Driven by Rebecca Zanetti

Narrated by Roger Wayne

In Driven – the fourth full-length book in Rebecca Zanetti’s Deep Ops series – we finally found out exactly what is driving (!) the damaged, stubborn and somewhat enigmatic Angus Force, formerly one of the FBI’s top profilers, and find out exactly how and why he was relegated to a crappy basement office of the Homeland Defense Department (HDD). While each of the books in the series contains a self-contained suspense plot and romance and can be listened to as a standalone, there has been an overarching plotline running through the series which culminates in Driven. A year or so earlier, Force shot and killed serial killer Henry Lassiter, but shortly after, information from a trusted source led Force to believe that Lassiter wasn’t dead. With no proof, his repeated insistence that Lassiter was alive, and what was seen as a growing obsession with him eventually tanked Force’s career and sent him into the bottom of a bottle. Well. Several bottles.

But Force couldn’t let go of his conviction that Lassiter is alive. The FBI (very reluctantly) grant his request for a team and a year to prove it, which leads to Force’s recruitment of Malcolm West, Clarence Wolfe and Raider Tanaka (and by extension, Brigid Banaghan and Dana Mulberry) – and also to the assignment of psychologist, Nari Zhang to the team. Force hates shrinks, but her being on board is a dealbreaker, so Force reluctantly sucks it up – but doesn’t miss a chance to let Nari knows how much he wants her gone.

Over the past three books the Lassiter storyline has rumbled along in the background as the team has infiltrated a cult, foiled people traffickers, and brought down organised crime syndicates and drug rings, but now it comes to the fore, because just as Force’s year is up – a time limit about which he’d neglected to inform his team – the body of a young woman is found bearing all the hallmarks of Lassiter’s MO. Force wants to investigate but the HDD is adamant that his time is up and shuts the team down.

When Force appears to take this lying down, Mal and Wolfe are instantly – and rightly – suspicious. They’re sure he’s going to try to go it alone, but they’re having none of it. They’re still a team, no matter what HDD says, and even though Force vehemently protests that he doesn’t want to put anyone else in the firing line, they’re having none of that, either. They’re going to help and they’ve got his back whether he likes it or not.

Thanks to a contact at the local PD, Force was able to view the latest victim’s body – and even though she wasn’t Lassiter’s usual leggy blonde, she was killed and mutilated in the same way as his previous victims. It strikes Force that the petite, dark-haired Asian woman has a similar body-type and colouring to Nari – and there’s what seems to be a fresh tattoo on the back of her hand of a German shepherd who looks suspiciously like his dog Roscoe. When another victim is found the very next day, with similar build and colouring to Brigid, Force is sure that this is Lassiter sending a very personal message – and that once he’s killed women who resemble all the women who’ve worked on Force’s team, he’ll move on from killing lookalikes to killing the real thing.

The plot of Hidden is fast-paced and well put together, as Force has to race against time to figure out what Lassiter is up to and work out how to draw him out, while also to contending with a police department and a pair of hostile FBI agents who are growing increasingly suspicious of him. It’s not hard to work out where things are going to go, but the author skilfully ramps up the tension and keeps things moving, and I was happy to be on board for the ride.

Force and Nari have been striking sparks off one another ever since the first book, and now, with time running out and Force determined to find Lassiter no matter what it takes, the pair finally admit to their attraction to one another and agree to a one-night fling before Force leaves town, probably never to return. They have great chemistry and the love scenes are steamy but emotional too, because of course, once isn’t going to be enough for either of them and they both know it. Because the early stages of their relationship – which is mostly combative with a strong side of lust – takes place in the earlier books, anyone who jumps into the series here (which I wouldn’t advise) might find their romance a bit insta-lusty, but I’ve been here from the start, so it didn’t feel that way; it’s been a looooong time coming!

One thing I’ve really enjoyed across the series as a whole is the strong friendships and sense of camaraderie Ms. Zanetti has built up between the team members. They snipe and snark, but it’s all affectionate and good-natured, and it’s very clear that this is a close-knit bunch who will do anything for one another. Force has been my favourite character from the start (closely followed by Roscoe!) – he’s your classic tortured-by-his-past maverick, ultra-protective hero who takes no crap and who will do whatever it takes to get to the truth, but he’s got a vulnerable side he keeps under wraps that we get to see a bit more of here. Nari is ballsy and not afraid to go toe-to-toe with Force, and after finding out why she was assigned to the team and seeing the crap she had to deal with from colleagues – one of them her own father – I admired her strength – both physical and mental – and her confidence and intelligence even more.

I enjoyed the story very much – right up until the totally WTF? ending. I can’t say much without spoilers, but the identity of the villain (or one of them anyway) came from so far out of left field, it wasn’t even in the ballpark (or the country!) and I knocked my grade for the story down because of it.

Roger Wayne has done excellent work on this series. His voice and style of delivery are perfect for romantic suspense and he’s especially good at portraying the sexy alpha males typically found in the genre; I wish he’d record more of it! There are a lot of characters in this story, and he provides clearly identifiable voices for them all; the previous couples all make appearances and there are quite a few other speaking roles too, but Mr. Wayne takes it all in his stride, performing them consistently and differentiating clearly and effectively between all the main and secondary roles. His pacing is just right, and he injects an appropriate degree of expression into both narrative and dialogue, heightening the tension in the action scenes, dialling it down for moments of introspection and intimacy, and bringing out the humour and strong sense of connection between the members of the Deep Ops team. My only nitpick is that one or two of the minor female characters sound very similar, but it’s a small criticism and wasn’t something that spoiled my enjoyment of the performance overall. I’ve liked Mr. Wayne’s portrayal of Force since Hidden; that touch of gravel in his voice and his forthright delivery work really well to describe the character’s strength and determination (plus – that growl is hella sexy!) and the English accent (note – again – there is no such thing as a British accent!) he uses for Jethro is pretty good with only the odd slip or mispronunciation.

And speaking of Jethro – I’d assumed that Force’s story would be the last in the series, but since the author introduced former MI6 officer Jethro (Jet) Hanson – a friend of Force’s who is now a professor of philosophy and ethics – in the previous book, I’ve been hoping he might get a book of his own. I’ll be here for it if he does.

To sum up; if you’ve been following the Deep Ops series, then you won’t want to miss this instalment in one of the better m/f romantic suspense series around at the moment. Driven is a fast-paced, compelling story with plenty of action and plenty of steam, and Roger Wayne’s excellent performance definitely makes it well worth experiencing in audio format.

Caz