Deep Dark by Laura Griffin (Tracers #10)
Romantic Suspense
Released: May 24, 2016
Pocket Books

Reviewed by Mandi

I’ll say it again – I love this romantic suspense series by Laura Griffin. So well done.

Deep Dark has a thirty-nine year old homicide detective hero and a twenty-four year old cybercrime hacker – and their chemistry is soooo good. When a girl who was just starting out in life is found horribly murdered in her home, police want to find the murderer fast. But there is no DNA evidence left at the scene. They turn a suspicious eye to the dead woman’s previous boyfriend, but then Detective Reed gets an odd, spam like text telling him the boyfriend has nothing to do with it, and that he should start investigating an online dating site.

Laney Knox is a brilliant hacker who works for the Delphi Center in their cyber investigation unit. The Delphi Center is known for their amazing DNA work, but their cyber unit is no joke either. Laney can pretty much hack into anything, and she specializes in bringing down pedophiles that use the internet for their playground. When she hears about this murder, she gets attached – a few years prior, she was assaulted in her house in a similar situation as the recent dead woman, but Laney was able to escape. She starts to do her own digging, and she thinks the person that killed this woman targeted her through an online dating site. Reed tracks down Laney (because of the text she sent him) and Laney offers assistance with her hacking skills.

Laney thinks Reed is super sexy – Reed thinks she is super sexy too but way too young for him. They have such fun chemistry in this book, Reed is more serious, a little grumpy, and very intent on finding this murderer (who ends up killing more women before the search is over). The pink-streaked hair, young Laney totally intrigues him, even though he tells himself she is too young for him. She is VERY head strong, independent – and pushes against authority. Brilliant with computers, not so brilliant with interactions with people. For as worn and grumpy as Reed can be, Laney gives him a run for his money in the jaded department. She very much can take care of herself and will make her own decisions – and Reed swoops in and wants to protect her and tell her what to do. Oh Reed.

I love that Laney is the one that initiates the physical contact. She pursues him to a degree and Reed gives in. The suspense/murder stuff definitely outweighs the romance in this book, but I found their sexual tension and romance enough to satisfy. Laura Griffin writes really, really well done murder mysteries. It’s heavy on the details, but never weighed down. I’m always so fascinated by her stories – they are suspenseful, creepy and always have you guessing. Her characters are so well-developed and engaging.

This one is fun – I read it in one day and I wanted more when it ended. Highly recommend.

Grade: B+

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