At Close Range

At Close Range by Laura Griffin is a 2017 Pocket Books publication.

Oh, yeah! The Tracers, baby!!

While I have enjoyed all of the books in the series that I’ve read so far, this is one of the best of Griffin's recent releases.

Dani gets her shot at being the lead detective in a double homicide, and she is experiencing a case of the nerves. But, things get even stranger when her brother’s best friend, Scott, becomes the prime suspect.

Scott is a former SEAL is adjusting to civilian life and is fighting off a long time attraction to Dani, the sister of his best friend. But, when the ballistics expert is implicated in a double murder, he and Dani are thrown together in a high octane situation and the sparks between fly higher than ever show more before.

But, it soon becomes apparent that Dani is a target and Scott intends to do everything he can to clear his name and keep Dani safe.

Whew! Scott and Dani have a sizzling hot chemistry between them and I loved that they were friends for a long time before the relationship changed. The romance is super hot and Scott is an almost perfect alpha personality.

But, the murder investigation, which takes up the most real estate in the novel, and rightly so, is very, very interesting and the action is incredibly tense and suspenseful.

This book gets back to the sort of storyline that first attracted me to his series. Griffin rarely disappoints, but this time she’s taken things up a notch. If you enjoy this series, I think you’re going to love this new chapter. If you are new to the series, you shouldn’t have a problem reading this one as a stand alone. So, if you like action packed romantic suspense, I don’t think you could ask for more!!

4.5 stars show less

Scott becomes a suspect in Dani’s murder case. He is determined to clear his name. Scott and Dani team up (in more ways than one 😘) to find the killer.

These two characters work great together…well, not really. There is a lot of tension, sexual and otherwise, between these two. This just adds much fuel to the fire. Scott and Dani can be extremely frustrating! You just want to come through the pages and give each a little pinch and a lecture!

I enjoyed this read immensely. This story moves quickly and is hugely entertaining. You sit down to read for 15 minutes and end up staying an hour. Time flies when you are having fun! This is a lightening fast romantic thriller and BOY, did I fall in love with Scott. Not only is he HOT….he show more can even make the reader mad enough to throw something at him….of course, after he saves the day!

This story also includes some really nice shoot’em up scenes with Scott as the “stud in action”

Move over Jack Reacher…..HEEEEELLLOOOOOO new book boyfriend SCOTT! show less

This is the latest book in this series. Which just happens to be one of my favorite current series. As a mystery and romantic mystery fan, you will enjoy this series as well. The best part is that the books can be read as stand alone novels. Yes, some of the relationships and past events may carry over to the nest book but nothing that would cause a new reader to have issues following along.

I honestly could not figure out the motive for the killings. This is a good problem to have as a fan of mystery stories. The author did a nice job of keeping me guessing until all of the pieces were revealed at the end. Speaking of the end. This is where most of the action took place. In the last several chapters. Prior to that, I do admit I wished show more that the story had been amped up a few dials. Yet, I was busy with Dani and Scott's relationship. Or I should say, their desire to have a relationship. I could feel the chemistry between these two and it was smothering. Strap in for a great read! show less

I have thoroughly enjoyed the Tracers series. At Close Range is another great addition to the series. There is a really well written mystery with lots of red herrings. The murder mystery is hands down the most intriguing and satisfying aspect to the story.

Dani is a detective who has just been made the lead on a very high profile double murder case. Scott is a ballistics specialist at the nearby Delphi center. Scott is called in to work on the murder case and examine the ballistics. Through several twists, Scott ends up as a suspect. Dani has known Scott for most of her life. He is her brother's best friend. She knows he didn't commit the murders, but she has to find the proof. Scott isn't about to sit back and let the investigation show more progress with him. Obviously, its a conflict of interest to have him involved since he is the prime suspect. The case takes Dani to a different state and more murders occur, all while she fights her attraction to Scott.

My discontent with the story was the romance. I really didn't find the romance between Dani and Scott credible or authentic. It felt sort of rushed and haphazard. By the end, I wasn't sure I believed they would stay together. I think that the murder mystery and all the danger took the focus of the story (and I loved it), but it did so at the expense of building up the romance. show less

Laura Griffin comes back with a new title in the series “Tracers”. This is the 11th book, yet I still cannot get enough. I have read two order books (for which I did not get to make a review) and I couldn’t wait to start with another one. This is just one of those series one cannot seem to let go or get bored with.

This book brings detective Daniele Hunter in the spotlight. She has been assigned as the lead detective to a double homicide and is determined to get to the bottom of things. Yet some clues may not be a simple to interpret and the case proves to be a lot more difficult.

What I mostly liked about the plot was that all things were more complex then what surface may have shown. Starting with the case and all the way to the show more relationship between Dani and Scott nothing is as it seems. The attention to details and the great timing of major events is fabulous as well.

The writing was exceptional as always. The author did not lose herself in the details of the case and maintained a line between police related facts and romance. The story inclines more towards the first, so the case is the focus point. Even if the story is not told on the first person the author offers a glimpse into all characters and the POVs are nicely delimited with an “*” which helps separate ones from the others.

I intentionally left the characters discussion for the end as there are a lot of things to mention. First of all, all characters seem to have something to hide or at least they seem to have a shady side. They are very well developed and their role is vital to the case. There are a lot of names, but I cannot mention one who did not have a purpose. The most insight we have is for Dani, whose struggle to keep her team focused and to prove herself as a great detective, combined with the conflicted feelings she has for Scott, is very well captured.

This was a great read, I would include this one in the mystery crime area with a light Romance on the side. Even if I loved it so much, I decided to go with 4 stars, as there was a point when I felt a slight indecision on where to shift the case and there was one character who in the beginning seems to be a not so nice guy but later on he is very helpful in solving it. I suspected him as being the killer J I also did not understand completely why Dani became a target. Minor things for such an incredible story. Congrats to the author!! show less

I got my first taste of Laura Griffin’s work when I read Deep Dark, book 10 in the Tracer series, which I enjoyed as such when the opportunity came to read At Close Range, I could not resist. There is no need to read the earlier books in the series before reading this installment as it is possible to read it as a stand-alone.

In this installment, we meet Daniele Harper, a detective who came from a family of law enforcement officials. She became the lead investigator on a high-profile case, which involved the murder of a professor, and his mistress. This case had the potential to make or break her career. Her involvement in the case led to her working closely with her longtime crush Scott Black. Scott is a former Navy Seal who now works show more as a ballistics expert with the Delphi Centre, a private forensics laboratory.The attraction between Dan but they were off-limits to each as Scott was her brother’s best friend. Things between them became tense between them when Scott became a suspect in her current case. He was not about to sit back and wait for things to play out, his priority was in proving his innocence. Not only does Dani have to deal with her feelings for the man, who is the main suspect, she has to face resentment from colleagues who felt she did not deserve the role of lead investigator on the case. Then more bodies began turning up causing all involved to step back and view things differently. Things became more complicated when Scott discovered that someone wanted Dani dead. Is this related to the current case or is it isolated?

Daniele is stubborn, tenacious, determined and brave; however, there were times when her actions went a bit overboard. I guess this was mostly due to her wanting to prove that she could handle the role of lead investigator. Scott is a protector by nature and he would do what it takes to protect Daniele even if it meant interfering with the investigation. He is not afraid to colour somewhat outside the lines when the need arises.

When the story began, it had me on the edge of my seat due to the tense, edgy and thrilling scene that was taking place. At that moment, I knew there would be interesting times ahead for this story. The pace slowed down somewhat, but this was due to the ongoing investigation. Twists and surprises permeated the pages of the book. When I thought I had it figured out the author throws in a twist that had me rethinking my original stance.

The pace picked up at around fifty percent (50%) of the book. From then it was an adrenaline-pumping ride.These two danced around each for a long time, that when they finally took the plunge, it was explosive. In spite of this, however, I felt that the romance needed more developing.

Verdict:If you enjoy stories with lots of action, suspense and mystery, you will love At Close Range. It will keep you guessing at every page turn, which makes it an exciting and thrilling read. show less

Daniele Harper has been made lead detective for the first time in her career, so she feels she has to prove herself by quickly solving the murder of a local college professor and his mistress, but when Scott Black, former SEAL and her brother's best friend becomes the prime suspect, she finds it tough to keep Scott out of the investigation. As a ballistics expert at the Delphi Center, Scott knows that if he doesn't prove his innocence, his reputation is forever tarnished and his career is over. The case becomes more complicated when the murder of another professor becomes linked to the first two, forcing Dani and Scott to look for a motive that might connect all three cases.
At Close Range developed and explained lots of different types show more of forensic evidence, but the book stalled in places due to the lack of a real suspect throughout most of the book. Too much time was spent showing why Scott was the only suspect even though it was clear that nobody really thought he committed these crimes. Otherwise, this is another good Tracers Series novel worth reading. show less