Casee‘s review of Untraceable (Tracers Series, book 1) by Laura Griffin.
Private investigator Alexandra Lovell uses computer skills and cunning to help clients drop off the radar and begin new lives in safety. Melanie Bess, desperate to escape her abusive cop husband, was one of those clients. But when Melanie vanishes for real, Alex fears the worst, and sets out to discover what happened. Using every resource she can get her hands on — including an elite team of forensic scientists known as the Tracers, and a jaded, sexy Austin PD detective — Alex embarks on a mission to uncover the truth.
As far as homicide cop Nathan Deveraux is concerned, no body means no case. But as much as he wants to believe that Alex’s hunch about Melanie’s murder is wrong, his instincts — and their visceral attraction — won’t let him walk away. As a grim picture of what really happened begins to emerge, Nathan realizes this investigation runs deeper than they could ever have guessed. And each step nearer the truth puts Alex in danger of being the next to disappear….
Laura Griffin is a new-to-me author. As a big fan of romantic suspense, I’m really surprised that I haven’t discovered her before now. When I started this book, I could tell that there was a back story I was missing. Nathan and Alex have a past, so I was somewhat lost at the beginning.
Alex is a private investigator that helps people disappear. After helping Melanie Bess disappear, Alex doesn’t expect to hear from her again. She is surprised and dismayed when she learns that Melanie has returned to Austin and into the reach of her abusive husband. When Melanie disappears for real, Alex is certain that her husband found her. She turns to Nathan Deveraux for help, but soon regrets it.
Nathan isn’t even certain a crime has occurred, let alone that a decorated officer is responsible. Alex is a person that doesn’t give up easily and soon has Nathan believing that more is going on than meets the eye. When Nathan starts asking questions, it doesn’t go over well with some of his fellow officers.
Nathan has already put Alex into danger once, something that he doesn’t want to do again. But as he already knows, Alex isn’t someone that stays on the sidelines. Once she gets an idea, she doesn’t let go of it easily. She’s convinced that there is corruption in the Austin PD and doesn’t know if Nathan would be willing to help her b/c of that.
At first the plot was somewhat convoluted, but it cleared up and the book got really good. The suspense was suspenseful and the romance was pretty raw. Alex is someone that doesn’t give up control easily, which Nathan sees right away. He knows that there is no possibility of working anything out between the two of them if Alex doesn’t give up some measure of control.
The book was good enough that I went and picked up the two books that are loosely related to this book (reviews to come).
4 out of 5.
This book is available from Pocket. You can buy it here or here in e-format.