Review: Trace Elements by Kate Donovan

Posted October 4, 2013 by Sophia Rose in Reviews / 0 Comments

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Trace Elements

by Kate Donovan

Series: A Gower & Saxon Book
Genres: Romantic Suspense
Published by Beyond the Page
Released on July 26, 2013
Pages: 188
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley

I thought the premise of a TV actress being brought in to team up with an FBI agent to solve a case sounded good so I gave this one a try. It was enjoyable at times, but it had its weak moments too.

The story opens with the colossal meeting of FBI Special Agent Josh Saxon and TV agent Annika Trace in the form of Nikki Gowen. Sparks flew, but in the interest of helping a child witness recover enough to talk about her experience and thus allow them to nab the kidnappers, they agreed to work together. The process of getting Linzie to talk and figure out different oddities about the case took on some unusual procedures. Josh learned to respect Nikki’s instincts and Nikki learned quick that real FBI work didn’t follow a script.

The plot both engaged me in the beginning and I was interested in reading through to the end, but I wasn’t satisfied with the feel of the story after a while. I liked the general direction of the story and in particular the very beginning, but then it changed for me. The first thing I noticed was that the pacing was off on the relationship and their encounters felt forced like the characters were on on/off switches. The speed of them jumping in the sack wasn’t credible the way the relationship went up until that point. After that, both sides of the plot started to feel like it was a TV melodrama- like I was reading a story about a story if that makes sense. Characters’ behavior and dialogue grew stilted like they were actors of the characters instead of the characters, and there was a sense of incompleteness. Though to be factual, the author left a note at the end almost like an Epilogue discussing some of the loose ends.

It was interesting enough to finish and it had its good moments. Those who enjoy TV police dramas would probably enjoy this one.

Thanks to Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

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Sophia Rose

I was born and raised near Sacramento, CA. I have read since I was four years old and developed tastes that run the gamut of literature. I went away to college and have a degree in education, a certificate in family history research, and a certificate in social work. I worked for a non-profit agency with low income families for 20 years which included being responsible for the children’s library and promoting/teaching adult literacy. I have lived in Southeast Michigan for the last 18 years and I am currently a book addicted homemaker with a cat and husband who keep me grounded. Recently, I made it a challenge to review each book that I have read as a favor to author friends who said reviews are important. I have done reviews for Good Reads, Amazon, eBay, and Smashwords, but mostly at Goodreads and Amazon.