Narrated by Karen White

Unfamiliar with Diana Miller’s work, I was hesitant to give Dangerous Affairs a try (although I found the synopsis intriguing) until I realized it was narrated by Karen White. Karen is one of my auto-buy narrators – if I think a book may interest me, her narration will sway me to give it a try. So, I must give credit to her narration for leading me to this very enjoyable listen of Diana Miller’s debut novel.

Although I have watched few daytime soap operas over the years, for some reason I find their female stars work well for me as romance heroines, something I rarely see. Abby Langford has left her soap star days and her cheating ex-husband behind, moving back to her hometown in Minnesota where she hopes to provide a better quality life for her nine-year-old daughter. Then mysterious incidents start to occur – an old bloody knife is found in her new home, she starts receiving threatening letters, and someone breaks into her home. But Chief of Police, Josh Kincaid, believes Abby is creating the events for publicity and has a hard time believing there is a real threat to her life. It’s the beginning of a romance that reaches beyond the typical heroine-returns-home/cop-hero scenario.

My first experience listening to Karen White was her 2010 performance of Julie James’ Just the Sexiest Man Alive. My audio reviews were much shorter in those days and I summed up my thoughts on the narration with, “Karen White excels in her narration.” And somehow, Karen just keeps improving which is a little amazing. First of all, she “gets” romance and understands the importance of the byplay between the leads and the timing needed for an effective delivery. Second, she clearly distinguishes her characters and has improved her ability to provide the romance listener with that longed-for male deep voice. In Dangerous Affairs, she once again “excels in her narration” – just at a higher level.

Miller delivers a taut mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. In addition, it is quite romantic. For a debut author’s effort, it’s impressive and combined with Karen White’s performance, it’s likely an audio I will listen to again.

Breakdown of Grade – Narration A- Book Content B