I first discovered Laura Griffin when I read Deep Dark, which is one of the many books in her Tracer series. When I found out that the first book in series, Untraceable, was available free in Prime reading I immediately grabbed a copy.
Untraceable touched on topics of corruption, greed and murder. The story did not grab me in the way I expected. It was ok, but it never gave me that feeling of excitement one would expect from a romantic suspense. The story began on a high note, but unfortunately, it did not maintain that pace throughout. It was not until near the end that paced picked up a notch. In addition, the romance, what little there was, did not impress me. The fluidity of the story was lacking. Events occurred and I am still not sure why they happened. For example, some of the murders that occurred I am at a lost as to why they were killed and why the killer chose that method. It would have been nice to get into the killer’s head to know his thoughts, and the reason for his actions.
The main characters knew each other prior to the commencement of this story. The story mentioned an attraction existing between them, but I was not feeling the chemistry. I could not get on board with their relationship and their declarations of love did not come as believable. I believe because most the time spent together focused on the investigation, rather on their relationship contributed to my having difficulty accepting their relationship.
The villain’s identity was not a mystery, but that of the accomplices were unknown. The revelation of their identities left me in shock. That was a twist I never saw coming. It goes to show that your enemy may be closer than you can imagine. It would have been nice though to see all the villains in action instead of just hearing about what they did. The events were more telling than show.
Now I did not particularly love the heroine. I love stories, which feature a strong heroine with good judgement. Alexandra may have been strong but for a Private Investigator, she possessed poor judgement. Her refusal to listen to advice and to look at things from more than one perspective placed her in unnecessary danger.
It also did not help that I knew nothing about her in terms of her past. I know she loved computers, but what made her decide to become a private investigator? Why did she take it upon herself to help women who found themselves in abusive/dangerous situations to disappear without a trace? I believe this information would have helped me to understand her current actions.
I did not like how she treated Nathan. He did not deserve it. He would anything to keep her safe, but she was having none of it. I understood his need for caution when Alex came to him for help. As a detective, he needs evidence to back up claims and Alex failed to see this. The lack of communication between these two frustrated the heck out of me.
Conclusion/Recommendation
When compared with the other books in the series I have read this fell short. Despite it not living up to my expectations, it was an ok read.
ALEX LOVELL MAKES PEOPLE DISAPPEAR. TURNS OUT, SHE’S NOT THE ONLY ONE.
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….
ALEX LOVELL MAKES PEOPLE DISAPPEAR.
