Don’t Make a Sound by T. R. Ragan @TRRaganAuthor #JennicaDamon @BrillancePub

the setup…

Sawyer Brooks is a news and human interest reporter with the Sacramento Independent newspaper with aspirations to join the crime beat. She gets her opportunity when their top crime reporter needs a photographer for a homicide where he’s on scene without one due to unforeseen circumstances. Sawyer finds a way into the actual scene, giving them a leg up and gets a promotion to crime reporter. Before she can start though, she must return home to River Rock to attend her grandmother’s funeral. It’s a place with truly awful memories for Sawyer. Meanwhile, a group of five women who call themselves The Crew are setting up a predator as vengeance for what he’d done to one of them. And, it’s clear that he’s just the first of more to acts to come.

the heart of the story…

This is one of the darkest stories I’ve read in some time. Sawyer and her two older sisters were sexually abused by a family member as children, mostly due to parental neglect. She’s got lots of issues resulting from her assaults but seems to have good instincts when it comes to crime reporting. The Crew’s backgrounds are even more traumatizing. I had to suspend belief too often as, while Sawyer does have skills, her investigative paths were rather light and should have already been explored by seasoned detectives. Sawyer also decides to investigate a series of murders that occurred in her hometown years ago, this while she’s in River Rock for a few days. Her family is seriously over the top awful, making her decision to even be around them nonsensical. But, it’s the actions of The Crew I found extremely intriguing and believable as they attempted to execute their vengeance. As well planned as they were, they were not without loads of unforeseen troubles.

the narration…

This is my first experience with the narrator and I enjoyed her performance. Her pacing was strong and voice distinctions nicely done. She definitely made this a better reading experience.

the bottom line…

I liked the story, despite not being able to buy into Sawyer’s abilities as a crime reporter and investigator. She had quite a few TSTL moments (Too Stupid to Live) for my tastes but I liked her and see potential going forward in the series. However, it was The Crew who hooked me, opening up all kinds of interesting possibilities and I definitely want to see where they lead. I know I shouldn’t be rooting for them but… There were also a couple of twists I was unprepared for, one really explosive, and I liked how they were developed. I’m in for continuing the series, especially on audio.

Book Info

• Release Date: June 1, 2020
• Series: Sawyer Brooks #1
• Narrator: Jennica Damon
• Audio Length: 8 hours, 6 minutes
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio

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(Thanks to Brilliance Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)