Reviewed by Alexander

TITLE: Guarding Morgan

SERIES:  Sanctuary Series

AUTHOR:  RJ Scott

PUBLISHER:  Love Lane Books Limited

LENGTH: 3 hours, 32 minutes

NARRATOR: Sean Crisden

BLURB:

Morgan Drake is the only witness to a murder in an alleyway. Nik Valentinov works for Sanctuary, a foundation offering witness protection to anyone whose safety is compromised. Morgan discovers a bodyguard’s arms can offer more than protection.

Morgan is the only person who can give evidence for prosecuting the cop responsible for the crime. When the FBI safe house where he’s being held is compromised, he follows the instructions of the agent in charge and runs.

Nik Valentinov works for Sanctuary, a foundation that offers witness protection when FBI security is questionable.

When Morgan’s handler sends him to Nik for safety, neither Morgan nor Nik could imagine that two weeks alone in a cabin in the woods would have their hearts racing with something much more than merely trying to keep Morgan alive.

REVIEW:

Over the next few weeks, I will be reviewing the Sanctuary books that are currently available in audio format.  Having read the books when they first came out, I was excited at the prospect of listening to an old favorite, now that I am an audiobook fanatic.

Morgan could never be called a favorite character, in fact, there were many times that I found him irritating.  Since this was the goal, to have an innocent naive man trapped in the middle of a murder case, Morgan’s slightly annoying character did the job well.  Nick, on the other hand was a very strong, solid, capable character, the ideal counter-balance to Morgan, and gives credence to the concept of opposites attract.

I must admit that I live in a very rural area, and that the concept of mafia families, murder, and the associated mayhem are way out of my scope.  That being said, I found the premise of Guarding Morgan to be believable enough.  What I had an issue with was how Nick and Morgan’s relationship not only came to pass, in terms of speed, but also that Nick, who admittedly knew better, allowed his attraction to supersede his professional obligation as a Sanctuary operative.

There are certain narrators that I know will provide me with a quality performance, and Crisden is one of them.  The characterizations of both Nick and Morgan were solidly established at the beginning, and Crisden maintained consistency throughout the story.  I can also rely on Crisden for professional production value, which includes among other things, having done a good job editing the audio, leaving me with uninterrupted listening.

As a short novel, and the first book of a series, Guarding Morgan does its job well, providing a complete story, with just enough loose ends to entice a reader into seeking out the next book.

Story Rating:

AUDIO RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Audible