The Captive (Griffin Force Series #1)

SUSPENSE/THRILLER:  Mya Amari is the daughter of an Algerian negotiator, and she has been living in hiding for years.  Because her father has many enemies, several years earlier, he sent his two daughters away—one to Europe and one to Canada—in an attempt to keep them safe.  After Mya’s half-sister is kidnapped with an American diplomat, she decides to do something to help.  Former Navy SEAL Jake Williams combines forces with some Canadian military men in a mission to rescue these hostages.  Mya comes out of hiding and provides this group with a possible way to reach her father in Algeria, and hopefully get a lead on the location of the hostages.  Mya’s initial impression of Jake is not very flattering, but he does redeem himself later in the book.

This story is tense and tightly-paced.  There are plenty of anxious moments in this audiobook, and the motivations for each character are clearly defined.  The world-building is mostly believable; however, there is one part when Jake is taken hostage by a terrorist he has been after for a while.  This particular part of the story strained the bounds of believability.  Nevertheless, this story moves along briskly and the listener cares about the outcome.  These protagonists are likeable, and Mya’s reunion with her father adds an interesting component to the story and indirectly leads to the start of this Griffin Force series.

Tristan Wright does a commendable job voicing these characters.  His portrayal is believable and smooth.  There aren’t any noticeable differences between the accents of the American characters and the Canadian characters, leaving a few of them sounding somewhat similar, but the Algerian and British characters are definitely portrayed distinctly.  The sound quality of this audiobook is fine and there aren’t any extraneous noises in the recording.  

Carey Sullivan