want to miss!

Allison Doyle is a good cop but doesn't always get the respect her male counterparts get.  She knows some of the men think she got the promotion to detective because of her sex and not her abilities.  She doesn't let it get to her, instead working her ass off to be the best and solve the cases.  Allison isn't intimidated by the guys and boy did I like that about her.  She's learning to trust her instincts and those instincts are telling her that something isn't right about a recent murder and her boss might just be looking in the wrong direction for the murderer.

Mark Wolfe is an older hero, forty-three.  I liked that he had some years on him, nicely seasoned but not too old to have a huge age-gap between the hero and heroine.  He has a lot of experience but those experiences are getting to him.  Mark has no real home, instead living out of hotels, eating at restaurants and spending a lot of time in airports.   He's well known and well respected which puts him in high demand.  Add in the demands he makes of himself and you've got a guy with not much life outside of work.  Mark is a quiet alpha, the type that sits back and watches until it's time to take down his target.  He is such an interesting character - easily one of my favorite heroes of the series. 

Allison and Mark clash a bit at first.  They both think there's more to the recent murder than the  ex-boyfriend as the suspect but Mark is talking serial killer and Allison isn't even officially on the case.  Plus, Mark prefers to work alone.  They have some obstacles to overcome, not the least of which is Allison's idiot boss.  One of the things that made me enjoy the heck out this suspenseful romance was how Allison and Mark's relationship went from professional to personal.  Allison has respect for Mark's experience and what he can teach her.  Mark learns to respect Allison's tenacity and her raw instincts which continue to develop with her experiences.  Even when they venture into intimacy, they keep developing their professional relationship right alongside their romantic one.

The romance is there but it is muted, with the main focus on the mystery and suspense.  But what is there is very passionate, with Allison and Mark trying to keep their focus on the murder case while going through this fierce need for each other.  Mark thinks he too old, too jaded for Allison's far less jaded outlook but Allison is persistent in not only her search for the real killer but in her need to get even closer to Mark.

The suspense is so well done!  Griffin keeps the reader on edge, giving plenty of details of the murders and getting into the killers mind through Mark's profiling.  It's a scary place and one that Mark has been to, many times over.  I loved following Mark and Allison through their discovering evidence and putting the pieces together.  The brilliant minds at the Delphi Center also contributed their cutting-edge resources in helping Allison and Mark with the case.  I find the details of the DNA and the computer sleuthing absorbing without going over my head.  Seeing past and hopefully future heroes and heroines adds to the overall cohesiveness of the series.  There is enough back story given that this could be read as a stand alone but to get a greater enjoyment, I would recommend reading the series from the beginning.

Twisted is a highly addictive, fast paced romantic suspense.   Allison and Mark are two dynamic characters with very different experiences who kept this reader wanting more!

Rating:  A

Tracers Series ~ 

Untraceable
Unspeakable
Unforgivable
Snapped
Unstoppable (novella in the Deadly Promises anthology)
Twisted
Scorched (October 30, 2012)

Review: Snapped

Snapped
Laura Griffin
Romantic Suspense
Tracers/Book 4
Pocket/September 1, 2011

From Goodreads ~

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 are 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 to be. 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. . .

I knew after reading Unforgivable (Book 3) that I would love Sophia and Jonah's story. And hey, I was so right! I did not want to put this one down. It was such a thrill ride with Sophie and Jonah right along with me.

Sophie may not have a bunch of degrees like many of her colleagues, but as the receptionist and the face of the acclaimed Delphi Center she is smart and resourceful. Sophie is a heroine I knew I would connect with. She's written with flaws and strengths that we can all relate to. She comes from a family of doctors and feels like her intelligence is in questions because she didn't graduate from an Ivy League school. But she is very intelligent and has street smarts that help her out of more than one tough situation. She's not perfect but she is funny with a nice slice of attitude to go with that humor.

Jonah Macon is a big guy - 6'4 with plenty of muscles to go with the height. But I never felt like he was this lumbering neanderthal who used his size rather than his brain. He's smart but like so many men, doesn't understand woman well. One woman in particular confuses him - Sophie Barrett. Jonah has know Sophie for months, ever since she was kidnapped and Jonah was the Detective to find her. There's some sexual tension between them but Jonah is giving Sophie her space, which is very cool. But now she's throwing him some mixed signals and confusing him even more. His confusion made him even more attractive.

Sophie and Jonah together really clicked for me. I could see how they could become a couple beyond the physical attraction. There's plenty of chemistry going on but it goes past that and into a more intellectual connection. There is respect and mutual admiration for their abilities regarding their professions. The sexual tension only adds to the overall attraction they have for each other. Definitely a couple you can cheer for.

The gunman, his motivations and the theories surrounding him are well written with Griffin building the crime investigation in and around the romance. The suspense is kept tight, with a good balance of police procedure and action. The investigation didn't simply pause to add in some romance but worked right along side Sophie and Jonah's developing love story.

The Tracer series continues to entertain with appealing characters and absorbing story lines. Spring can't get her fast enough, bringing with it Ms. Griffin's next release.

Rating: A

Books in this series ~

Untraceable
Unspeakable
Unforgivable
Snapped
Twisted (Spring 2012)

Review: Unforgivable

Unforgivable
Laura Griffin
Romantic Suspense
Tracers/Book 3
Pocket/December 1, 2010

From the back cover ~

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, but 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.

With the third book in this series, two previous secondary characters take center stage. I was happy to see both Mia and Ric again. I was curious because in the previous book, Unspeakable, there was a hint of a romance brewing between these two but I didn't feel any sexual tension. Attraction, yes, but both are such workaholics that neither gave the impression they had time for romance. So I wanted to see how Griffin would pull that off.

Mia Voss is brilliant in her chosen field and spends much of her time at her lab at the Delphi Center. She career driven but a part of her still holds the dream of marrying and having a family. I liked her but I didn't find her easy to connect with. I did find the DNA knowledge fascinating and as I got to know Mia, mainly through her work, I began to get her and understand what drove her.

Ric Santos is not the settling down kind of guy. Been there, done that. He's of the belief that cops make bad husbands. And that a cops life is too hard on a marriage. Which is why he backed off from Mia months ago when things started getting serious. Now they're working together and Ric's feeling for Mia are growing stronger than ever. It's kind of funny how scared Ric is of commitment. I get why, he had a messy divorce and has sworn off serious relationships. But it's like he's got the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. Devil telling him to stay far away from Mia. The angel telling him to stay close and protect her not just because he's a cop but because he cares for her. A lot. This guy is so conflicted when it comes to Mia.

Mia and Ric together are not a perfect couple by any means. At the beginning, I didn't get the sense they were right for each other. This relationship took a lot of hard work before I believed in it. And I think that's what made it much more valuable rather than a relationship based solely on physical attraction. Griffin made me believe that Mia and Ric really did care for each other.

The suspense is intense at times with Mia literally coming under fire, threatened and fearing for her loved ones. This woman is stressed out. Then she has to deal with her feelings for Ric, when she still doesn't know why he stopped seeing her months ago. Ric is kept busy trying to figure out who is trying to hurt Mia and why while wrestling with his feelings for her. There were a lot of tense scenes with little down time. It kept the pace moving and me guessing who was behind the plot. I will say Mia made some questionable decisions. This intelligent woman didn't always display that intelligence outside the lab. And Ric's stubbornness about sharing any part of himself with Mia and his anti-relationship stance got old. But in the end love conquered all.

Unforgivable has a good mix of both suspense and romance. The focus on DNA investigating makes for interesting reading if you like that type of stuff. The next book is Snapped, coming out August 30. It will feature two more secondary characters who had some interaction in Unforgivable. I like what I've seen of both characters and have hopes that this heroine will shake things up, keeping the hero on his toes.

Rating: B+

Books in this series ~

Untraceable
Unspeakable
Unforgivable
Snapped (August 30, 2011)