Gaele Hi
AudioBook Review Stars: Overall: 5 Narration: 5 Story: 5 At the end of the last book we discovered that Jory Dean, thought dead for these past two years is actually alive, and being held captive by the commander and others who want to see the Dean brothers dead, hiding their nefarious experimentation from the world. But, they’ve also been working on a way to walk-back the chip, bringing in a talented hacker in the form of Piper, told only to re-engineer the chip and beware of the man spouting claims of conspiracy theories. She wants to prove to her father, the commander, that she is worthy and talented and skilled, and all of her years in the ‘spy game’ have prepared her for what comes next. But, everything she’s doing, combined with what seems like a completely outrageous yet utterly believable story from Jory have her confused. And most probably in danger – if she asks the wrong questions, or allows her concentration to falter as she continues to find the keys in the coding of the chip. Far more a punch to the emotions than I expected, it’s easy to understand Piper’s desire to please her father, and Jory’s need to both escape and keep her safe, as he’s sure his life is about to end. Even if he finds her emotionally, physically and intellectually a match, he won’t stop to act on those feelings – determined to keep her safe to disable the chip, even as he’s kidnapped her away to continue her work away from her father. There really isn’t (as he sees it) a good outcome for Piper – if she succeeds he and his brothers are safe and Piper’s father (and others) are doomed, if she doesn’t succeed – the brothers are dead, and Piper’s awareness of the program will leave her vulnerable. Jory is determined that she’ll be safe, his brothers will live on, and he’ll somehow make up for all of the time he’s been separated from them while they’ve been struggling. Intelligent and not always the ‘muscle’ of his family, Jory and Piper were the perfect ‘geeks with an edge’ to pair up, and his understanding and empathy for her own losses of innocence and a belief in something that turned out to be utterly false are sweetly portrayed and make listeners want to have them find “it all”. Twists, turns, dangers and plenty of moments to keep you on the edge, and hoping for more are rewarded with answers, emotions and a solid sense of family struggles, acceptance and hope. Karen White again provided narration for this story and the differences between Jory and his brothers, as well as Piper and the other women we’ve met along the way are clear and fitting. Jory’s tortured emotions and his determination to keep everyone safe is clear in his voice, the frustration evident in Piper as she learned more and more, and you couldn’t help but empathize with her as she came to see the whole picture. White’s ability to keep all the voices different and yet the same throughout each book is remarkable, and adds such a continuity to the series, and the enjoyment of it that she’s solidly topping my list of narrators whose work I will grab at every opportunity. Don’t miss the chance to hear this series – you won’t regret it. I received an AudioBook copy of the title from Hachette Audio for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.