Review of ‘No Good Reason’ by Cari Hunter, audiobook narrated by Nicola Victoria Vincent

I am now an official Cari Hunter fan. Every book I read (or listen to, rather, lately), I am sure I am going to love. Not necessarily enjoy (they’re awfully grim), but love. Cari Hunter creates the most wonderful and relatable characters then proceeds to make them suffer every which way, whether it be in their past or in the present day, making them face the darkest side of humanity (or rather, from the few books I’ve read so far, of men). They’re everyday heroes, good people who can’t help doing the right thing.

‘No Good Reason’, the first installment in lesbian crime books series ‘The Dark Peak’, begins with a woman escaping her kidnapper only to find herself in some sort of no man’s land, in the dark. She’s found half-dead by teenagers, whose calls for help are heard by Sanne Jensen, a police detective who, by chance, was on her daily run close by. At the hospital where the woman is flown, Meg Fielding – Sanne’s best friend and occasional lover – takes care of her.

I love a good police procedural when it’s well-written, and this one couldn’t be better. While the work might be tedious (door-to-door inquiries, searches in the moors…), the narrative never is. The pace is excellent, slow when needed, gripping at other times, with just the right amount of details for the reader to feel involved but not enough to be boring.

I also love the relationship between Sanne and Meg. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. They’re not a traditional couple, but they have more chemistry than the characters supposed to fall in love in many romance novels I’ve read over the years. If they weren’t so scared of messing up everything by making it official, they’d be relationship-goals all the way. They have everything: chemistry, love, respect. No wonder their dates with other people never lead to anything. Sanne is driven and smart, with great instincts. Meg is precise and meticulous at work, forgets everything outside of it (ask for coffee, you’ll get tea, that kind of forgetfulness). They complement each other ideally.

Everything in this book is 5*, the mystery plot, the twists, the characters, the writing. I listened to the audiobook, and Nicola Victoria Vincent‘s narration is perfect too. She’s great with accents, and her voice for Sanne, when she talks to Meg, breaks my heart a little every time, there’s something so genuine and innocent in it. I hate to state the obvious, even though it’s necessary sometimes, but a fantastic narration such as this one makes an already awesome book even better. Definitely 5*.

Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins