Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer

Four years ago when I read After the Fire, the first in Shay’s Hidden Cove Firefighters series, I thoroughly enjoyed the family dynamics, the suspense aspects, and the not-always-perfect romances. Two years later, while in a reading slump, I revisited the series knowing it would keep my interest. So when I was offered the chance to review the first book of the series in audio format, I snapped it up. But the “third time’s a charm” didn’t quite work out this time, and I’m left wondering if my lukewarm reaction to the book was due to the somewhat lackluster narration, the fact that the melodrama of the book was more evident in audio format, or because I know the story so well and didn’t get that zing of suspense or surprise.

This trilogy centers around three firefighting siblings who have experienced a tragic fire and vowed to make important changes in their lives as a result. The oldest, Mitch, vows to do something about his failing marriage. Zach vows to stop womanizing and try to win back his ex-wife. Jenn decides after two failed marriages to give up on that and have a baby on her own. After the Fire starts all three stories, and a couple more, but focuses on Mitch and Jenn. Mitch is unhappy, but is staying in his marriage for his children’s sake when he meets Megan, a police investigator. Meanwhile, Jenn approaches her best friend, Grady, and asks him to father her child. There are also sub-plots about a camp for the children of fallen firefighters and policemen, the investigation into the tragic fire, and shorter story arcs involving the daily work of the firefighters.

Jeffrey Kafer’s narration is difficult to criticize. He has a nice voice and a consistent, even-toned delivery. That quality of voice and the consistency of delivery are important to me. An otherwise good narrator can lose me quickly if he/she sounds too rough, too high, or otherwise irritating in pitch, or even when the narration feels overly polished for the story or setting. I give Kafer two thumbs up for these qualities in his reading of After the Fire.

What is missing in the narration is harder to pin down, but perhaps can be summed up this way: Kafer reads the book, doing a good job with character differentiation, but doesn’t quite nail the emotions or catch the rhythm of the story, especially during conversations. The narration feels a little like the voice-over in a movie, perhaps a Bogart private eye flick. Not bad, but not totally connected to the events. I never felt that immersion into the world of the story; I always knew I was being read to.

Perhaps the small deficiencies in the narration wouldn’t matter as much if the story was fresher for me. This time around it reminded me a bit of a soap opera. When I read to myself, I sometimes skim over details, concentrating on the main flow of the story arc(s). With an audiobook, I am “forced” to listen to all the details and hear every adjective. The melodrama can become more obvious, as it does here.

It’s fair to say that had this been the first exposure to the book, I’d have been much more captivated by the story and characters. The relationships in After the Fire are more complex than in many other romantic suspense books I’ve read, and Shay’s representation of firefighting is realistic and informative. While a more animated narrator would engage the reader that much more, there are definite positives to Kafer’s reading. I recommend it for romantic suspense lovers.

Carrie