Risk Assessment by Parker St. John

Narrated by Kirt Graves

Risk Assessment is book one in new-to-me author Parker St. John’s Cabrini Law series, featuring members of the team who work for a legal aid clinic somewhere in Oregon. It’s relatively short, coming in at just over five and a half hours, and the story is nothing I haven’t heard or read before, but it was an undemanding listen and Kirt Graves’ accomplished narration made the time pass pleasantly enough.

Elliot Smith was a highly successful corporate lawyer with a salary and lifestyle to match until, on his fortieth birthday he realised he’d had enough of representing sleazy real-estate defrauders and feeling like he didn’t recognise himself anymore. So he pulled a Jerry Maguire, left his job and old life behind and went to work for a non-profit legal aid firm. He’s been with the Cabrini Law Clinic for around a year, and while he works long hours for a lot less pay, the work itself is generally much more rewarding. On the downside, he’s the wrong side of forty and still single, having split up with his boyfriend of five years (who was cheating on him) and has no social life or friends beyond the office.

When Lucas Kelly spots the broken-down car on the side of the highway, he almost doesn’t stop – but he’d made a promise to himself a few years ago that he’d always go the extra mile to help someone in need, so he pulls over, and when he catches sight of the tall, good-looking older guy that looks rich, educated and completely out of his league, Lucas is very glad he did. He’s got a thing for hooking up with buttoned-up WASPy types who like a bit of rough and usually regret it the next morning, and is almost sorry when the tow-truck arrives to take the car to the nearest garage.

Which happens to be the one he now owns.

Lucas served time for boosting cars and has one month left of his parole. When he got out of prison, he turned his hand to fixing cars instead of stealing them; he’s worked hard, kept his nose clean and has just recently become the owner of A.J.’s Garage, having taken it over from his old boss. He knows who he is, he’s comfortable in his own skin, he has his own home, and he’s pleased with the way he’s making it work, just like a real person. But he can’t help, sometimes, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

When Elliot shows up at the garage to collect his car, he’s surprised – and pleased – to see Lucas again. It’s been a while since he’s felt so strongly attracted to someone, so he’s delighted when Lucas asks him out to dinner. Elliot can’t help but wonder what a gorgeous guy like Lucas could possibly see in him, but he accepts anyway and thinks things are starting to look up – until Lucas, who had been friendly and more than a little flirtatious, suddenly does a complete turnaround and backs off.

Finding out the hot guy in the rumpled suit is an attorney is like being doused in a bucket of cold water for Lucas, whose experience with lawyers has been limited to those who brushed him off as bad news and a waste of time. He’s surprised to see Elliot again a day or so later and not inclined to listen to him as he asks him to consider taking on one of his clients, a teen who spent time in juvie for joyriding who is currently on parole. Lucas wants to stay annoyed with Elliot, but can’t, especially after Lucas realises he is genuinely concerned for the kid and wants to do right by him. That doesn’t mean he’s not going to make Elliot work for it though. On his knees. (I have to admit my mind at this point went “ouch – he’s forty and kneeling on a cold concrete floor?” rather than “that’s hot”. Also – nothing happens that isn’t consensual – just in case you were worried about that rather than Elliot’s knees!)

So Elliot and Lucas are back on track, and we get to see their first date (and night together) – and then the next chapter jumps to “three weeks later…” It seems things between them are still going well, despite Lucas’ feelings of insecurity over his being a relatively uneducated ex-con and how far out of his league Elliot is, and Elliot wondering what a gorgeous hunk of sex god can possibly see in his nerdy self. Things come to a head, however, when Julio (the client Elliot asked Lucas to employ) is arrested for a robbery/homicide, and the two men clash over Elliot’s approach to the case.

I admit that when I initially read the synopsis of Risk Assessment, I thought it was going to be a romantic suspense novel – but it isn’t. The storyline around Julio’s arrest only gets going in the second half, and is, quite honestly, not very exciting or suspenseful, and all the other bits and pieces thrown in – glimpses of the other partners (who will feature in future books in the series), the reappearance of Elliot’s ex, Lucas’ relationship (or not) with his sister, for instance – made the whole thing feel like a bit of a haphazardly constructed patchwork. Given the length of the audiobook (Amazon gives the print version 197 pages, which probably means around 185 of actual story) there’s not time for any of this to be particularly well-developed, and even the romance gets short shrift by that three week time jump, because we don’t get to see any more of the “getting to know you” phase following that first date, and are just told how the guys are hanging out almost every day, spending most of their nights together and have gone beyond the “hook-up” label.

Kirt Graves is an experienced narrator I’ve enjoyed listening to on several occasions, and it was because of his name that Risk Assessment caught my eye. His light tenor is pleasantly husky and easy on the ear, his pacing is good and although he doesn’t employ a particularly large range in terms of pitch, he’s able to differentiate effectively between the two leads by adding a gruffness to Lucas’ slightly deeper tone, and uses a variety of different timbres and accents where appropriate to portray the secondary cast. He delivers when it comes to the more emotional aspects of the story as well as in the more intimate moments, where he gets into the swing of things without going over the top.

Risk Assessment is ultimately one of those middling books that’s neither good nor bad. It’s the author’s début – and definitely feels like a first book – and would have benefited from more depth to the characters and a more cohesive storyline. I suspect I’d have found the story rather dull in print, but I was saved from boredom by Kirt Graves’ excellent performance, and as I think he’s on board for the rest of the series, I might give the next book a try.

Caz

---

Buy Risk Assessment by Parker St. John on Amazon