Customer Reviews

Untraceable

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

STORY BRIEF:
Alexandra (Alex) is a private detective working mostly for insurance companies, but her passion is helping women disappear from abusive husbands - think civilian run witness protection program. She's a computer whiz. She helped Melanie disappear, but Melanie broke the rules and returned to her home town. Alex believes Melanie has been killed. Alex asks homicide cop Nathan to help her investigate.

REVIEWER'S OPINION:
Very good. There were some clever ideas and some things I hadn't heard before. I liked the conversations. There was nice romantic development. I might have liked a little more wow factor or emotional appeal to give it 5 stars.
I agree with Bookaholics Reviewer who describes this as intelligent, detailed, filled with high tension, and has a feeling similar to watching CSI.

DATA:
Story length: 374 pages. Swearing language: strong. Sexual language: mild. Number of sex scenes: 4. Total number of sex scene pages: 15. Setting: current day Austin, Texas and New Orleans, Louisiana. Copyright: 2009. Genre: romantic suspense mystery.

OTHER BOOKS:
For a list of my reviews of other Laura Griffin books, see my 5 star review of "Thread of Fear" posted 5/10/09.

I've never seen pages fly by so fast as when I was reading Laura Griffin's new Tracers series book UNTRACEABLE. It is full of suspense and breath taking thrills as P.I. Alexandra Lovell tries to trace a woman she made disappear for her protection. Melanie Bess wanted to escape from her husband, who is a wife beater, and Laura helped her but now Melanie seems gone for good. Alex enlists the help of an elite team of forensic scientists known as The Tracers. She also meets sexy Austin PD detective Nathan Devereax who she convinces to help her find Melanie. Alex thinks she may be murdered and Nathan tells her she needs a body before she has a case.

Wow, once you start reading you can't stop so clear the decks, light the lights and lock the doors! You're in for a whirlwind of an adventure that will knock your socks off. Laura Griffin is a hot new author you want to put on your "must read" list.
`
Suzanne Coleburn
The Belles & Beaux of Romance

Private investigator Alex Lovell helped Melanie Coghan disappear. But when Melanie really disappears, Alex worries that the man Melanie was running from - her husband Craig - is the reason why. Craig is a cop, which makes things sticky so Alex turns to a cop she can trust for help - Nathan Devereaux, but Nathan finds her very hard to believe. It's not until Alex may be in danger that he starts to see the truth behind her story. The danger goes much deeper than either of them imagined and Craig will stop at nothing to see that his secrets stay hidden.

Alex hides her vulnerability behind a calm, cool, and collected façade. She's smart, tough, and fiercely independent while being continually stubborn. Right from the start Nathan is a perfect match for Alex. He can be aloof and he is intense, but he's hiding his vulnerability as well. The angst-filled and passionate relationship between Alex and Nathan is matched by the many twists and turns in Untraceable. It's a riveting, compelling, and frightening story.

Nannette
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

This is a really gripping, fast-paced suspense/crime/mystery and lastly romance novel that's very hard to put down.

Plot summary: P.I. Alex helps people "disappear." She suspects that a client whom she helped escape an abusive cop husband came back to town and was killed by him. She enlists cop Nathan to help her find her client. Nathan doesn't want to investigate his coworker, but likes Alex and feels guilty for failing her months ago. So he agrees.

Pros: Griffin can really make you turn the page, I zoomed through this 374 page book. It has a very interesting plot that seems to go in one direction and then shifts. The ending has some twists I didn't see coming. The book is complex using six points of view to tell this story. Mostly they are used multiple times throughout the book and to good effect. (The Troy POV is only used once and I got a little confused when the Mia POV is introduced on p. 84, but overall it was well handled.) I liked the hero and heroine a lot. They are well-rounded characters; and each has a past. The romantic tension between them is great, especially surrounding the ex-wife, whom I wish had been used more. The scenes in New Orleans were really well done.

Cons: I liked the romance a lot, but it was mostly put in toward the end the book. The chemistry between these characters really worked and I think I would have been more interested in a little more development of this relationship and a little less forensic science, but that's just my taste.

This was a really good book. Highly recommended 4.5 stars.

A favorite new writer - have read all her books and looking forward to her next one. Highly recommend them all.

One of private investigator Alex Lovell's special skills is to help clients disappear while leaving bread crumbs that throw the pursuer off in the wrong direction. The key to this though is that the client sticks to the plan.

When Alex finds out that Melanie Bess has not only left her hiding place in Florida but come back to Austin she is livid. Tracking her down to a remote cabin Alex finds a severed ipod earbud and a suspicious amount of blood which leads her to believe that Melanie's ex has caught up with her.

Alex then takes her suspicions to the homicide detective Nathan Deveraux. Not only does Nathan think that Melanie is not truly missing but he also doesn't believe that her ex, who is an upstanding member of the Austin PD, is involved. But little by little the clues start to add up to something bigger than either of them suspected and if Alex keeps digging, she just might be digging her own grave.

Untraceable is a the first book in the new Tracers Series but both Alex and Nathan are characters that appear in Griffin's Glass Sisters Series so starting the book they were already familiar characters for me.

Griffin is truly a master of the romantic suspense genre. She captures the heat between Alex and Nathan perfectly and at the same time gives us a nail-biting plot that is fully developed. It kept me guessing until the very end and I never even figured who was behind the bad buys which was genius!! Untraceable is a recommended read for anyone who loves a perfect romantic suspense novel.

Untraceable is listed as the 1st book in The Tracers series so even though I later discovered that Alexandra Lovell and Nathan Devereaux actually made a brief appearance in an earlier book (Whisper of Warning), I don't believe it had any impact on starting my Laura Griffin experience with Untraceable.

The opening chapter of Untraceable grabs you right from the start setting the stage for what is a compelling, well written, highly entertaining story. I love it when a book hooks you right from the beginning and you just want the world to go away and leave you alone so you can lose yourself in the story. It's one of the reasons I love me a great romantic suspense read.

PI Alex Lovell is good at making people disappear. Her latest case involves helping a woman Melanie Bess disappear from her abusive husband....who just happens to be a well respected cop. Alex needs to build a case but it's going to be tough since Melanie seems to have permanently disappeared and since the main suspect is a cop, Alex isn't holding her breath expecting any help from the Austin PD.

I love when the heroine is written as a strong female character and Alex Lovell definitely fits that bill. She's smart and savvy, independent and more than capable of looking after herself and the clients who need her help. But part of being smart is knowing when to ask for help when you're in over your head and Alex isn't above using her connection with hunky Police Detective Nathan Devereaux to solve her case.

Nathan doesn't buy Alex's story for one minute about one of his co-workers and a respected member of the Houston PD, but when she presents some compelling evidence, he decides to giver her the benefit of the doubt and agrees to help her on the down low. Besides what better way to get closer to the sexy PI then to help her investigate her case and possibly expose a dirty cop.

Untraceable is a fast paced story, full of nail-biting action that keeps you invested in the story and the characters until the last page is turned. Although billed as a romantic suspense, the romance simmers and builds in the background as Alex and Nathan dance around their undeniable attraction to one another. One of the reasons this book touched a chord with me is that Ms. Griffin writes these characters so that I really came to care about them and their HEA.

If you are a fan of romantic suspense, great storytelling that will keep you guessing and strong, intellectual characters then Untraceable is the book for you.

Using computers like a grandmaster wizard Austin private investigator Alexandra Lovell enables people to flee from their lives to begin anew in a different identity and location, but they must adhere to the rules of never making contact with their past. Alex assisted Melanie Bess escape her abusive police officer husband, Craig Coghan, but foolishly she broke the prime commandment and communicated with her past. Melanie has become Untraceable and Alex believes foul play occurred with she strongly feels Craig as the culprit.

Alex searches for any forensic evidence that will affirm her fears. She persuades skeptical police detective Nathan Devereaux and the Delphi Center "Tracer" Mia Voss to help her. The trio begins to ferret out Craig's secrets while Alex's attraction for Nathan grows. He feels the same way about her, but each new clue adds a Thread of Fear running up and down his spine for Alex's safety from what increasingly seems a nasty deadly cop.

This is a terrific mystery with a nice romantic subplot in the background enhancing the strong investigative Tracers thriller. The cast is solid especially the lead couple and the villain; while secondary characters add depth especially with forensics science. Fans will enjoy Laura Griffin's super romantic mystery with the inquiry superseding the loving.

Harriet Klausner

Private investigator fears that her client was killed by her abusive cop husband but has no evidence & seeks help of detective she's been attracted to & who returns her it. But hero thinks she's in over her head with her case. As dead bodies turn up, both become more involved in the case that's more complicated than they thought & impacts their romantic relationship.

My 1st Griffin book & I liked it! Although this book was heavier on the action-suspense side, the romance was still good. Even the appearances of both main character's exes didn't detract from the romance. Sexual chemistry was good. Love scenes were not detailed but still captured their passion. The action-suspense part was engaging & not all too predictable. I usually find commitment-shy, independent, & gun-toting heroines annoying & cold but Griffin didn't strip off heroine's feminine or vulnerable side. WOnderful writing.

Recommended.

The Tracers Series:

Untraceable

Unspeakable (Coming Summer 2010)


Griffin can really sweep you into the scene of a crime and investigation. Her love scenes are mild in language, but passionate in content. Her characters are realistic and interesting personalities. Her mysteries unfold with clues and evidence that make sense... no loose ends or unbelievable circumstances. The romance builds as the story grows. This is total package story telling.

I've read all of Griffin's romantic suspense novels and have been very entertained by all of them. Some, including "Thread of Fear" and "Whisper of Warning" were thoroughly fantastic. Some others have been terrific, but a bit shy of those first two titles. I found "Untraceable" to be one of Griffin's best for crime suspense. I also LOVED the hero character, Nathan. I believe my one disappointment was the fact that the heroine held herself back from the romantic connection with no good reason. Alexandra (Alex) had feelings for Nathan, saw that he was a very good man, knew he felt the same for her, but turned cold on him without provocation. Why? I never really connected with her purpose. The thing that saved the romance for me was the fact that Nathan didn't wimp out and take her coldness. He kept his pride and dignity, while waiting for her to fix her own insecurities.


The story:
Alex runs her own private investigation firm. She helps people discover if their spouses are cheating, helps insurance agencies nab clients who are making fraudulent claims, and occasionally helps women hide from threatening husbands. One of her clients has gone missing. Alex is afraid the client's husband found and killed her. In an effort to solve the mystery, Alex turns to Austin police detective, Nathan Devereaux. Together, she hopes they will find the answers.

Nathan wants Alex to back out of the investigation. As clues unfold, the situation becomes more and more dangerous. When Alex refuses to give in, Nathan makes it his personal priority to solve the case before she is harmed. As he gets to know her better, he also makes it his mission to win her heart.


This book is the first in a series. I'm looking forward to the next installment. If you'd like more great romantic suspense in the mean time, try some of Griffin's earlier titles:
Thread of Fear
Whisper of Warning
One Last Breath

A couple of my personal favorites in the romantic suspense genera:
Unlawful Contact (I-Team Series, Book 3)
Pursuit (Warning: A couple of graphically violent scenes)