Gaslight

AudioBook Review: Stars: 5 Narration 5 Story 5 I wanted to devour this when I first got it – but I put it off to listen to the first three in the series, it helped to build the excitement for the story, AND it’s a far better experience if you have the earlier titles in this series under your belt. Now, in the fourth book, I’ve hit my favorite of the series for many reasons: most of which center on the characters of Christian and Raven, and the new insight into them alone and together. Raven has always been a “roll your sleeves up and get on with it” sort of girl, even when she doesn’t know everything – and to this point, she’s found a niche that works for her, with some help from Christian and the others. At first, her own determination to gain a foothold with Keystone was based almost entirely in vengeance, and that did have a tendency to get her into trouble. Now with some ‘free time’ she’s searching the cases and decides that there is something she wants to explore. There is a vampire trafficking ring, and she’s determined to find the culprit. And then, she becomes the issue – or story, as a half-vampire herself, the snatching and turning of young men and women to later sell for profit, makes her a bit extraneous to the plan…… Oh the tension was palpable in this one: watching Christian direct (and work with) the Keystone crew with all of their different abilities and skills was highlighted in the fast-paced, race against the clock to find Raven and catch the ringleader non-stop action. I did guess a few times that THIS would be the moment when all is sorted, only to find another twist, another threat and more danger – I was on the edge of my seat, jumpy and anxious. Probably not as worried or nervous as Raven though, as there were revelations and stories –stories, history and feelings that I hoped would bring she and Christian closer, ONCE HE FOUND HER. Nicole Poole narrates the story, as she’s done for them all – and her ability to bring listeners in as she becomes Raven, managing to incorporate her moments of doubt with a truly kick-ass determination and skills that have been hard won, a fact she doesn’t always take pride in like she should. Again all of her characters were easily distinguished, and the combination of tone, delivery and pacing allowed for instant recognition as good, bad, victim or culprit –or even a mix of all of those. Fast paced, she never lost the ability to present new and tense moments without over-reaching to caricature or cartoon-like exclamations, and the time just flew by. Yep – a favorite series for sure, and one that if you like complex Urban Fantasy with worlds that are just a bit different from everything else, yet still manage to feel familiar – this is the series for you. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Tantor Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.