Audio Review: The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann

The Unsung Hero

Troubleshooters, #1
Suzanne Brockmann


Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Narrator: Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank,
Date of Publication: July 15, 2014
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 15 hrs and 15 mins

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     Audible   Downpour

After a near-fatal head injury, navy SEAL lieutenant Tom Paoletti catches a terrifying glimpse of an international terrorist in his New England hometown. When he calls for help, the navy dismisses the danger as injury-induced imaginings. In a desperate, last-ditch effort to prevent disaster, Tom creates his own makeshift counterterrorist team, assembling his most loyal officers, two elderly war veterans, a couple of misfit teenagers, and Dr. Kelly Ashton-the sweet "girl next door" who has grown into a remarkable woman. The town's infamous bad boy, Tom has always longed for Kelly. Now he has one final chance for happiness, one last chance to win her heart, and one desperate chance to save the day...

I got this audiobook from Audiobook Jukebox for an honest review. I liked the premise of the story and from the brief clip on audible, I liked the sound of the female narrator.  First of all, let me start by saying that this is a new recording of a book originally published in 2000.  The first audio recording was done back in 2008 and only has 1 narrator. To be clear, the version I heard was with Patrick Lawlor and Melanie Ewbank and was recently released. That didn't change the fact that it was a little bit dated due to the story being 14 years old. It wasn't crazy noticeable, but there were a few places that I did the Huh? at.

There were 3 story lines going on here. The main story is about Tom and Kelly and their second chance romance. The second is about Tom's teenage niece Mallory and David, a boy she meets.  The third tells the story of Kelly's father and Tom's uncle during WWII in occupied France and their love triangle with a local French woman who is head of the local resistance.  Sound confusing? They really aren't and all the threads eventually weave into a cohesive story.

My biggest problem was with the two narrators and trying to figure out the rhyme or reason to who was talking.  It wasn't like the Melanie did all the female voices/thoughts and Patrick took the men.  Nope. It wasn't even like male/female perspectives, or every other chapter or anything I could figure out. I swear I spent more time trying to figure out why this person was speaking versus that person, it distracted me from the story.  I think that either one could have done a credible job on their own. But together, it was just a hot mess.

Since I had already requested the next book, The Defiant Hero, it is next  up. But I don't know whether I will be requesting anymore.  I'm just not sure how I feel about the dual narrators. Maybe it will grow on me, but I just don't know. I would have gone 3 stars for this, but I just couldn't get a handle on the narration. 2 stars.