Don’t Open the Door by Allison Brennan @Allison_Brennan @amymcnarrator @HarlequinBooks

the setup…
When former US Marshal Regan Merritt’s 10-year old son Chase was gunned down in her home in Northern Virginia, it not only destroyed her but also her marriage to attorney Grant Warwick. He blamed her job for what happened to Chase and evidence seemed to support that someone related to one of her cases was responsible. It’s been a year since she quit her job and joined her family in Arizona but now she’s returned to Virginia after Tommy Grainger, her former partner, left her a cryptic voice mail message and moments later was murdered at his front door by a sniper. He was investigating Chase’s shooting and was convinced that he had new information to re-open the case. Regan is determined to to learn what it was he uncovered that not only got him killed but now had her and others in serious peril.

the heart of the story…
In the previous story, we only knew that Chase had died tragically and Regan blamed herself so I was thrilled that we’d finally learn the details of what happened. Tommy’s investigation was “off the books” so no one at the US Marshal’s office had any of the information he was on his way to present. But Regan knew her former partner well and where to probe. As she slowly finds bits and pieces of his investigation, things start to point in interesting and curious directions. I really enjoyed how challenging it all was as Regan was pretty much on her own with limited support from Charlie North, Tommy’s friend and colleague. Her ex-husband Grant is also involved and the more I got to know him, the more I was glad for Regan that she’d walked away from him.

the narration…
There are a lot of characters here and the narrator was skilled at not only providing good voice distinctions but was great at the storytelling. I liked her performance.

the bottom line…
This wasn’t an easy story to keep up with as it was a tangled web of lies, intrigue and corruption. I loved seeing Regan in action even though she no longer had her credentials as a US Marshal but still had the skills, instincts and smarts. It was a tough case and she was up against some pretty powerful people. I enjoyed the story and while I had some of it figured out, there were still interesting revelations I hadn’t anticipated. I’m not sure if we will get more of Regan Merritt or if her story ends here but I certainly hope we get more of this intriguing character and what’s next for her as she explores that herself.

Book Info

• Release Date: January 24, 2023
• Series: Regan Merritt #2
• Narrator: Amy McFadden
• Audio Length: 11 hours, 11 minutes
• Publisher: Harlequin Audio

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