Touch of Red by Laura Griffin

Narrated by Tavia Gilbert and George Newbern

Touch of Red is the twelfth book in Laura Griffin’s Tracers series of standalone romantic suspense novels, and is one of only four titles in the series available in audio (the others are books one, two and eight – I have no idea why those in particular). While that’s rather frustrating for anyone wanting to embark upon a long-running series, it could actually turn out to be a good thing, because if the publisher is planning on recording the other books, there’s the chance that they’ll use the same excellent dual narrator team of Tavia Gilbert and George Newbern to perform them.

Each book in the series boasts a self-contained suspense plot and a romance that reaches an HFN or HEA by the end, so there is no need to worry about cliffhangers; and although characters from earlier books do make an appearance – par for the course with series books – the author gives the listener enough information to explain how they relate to the current story and its characters, so it’s not strictly necessary to have listened to or read the previous books. Linking the books together is the Delphi Center, a high-end, high-tech forensics facility that is usually called in by the San Marcos PD to help with their biggest and most difficult cases.

When a young woman is murdered outside her own back door, Delphi CSI Brooke Porter is one of the team called in to undertake the forensics work at the scene. For such a vicious killing – the victim’s throat was slit, ear to ear – there is very little evidence; the killer didn’t enter the house (which is pristine), there appear to be no witnesses, no prints and there is no sign of the murder weapon. But Brooke is nothing if not meticulous and determined; and when a combination of keen observation and strongly honed instinct lead her to suspect that there was a witness, she very quickly follows up on her hunch, and her findings – gleaned from a series of very specific, complicated tests – show that a child was in the house and very likely saw the murder.

Brooke imparts the news to the detectives working the case, who begin the process of locating him or her, even though they have very little to go on. But things aren’t moving fast enough for Brooke, who is very concerned for the safety and well-being of a traumatised child who could, if the murderer knows they were seen, become a target. She decides to try to find the kid herself, but her actions bring her into direct and sometimes heated conflict with detective Sean Byrne, who is furious when he discovers what Brooke is doing. Not only could her well-meaning but misguided interference jeopardise the case when it comes to court, but she could well be putting herself in harm’s way – and Sean isn’t about to sit around and watch someone he cares about get hurt.

Sean Byrne is one of San Marcos PD’s most experienced detectives, but he’s had a tough time of it ever since he was shot in the line of duty (in book eleven, At Close Range). He has returned to work after months of convalescence and gruelling physical therapy, time he also spent looking back on his life and making some major reassessments to his ambitions and outlook, learning patience and the importance of never taking anything – or anyone – for granted. He’s had a thing for Brooke for some time and senses there’s interest on her side, too, but she’s skittish and guarded around him and he can’t quite work out why. But whatever it is, he’s prepared to bide his time and let her take the lead, something which surprises Brooke, who has recently got out of a relationship with a guy who, she realises now, was becoming increasingly controlling and possessive. The contrast between him and Sean, who clearly wants and expects Brooke to make her own decisions and be her own person, is vast – and maybe a little scary – and although she knows Sean is a good guy, there’s a small part of her than can’t help second guessing her instincts when it comes to men and she finds it hard to let her guard down completely.

Ms. Griffin has created an intense and compelling suspense plot that twists and turns as we head towards a high-stakes finale, and I also very much enjoyed her explanations of some of the highly complex forensics procedures used along the way. I did, however, have issues with the aspect of the plot that saw Brooke crossing boundaries to become involved in aspects of the investigation that she should not have been involved in. It’s a common enough happening in police procedurals, but I couldn’t help thinking she should have known better, and was more sympathetic towards Sean, whose anger and frustration at Brooke’s lack of concern for her own safety – she does veer dangerously close to the TSTL once or twice – and his worry that she could damage the already fragile case they’re building is completely understandable. On the plus side, though, the author doesn’t just sweep their differences of opinion aside – they’re part of the story and the developing relationship between the couple. Sean and Brooke have strong chemistry and the fact that they have been attracted to each other for some time helps to ground their romance so that their progression from colleagues to something more unfolds at a sensible pace.

I’ve been reviewing for AudioGals for several years now, but incredibly, this is the first time I’ve listened to Tavia Gilbert. She’s a favourite with the Gals, and it’s easy to understand the reasons why – she’s exceptionally skilled in terms of both technical ability and creativity. She narrates the parts of the story written in Brooke’s PoV, which sometimes switches between chapters and sometimes between sections within chapters. Her voice is attractive, her enunciation is clear and her character differentiation is extremely effective across the board; there’s never any question as to who is speaking in any one scene, and her male voices, in particular, are very good indeed. Her pacing is spot on in both narrative and dialogue and she’s a terrific vocal actress, imbuing her performance with the right degree of expression and picking up all the right emotional cues. George Newbern is, likewise, a new-to-me narrator, although a quick Audible search reveals almost two hundred titles across a variety of genres to his credit. He’s a good match for Ms. Gilbert here – there are no glaring differences in pacing that would make the transitions between narrators jarring, and I could apply the same comments to his work as I have to his co-narrator’s – pacing, differentiation, enunciation and emotional nuance are all excellent. Mr. Newbern’s female voices are nicely judged, a softening of tone and lightening of timbre used to portray the various women in the story.

While I had some small quibbles with certain aspects of the book, Touch of Red is sure to appeal to fans of well-conceived, well-written romantic suspense novels. The top-notch narration is a definite plus, and I really hope we might see some of Laura Griffin’s other Tracers novels make it into audio – preferably with Tavia Gilbert and George Newbern narrating.

Caz