Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna

Behind Closed DoorsNarrated by Nelson Hobbs

We have a First Chapter Listen of Behind Closed Doors.

It’s so exciting to finally see Shannon McKenna’s books come to audio. I am all asquee. Behind Closed Doors is the first to become available. Nelson Hobbs narrates. I liked his performance very much, apart from a couple of small issues.

Shannon McKenna writes over the top stories with uber-alpha heroes who have extraordinary sexual stamina. You’ve got to know that going in. (I say this as a fan.) It’s a kind of hyper-real world where the bad guys are really bad and the good guys do some questionable things for good reasons. And there are really (really) long sex scenes which are explicit and rude and earthy – much like the heroes in fact.

Seth Mackey is a former Army Ranger with a special interest in technology. He co-owns a surveillance and security company. Seth’s half-brother, Jessie, an undercover cop, was killed by a villain by the name of Kurt Novak. Seth has vowed revenge and, for the last ten months, has devoted all of his energies to that end. He has been working with the McCloud brothers (Connor, Sean and Davy) in this quest – Connor was Jessie’s cop partner. They choose the same route Jessie took – to get to Novak, one goes through Victor Lazar. Novak has disappeared and the rumours are that he’s had surgery to change his appearance. Lazar is the link. Seth, because he is just that clever, has planted all manner of surveillance devices in various places Victor inhabits – including the Seattle townhouse where his previous mistress lived.

The current resident of the townhouse is Raine Cameron. She is not Victor’s mistress however. She is an executive assistant at Lazar Imports. There really isn’t a good reason for her to be supplied a house by Lazar. None of the other staff are given this privilege. Nevertheless, it is something Raine apparently does not question. But Raine has to live there because then Seth can watch her through the cameras he has planted all over the house. Watch her and, very nearly, fall in love.

Raine herself has ulterior motives for seeking work with Victor Lazar. She is actually Katya Lazar and her father, Peter, was murdered some seventeen years earlier on Victor’s order. Raine wants to find proof and get justice for her father and thus gain herself some peace.

When Seth is asked by Victor to rejig his corporate and warehouse security (there have been a mysterious series of burglaries which has made this necessary), Seth and Raine finally have cause to meet.

McKenna heroes fall hard and fall fast. Once they fixate on a particular lady they are ALL IN. Seth is no exception. He has a bad track record with relationships however. He’s too rude and crude and not very good at conversation and intimacy. He’s so obnoxious, he worries he will blow his chance with Raine before things can even begin.

Raine is having something of an awakening. She transforms (believably I think) from a shy, self-effacing, girl to a vibrant woman not afraid to fight for what she wants. When she first sets eyes on Seth, she is in mid-transformation and she decides she wants him. She doesn’t realise exactly what that means, which is fair enough. The Seth Mackey brand of courtship is overwhelming, passionate and persistent. And did I mention overwhelming?

The first sex scene between them goes for over thirty pages in the book (I counted) so that means it goes for more than an hour on audio. It’s pretty intense. In a good way. Raine always has a good time. Seth makes sure her orgasms outnumber his by a ratio of at least 3:1.

Seth and Raine fall in love very quickly but everything in the book is so intense and hyperactive, it works. They have to face multiple bad guys to get their HEA and by the time they get it, boy howdy, they deserve it.

As bad as the villains are, only Novak is completely evil. The other villains have some nuance to them which is always refreshing. They aren’t in any way “good” of course. But they’re not entirely bad either.

The narration was a pleasant surprise. Goodreads has Nelson Hobbs listed as narrating thirty books but Behind Closed Doors was my first experience of his work. I was impressed that all of the characters had a distinct character voice. I particularly noticed this with Seth and the McCloud brothers.

Lea listened to the book recently too and commented that she thought Nelson Hobbs sounded like Kaleo Griffith. I can certainly see that, but, to me, he sounded more like Keanu Reeves. (This may have something to do with the fact I’d watch John Wick the week before.) This was especially so during dialogue and shorter sentences. If anything, Connor sounded even more like Keanu than Seth did – Seth was sort of the “soft” Keanu. Connor was the loud, brash, Keanu.

Unfortunately, there was a bit of an issue with odd pauses mid-sentence. For example, the text stated:

He opened the door for her and gestured her to precede him down the stairs.

What I heard however, was:

He opened the door for her and gestured. Her to precede him down the stairs.

This happened numerous times during the listen. From an audio perspective, the sentences didn’t finish where they ought to have. Some stuttered to an end like a backfiring car. Others became separated from their bodies and lost sense as a result. Given that this happened with short sentences and not just really long ones, I can’t put it down to the narrator running out of breath. Without this, I think the listen would have been an A for narration.

I have saved the best for last. Mr. Hobbs’ female voices are stellar 95% of the time. I’ve rarely heard a male narrator give a female character a better and more believable pitch. It was neither falsetto nor drag-y. Raine sounds like a woman, as do the other female characters – again with the vocal distinction I praised for the male cast.

Ms. McKenna’s books don’t tend to draw a “meh” reaction. They are over the top and slightly ridiculous with bossy alpha heroes who put their heroines on pedestals and worship at their feet. Behind Closed Doors was a compelling, wild ride and a welcome addition to my audio library.

Kaetrin


Narration: B+

Book Content: B+

Steam Factor: For your burning ears only

Violence: Graphic

Genre: Erotic Romantic Suspense

Publisher: Tantor Audio

 

Behind Closed Doors was provided to AudioGals by Tantor Audio for review.

3 thoughts on “Behind Closed Doors by Shannon McKenna

  1. I won this from AudioGals and Tantor-. So excited to listen to it, especially after reading this review.

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