Audio Book Review: Buried Secrets (Men of Valor Series, Book #1) by Irene Hannon

This is good (not great) romantic suspense.
Buried Secrets (Men of Valor Series, Book #1)
Series Men of Valor Series
Author Irene Hannon
Narrator Therese Plummer and Jennifer Grace

Runtime 10.5 Hrs. - Unabridged
Publisher Recorded Books
Downloads ZIP M4B MP3
Release Date April 7, 2015
Genre: Christian, Mystery, Romantic Suspense
My Rating: 4.0 Overall, Story, and Narration

After seven years as a Chicago homicide detective, Lisa Grant has hit a wall. Ready for a kinder, gentler life, she takes a job as a small-town police chief. But the discovery of a human skeleton by a construction crew at the edge of town taxes the resources of her department. A call for assistance brings detective Mac McGregor, an ex-Navy SEAL, to her doorstep. As they work to solve the mystery behind the unmarked grave, danger begins to shadow them. Someone doesn't want this dead person telling any tales--and will stop at nothing to make certain a life-shattering secret stays buried.
Master storyteller Irene Hannon is back with an exciting new series featuring former special forces operatives now in the thick of the action in civilian life. Hannon is at the top of her game in this can't-put-it-down thriller that will have readers up until the wee hours devouring every page.

Review:
Lisa Grant left her tense job as a Chicago homicide detective to become a small-town police chief. When a construction crew uncovers a human skeleton, Lisa calls for help from the County enforcement. Detective Mac McGregor, a handsome ex-Navy Seal, steps on scene to help. He gets off on the wrong foot and has to scramble to recover his equilibrium with the striking police chief.

Lisa is at a point in life where she is open to making personal time to look towards a family on her own. Mac is at an age where he would like to settle down with a family like his own close-knit clan. The two professionals clearly have zinging chemistry, but they agree to hold off on any personal relationship until their current investigation is complete.

Lisa and Mac are intent on revealing the events almost twenty years ago that resulted in a death of a young girl. They have identified the victim and have pressed the three ‘friends’ who were last known to see the girl. However, without hard evidence they are preparing to shut the investigation as a cold case. Then new deaths begin to alarm Lisa and Mac.

A strong element of this story is the pull between the characters who have to defer even the first date. This is woven throughout the mystery and case interviews. I appreciated the presentation of the heat of the attraction without graphic, sexual details. The romance was sort of refreshing as the couple acknowledge their interest but put it on hold... except in their thought processes which was a bit repetitive. I also found the lack of provable evidence in the crimes to be interesting and well crafted. The Christian faith of the characters is apparent in their life choices but not preachy.

Mac’s brothers are other strong alpha men who make fun, flirtatious appearances and are presumably the “men of valor’ whose stories are shared in the series. I recommend this to readers who like Christian romantic suspense.

Audio Notes: Narrators Therese Plummer and Jennifer Grace did a nice job sharing the characters and narrative. I’ve always enjoyed Therese Plummer and I liked the offset voice from Jennifer Grace. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Source: Christian Audiobook Sale July 2017. This qualifies for 2019TBR, 2019 Audiobook and 2019Alphabet goals.