Narrated by Sean Crisden
A Vintage Review – audiobook published in 2011, review from 2018
The books in the Cut & Run series I’ve listened to so far have been a lot of fun. They’re fast-paced, and the plotlines are frequently implausible, but then no more so than those found in the myriad of police procedural/FBI/CIA/CSI and other alphabet soup TV shows that abound, so I can generally just roll my eyes when things get a little bit too daft and move on. And what makes that so easy to do is the fact that the two central characters are just so damn addictive. FBI agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett are a couple of big, tough, alpha males who drive each other nuts, up the wall and to blows almost as frequently as they end up screwing each other’s brains out; they’ve both been around the block more than a few times and are carrying shedloads of emotional baggage (Ty from his time in the marines, Zane as the result of a past filled with tragedy and addiction); they’re intelligent, funny, sexy, perfect for each other – and brilliant at evasion and not saying what they mean, especially when it comes to the nature of their growing feelings for one another.
This is a nine-book series – I’m currently listening to book six – and the authors are doing a good job so far of finding different ways to further the central relationship. After Ty and Zane’s initial meeting in the middle of a big murder case in Cut & Run, the focus shifted gears in Sticks & Stones to a smaller canvas, namely Ty taking Zane to his West Virginia family home in order to get some R&R and then embarking on what turned into the camping trip from hell. Book three, Fish & Chips, returns them to their work as FBI agents, and this time they are going undercover in order to find out as much information as they can about a man suspected of being part of an international smuggling ring. The upside – Ty and Zane get to go on a two-week luxury cruise. The downside – they have to pose as their suspect and his husband, Corbin and Del Porter. Yes, it’s the old fake-relationship trope with a bit of a twist in that the relationship isn’t actually fake (although of course nobody but Ty and Zane know that), and in general, the plot itself is pretty unoriginal. Someone is out to kill Ty, Zane or both of them, the back-up the pair were promised seems to have disappeared and there’s no way they can get off the boat without alerting suspicion.
As in the other books though, the real meat of the story is to be found in the continuing romance between the two leads. Ty gets to bitch about having to play the part of a trophy husband complete with bleached-blond hair, full body wax and not much clothing; much to Zane’s amusement, but posing as a real couple gives them opportunities they’ve not had so far to be openly affectionate without having to worry about who might be watching them. It also gives them the chance to try out a new dynamic in their relationship as Ty explores the submissive side he shows very rarely. The longer their trip goes on, the more both Ty and Zane find the lines blurring between the relationship they’re faking and the one they have. When another character tells them – believing they’re the Porters – that they’re obviously very much in love, both Ty and Zane start to wonder what people are seeing when they look at them together, and to realise that whatever they’re picking up on isn’t an act. For Ty – who realised at the end of Sticks & Stones that he’s in love with Zane – there’s an added level of discomfort to the situation because he’s sure that his feelings aren’t reciprocated. He knows Zane cares for him but also that he’s still tethered to his past and isn’t sure whether Zane will ever be able to let go of it enough to let someone else in. Add in the fact that Ty continues to carry a number of secrets about his continued work in Black Ops (many of them secrets he can’t divulge), and it makes for a very complicated, angsty relationship – which, I confess, is akin to catnip for yours truly.
The narration by Sean Crisden is a big improvement on that by Sawyer Allerde in the previous two books. He’s far more emotionally engaged and I am completely head-over-heels with his portrayal of Zane, which is just perfect. Zane’s a big guy (he’s 6’5”) and Mr. Crisden voices him accordingly, using a lower pitch and darkened timbre to provide a gorgeously rich, resonant sound which is pretty knee-weakening at times ;) His portrayal of Ty is pitch-perfect as well, perfectly capturing his volatility, charm and intensity; his pacing in the action scenes is spot on and he’s equally strong in the love scenes and quieter, more introspective moments. The one criticism I can make about his performance is to do with the different accents he’s required to perform throughout, which are just about okay, but are, on a few occasions, a bit wince-inducing. First of all, though, authors please take note – THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BRITISH ACCENT. Del Porter (whom Ty impersonates) is British and is given an ENGLISH accent. Britain comprises England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales – the accents are English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh, and there is NO such thing as a single, all-purpose British accent. Assuming Del is English, Mr. Crisden makes a good stab at the accent, and it’s obviously different from his normal American one, but to British ears it’s fairly inconsistent. One secondary character is Turkish, and two others are Italian; they’re given general, all-purpose European accents which are mostly okay, although the accent combined with the high pitch given to the Italian Norina Bianchi meant that I cringed whenever she spoke.
Fortunately, however, that wasn’t very often. Ty and Zane are very much the focus of the story and Mr. Crisden portrays both of them so perfectly that on the whole I was happy with his performance overall. I’d probably have given it an A grade had it not been for the accents, and given I’m so picky about such things, I really have to downgrade because of it. But it certainly isn’t going to deter me from listening to Mr. Crisden again or from a re-listen to Fish & Chips at some point.
Caz
Buy Fish & Chips by Madeleine Urban and Abigail Roux on Amazon
