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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
Second in the Tracers romantic suspense series. The series, so far, has always included Troy Stockton, a successful true crime writer and ladies' man who has an in at the Delphi, a state-of-the-art forensics lab.
The Story
Sent by the Brownsville FBI office when Lito Island Police Chief Max Breck requests federal assistance on a series of murders, Special Agent Elaina McCord is shut down as soon as Breck sees her. He won't inform her about meetings, autopsy schedules, or listen to her suggestions or profiles. She just doesn't fit his profile of an FBI agent.
Instead, she hooks up with Troy Stockton when he insinuates himself into her investigation providing background on the victims, the area, and forensic backup. Officer Cinco Chavez, one of the Lito Island cops, is also supportive of Elaina as he recognizes her intelligence and zeal for capturing the killer. A zeal he shares. A zeal which makes trouble for Cinco no matter how supportive Elaina is of him. Then Detective Ric Santos steps in with his two missing hikers...
The Characters
Troy Stockton is the male lead in this story as opposed to a secondary character who somehow insinuates himself into Elaina McCord's investigative activities when the local FBI office sends her to Lito Island. We briefly see Alex Lovell from Untraceable at the Delphi when Troy takes Elaina there to meet with Mira Voss, their specialist in DNA trace. I do suspect Griffin of setting us up for Mira and Detective Ric Santos, another bright, outside-the-box thinker, in the upcoming Unforgivable.
My Take
The mutilation murders of young women are Griffin's excuse to introduce Elaina McCord with her zeal and insight into profiling a serial killer. Along the way, we learn of her childhood and her intense need to please her father, a renowned former FBI profiler himself. We also become frustrated with the patronizing male colleagues who refuse to think outside the box.
Griffin moves us right along; don't start reading this unless you can set aside a chunk of time! Part of the book's tone is attraction, part is Elaina's desperate need to prove herself AND catch the killer. Elaina takes it to heart with each new murder even as she loses her battle to ignore how very attracted she is to Troy Stockton. He's a journalist. He could easily destroy her career by publicizing her comments and yet...and yet, he is so supportive in what she believes and how she acts.
As much as I enjoy the romance between Stockton and McCord, I didn't get a sense of the why for Stockton's attraction to her. In the two other Tracers' stories I've read, Stockton comes across as a perennial bachelor and here he is wanting to settle down with one woman… I'm confused. I look forward to reading Unforgivable to see how Griffin incorporates Stockton into that story.
The Cover
The cover is in tones of red with a channel of water leading us between low-growing trees and bushes toward a sunrise, bedraggled paper floating in the bloody water. I'm not sure where the title comes from unless it's the block that exists between Elaina and her father? Or, it could be the fear Elaina has that Stockton will quote her in an interview or an upcoming book?
The Story
Sent by the Brownsville FBI office when Lito Island Police Chief Max Breck requests federal assistance on a series of murders, Special Agent Elaina McCord is shut down as soon as Breck sees her. He won't inform her about meetings, autopsy schedules, or listen to her suggestions or profiles. She just doesn't fit his profile of an FBI agent.
Instead, she hooks up with Troy Stockton when he insinuates himself into her investigation providing background on the victims, the area, and forensic backup. Officer Cinco Chavez, one of the Lito Island cops, is also supportive of Elaina as he recognizes her intelligence and zeal for capturing the killer. A zeal he shares. A zeal which makes trouble for Cinco no matter how supportive Elaina is of him. Then Detective Ric Santos steps in with his two missing hikers...
The Characters
Troy Stockton is the male lead in this story as opposed to a secondary character who somehow insinuates himself into Elaina McCord's investigative activities when the local FBI office sends her to Lito Island. We briefly see Alex Lovell from Untraceable at the Delphi when Troy takes Elaina there to meet with Mira Voss, their specialist in DNA trace. I do suspect Griffin of setting us up for Mira and Detective Ric Santos, another bright, outside-the-box thinker, in the upcoming Unforgivable.
My Take
The mutilation murders of young women are Griffin's excuse to introduce Elaina McCord with her zeal and insight into profiling a serial killer. Along the way, we learn of her childhood and her intense need to please her father, a renowned former FBI profiler himself. We also become frustrated with the patronizing male colleagues who refuse to think outside the box.
Griffin moves us right along; don't start reading this unless you can set aside a chunk of time! Part of the book's tone is attraction, part is Elaina's desperate need to prove herself AND catch the killer. Elaina takes it to heart with each new murder even as she loses her battle to ignore how very attracted she is to Troy Stockton. He's a journalist. He could easily destroy her career by publicizing her comments and yet...and yet, he is so supportive in what she believes and how she acts.
As much as I enjoy the romance between Stockton and McCord, I didn't get a sense of the why for Stockton's attraction to her. In the two other Tracers' stories I've read, Stockton comes across as a perennial bachelor and here he is wanting to settle down with one woman… I'm confused. I look forward to reading Unforgivable to see how Griffin incorporates Stockton into that story.
The Cover
The cover is in tones of red with a channel of water leading us between low-growing trees and bushes toward a sunrise, bedraggled paper floating in the bloody water. I'm not sure where the title comes from unless it's the block that exists between Elaina and her father? Or, it could be the fear Elaina has that Stockton will quote her in an interview or an upcoming book?
gotbrie's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tayparks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
marmarx89's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
nenz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I love Laura Griffin. This novel was good, not my absolute favorite of mine out of hers but still good. I love trying to figure out who the unsub is
jen286's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
When I saw that Unspeakable was Troy's story I was intrigued. I enjoyed him in the first book, but he is such a player. I was curious to see who he would settle down with.
Elaina has always wanted to be an FBI profiler. Her dad is famous for that, and she has always wanted to follow in his footsteps (even if he never ever encouraged her). She is new to the academy and gets stuck on assignment in Texas. She doesn't mind much, she is just happy to be out in the field. That is until she tries to actually work the case and no one will include her. There is a killer brutally murdering women and leaving them in isolated places and she just wants to help out however she can. The cops in the area treat her like a joke and just refuse to include her. She was about to give up until Troy comes along and goaded her into staying and trying to prove herself capable of doing what she does best.
Troy is a true crime writer and he becomes interested in this case since it might be related to another that someone else already confessed to. He already wrote a book about the other killer, with this old case included, so it kind of annoys him that that guy could have been lying this whole time. He sees how smart and capable Elaina is, how she thinks about things differently, how she would be a real asset, and tries to help her out whenever he can. He is friendly with the cops in the area so his stamp of approval cannot hurt.
Working together they slowly start to figure out who might be killing these women and why. I love all the investigative work in these books. I love the forensics and field work and how it all comes together in the end. These books seem to be more about the crimes and solving them than romance. The romantic aspect is there, it just doesn't take center stage. I loved watching Elaina try and figure things out, even if she would be stubborn and not so smart at times. She notices little details and is willing to follow even the slightest of leads. She was great and was really helpful in catching the killer.
Troy is just as good and it was really sweet watching him get to know Elaina. They are really perfect for each other and it was nice watching their friendship grow to more. If you like crime dramas then this is the book for you. All the collecting and testing evidence, the tracking down data, the field work involved in catching a killer was so interesting. I am loving this series.
When I saw that Unspeakable was Troy's story I was intrigued. I enjoyed him in the first book, but he is such a player. I was curious to see who he would settle down with.
Elaina has always wanted to be an FBI profiler. Her dad is famous for that, and she has always wanted to follow in his footsteps (even if he never ever encouraged her). She is new to the academy and gets stuck on assignment in Texas. She doesn't mind much, she is just happy to be out in the field. That is until she tries to actually work the case and no one will include her. There is a killer brutally murdering women and leaving them in isolated places and she just wants to help out however she can. The cops in the area treat her like a joke and just refuse to include her. She was about to give up until Troy comes along and goaded her into staying and trying to prove herself capable of doing what she does best.
Troy is a true crime writer and he becomes interested in this case since it might be related to another that someone else already confessed to. He already wrote a book about the other killer, with this old case included, so it kind of annoys him that that guy could have been lying this whole time. He sees how smart and capable Elaina is, how she thinks about things differently, how she would be a real asset, and tries to help her out whenever he can. He is friendly with the cops in the area so his stamp of approval cannot hurt.
Working together they slowly start to figure out who might be killing these women and why. I love all the investigative work in these books. I love the forensics and field work and how it all comes together in the end. These books seem to be more about the crimes and solving them than romance. The romantic aspect is there, it just doesn't take center stage. I loved watching Elaina try and figure things out, even if she would be stubborn and not so smart at times. She notices little details and is willing to follow even the slightest of leads. She was great and was really helpful in catching the killer.
Troy is just as good and it was really sweet watching him get to know Elaina. They are really perfect for each other and it was nice watching their friendship grow to more. If you like crime dramas then this is the book for you. All the collecting and testing evidence, the tracking down data, the field work involved in catching a killer was so interesting. I am loving this series.
leabookjoy's review against another edition
4.0
4,75 stars
French & English reviews
Attention, série très addictive ><
Depuis que j'avais rencontré Troy dans le premier tome de cette série, je mourrais d'envie d'avoir son histoire et je n'ai pas du tout été déçu !! J'ai beaucoup aimé l'intrigue avec le serial killer flippant, l'alternance entre les différents points de vue (j'adore quand il y a différents points de vue dans les romances ><) et les deux personnages principaux (Troy m'a particulièrement surprise parce que je m'attendais au cliché du badboy milliardaire et en réalité, il a beaucoup plus de profondeurs et d'histoire ... Bon je veux sa maison aussi plus tard quand je serais grande =D)
Un peu déçue par la fin toutefois, j'aurais voulu que l'histoire avec son père soit plus développée ... Mais j'ai adoré le fait que Elaina préfère continuer son travail plutôt que de s'avouer vaincue et suivre la voie de la facilité !!
Bref, un livre qui confirme une série addictive >< Chaque livre introduit une nouvelle série de personnages qu'on a tellement envie de connaître <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warning, very addictive series ><
Since I met Troy in the first book of this series, I was dying to have his story and I was not disappointed at all !! I really liked the plot with the creepy serial killer, the alternation between the different points of view (I love when there are different points of view in the romance books ><) and the two main characters (Troy especially surprised me because I was expecting the badboy billionaire cliché and in reality, he has much more depth and history than I thought ... Well I want his house also later when I would be a grown up =D)
A little disappointed by the end however, I would have wanted the story with her father to be more developed ... But I loved the fact that Elaina prefers to continue her work rather than admit defeated and take the easy option !!
In short, a book that confirms an addictive series >< Each book introduces a new series of characters that we want to know better <3
French & English reviews
Attention, série très addictive ><
Depuis que j'avais rencontré Troy dans le premier tome de cette série, je mourrais d'envie d'avoir son histoire et je n'ai pas du tout été déçu !! J'ai beaucoup aimé l'intrigue avec le serial killer flippant, l'alternance entre les différents points de vue (j'adore quand il y a différents points de vue dans les romances ><) et les deux personnages principaux (Troy m'a particulièrement surprise parce que je m'attendais au cliché du badboy milliardaire et en réalité, il a beaucoup plus de profondeurs et d'histoire ... Bon je veux sa maison aussi plus tard quand je serais grande =D)
Un peu déçue par la fin toutefois, j'aurais voulu que l'histoire avec son père soit plus développée ... Mais j'ai adoré le fait que Elaina préfère continuer son travail plutôt que de s'avouer vaincue et suivre la voie de la facilité !!
Bref, un livre qui confirme une série addictive >< Chaque livre introduit une nouvelle série de personnages qu'on a tellement envie de connaître <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Warning, very addictive series ><
Since I met Troy in the first book of this series, I was dying to have his story and I was not disappointed at all !! I really liked the plot with the creepy serial killer, the alternation between the different points of view (I love when there are different points of view in the romance books ><) and the two main characters (Troy especially surprised me because I was expecting the badboy billionaire cliché and in reality, he has much more depth and history than I thought ... Well I want his house also later when I would be a grown up =D)
A little disappointed by the end however, I would have wanted the story with her father to be more developed ... But I loved the fact that Elaina prefers to continue her work rather than admit defeated and take the easy option !!
In short, a book that confirms an addictive series >< Each book introduces a new series of characters that we want to know better <3
seeinghowitgoes's review against another edition
2.0
I really want to like this author, she writes brilliant scenarios and does great conflict but her female characters just drive me insane. I've tried three of her books now and I think this is going to be my last.