Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: Ground Zero
SERIES: Zero Hour #1
AUTHOR: Aimee Nicole Walker
NARRATOR: Tristan James
PUBLISHER: Tantor Audio
LENGTH: 10 hours, 4 minutes
RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2020
BLURB:
Ground zero, noun: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change.
Heat, humidity, and homicide are things veteran detective Sawyer Key expects to encounter on his first day with the Savannah Police Department, but the hostile reception from his new partner catches him by surprise. Sawyer isn’t a stranger to heartache and recognizes that Royce Locke is a wounded man who’s reeling from a devastating loss. Relentless and patient in all things, Sawyer is determined to make the new partnership work.
Savannah, Georgia is known for her quirky people, oak trees draped in Spanish moss, and antebellum architecture. Beneath the Southern charm and hospitality, festering hatred and violence is soaring with the summer temperatures. Locke and Key find themselves at the epicenter when their first case involves the death of a former shock jock who appears to be the victim of vigilante justice.
Opposites in nearly every way, the two detectives set aside their differences to take back their city and restore law and order. From this reluctant truce, an intense attraction grows that will either tighten or shatter their tenuous bond. Falling for his partner spells inevitable disaster, but Sawyer’s always been a sucker for wounded things. Sawyer could be the key to the life Royce has always wanted, if he’s brave enough to trust him. The fuse is lit, the clock is running, and the zero hour is upon them. Tick tock.
REVIEW:
We are off to a running start with this book. Key’s first day with the Savannah Police Department. The homicide case he expects, the open hostility from his new partner he did not – or the good luck wishes from the rest of the department.
Locke and Key… Normally I’m not a fan of these kinds of names, especially as partners. This time I didn’t mind – at all. I actually liked it. It fit. I also loved both of them, I could connect to them. They felt real, had issues and past hurts. They also recognised the hurt in each other and they could both take what the other dished out. I loved how there were no major drama, it all felt very real to me. Not subdued because feelings of all kinds were bubbling from the pages and the words Tristan James spoke. Nothing was easy between them, far from it with the animosity from Locke when they were first paired up. But all the banter between them made for a fun listen!
Their relationship is slowburn and goes through many transitions in this first book alone. From the open hostility, to a reluctant truce, to friendship and the possibility for more. I love that they worked for it, that it wasn’t instant or easy and that by the end of the book they are only just starting out. It makes you want to know more, want to know how they’re going to navigate the next chapters of their lives.
Ground Zero was performed by the one and only Tristan James. With his spot on performance he made the experience of this book very enjoyable. He adds feelings to Walker’s words and brings the characters to life. I especially loved his performance of a drunken Locke. It added some levity the otherwise more sombre feel of this book. It wasn’t dark my any means, but it wasn’t light or happy either. Both Locke and Key had too much hurt in their baggage for that. But hurt they are willing to let go of.
This book is the beginning of a trilogy and I can’t wait to see where Walker will take us. All I know is, this book was a great start, and I think I might just go ahead and start listening to book two later tonight, I want to see more of Locke and Key.
RATING: 
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