Romance Audiobooks discussion

For those who are not familiar with Suzanne Brockmann, she primarily writes romance and romantic suspense. She's probably best known for her series Troubleshooters which centers around an assortment of Navy SEALs, FBI Agents and the such. I've been pleasantly surprised by how many of her books are available in audio format.

Thus far I've only listened to the Troubleshooters and have loved it. Interestingly, there has been a fair bit of turnover in the narrators for this series...

1. The Unsung Hero - William Dufris
2. The Defiant Hero - Carrington MacDuffie
3. Over the Edge - Laura Hicks
4. Out of Control - Norma Lana
5. Into the Night - Deborah Hazlett
6. Gone Too Far - Deborah Hazlett
7. Flashpoint - Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank
8. Hot Target - Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank
9. Breaking Point - Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank
10. Into the Storm - Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank
11. Force of Nature - Patrick Lawlor, Melanie Ewbank
12. All Through the Night: A Troubleshooter Christmas - Michael Holland
13. Into the Fire - Patrick G. Lawlor, Renée Raudman
14. Dark of Night - Patrick G. Lawlor, Renée Raudman
15. Hot Pursuit - Patrick G. Lawlor, Renée Raudman
16. Breaking the Rules - March 2011 Release

By sheer coincidence, I started listening to the series at book 7 where they seem to have found the winning combination(s). It was a little different for me at first to get used to having 2 narrators but now find it to be a great change of pace without sacrificing the action and suspense which I love. Also Brockmann has a way of building characters that are incredibly realistic and have very real dialogue which will make you laugh, cry and hold your breath. I am not certain why Melanie Ewbank stopped reading, but her replacement picked up the torch and may have even taken it to another level.

All great listens!!

I'm also a fan of the Troubleshooter series by Suzanne Brockmann. I actually listened to book 10 first - not sure how I managed that since I usually am very strict about listening / reading books in a series in order. I really enjoyed it and went back to read from the beginning. I liked some books better than others and read about half of them over listening to them.

It's been awhile since I listened and I did find the switching readers to be distracting since they didn't pronounce things the same. Can't remember now which books. I like the readings best from books 10 forward.

1 - listened - was OK but got distracted by the secondary WWII plot and found myself FF some
2 - read - found it annoying because thought Meg was TSTL
3,4 - listened
5 - 7 - read
8-15 - listened

Hmm, that's probably not too helpful to folks. I'm make sure to come back and update next time I re-listen to this series. I've listened to books 10-15 multiple times though.

I spent 5 hours in the bathtub reading Unsung Hero, when it first came out. I started it in the tub and finished it in the tub. Had about 4 inches of water left and was very pruny. :) I was so into it I wasn't about to move until I finished.

I read the first - oh, several books, and only started getting the audiobooks at Into The Fire . I decided to start over with audio, and DNFed book 1 because I was so annoyed by the (first) narrator. I love the series, and while I don't love every book individually, when I did a re-read I went through every book in order just to keep up with the characters and plots.

I'm putting a numbered list since I got confused trying to figure out which one was left out of the OP's list:
Troubleshooters
1. The Unsung Hero (2000)
2. The Defiant Hero (2001)
3. Over the Edge (2001)
4. Out of Control (2002)
5. Into the Night (2002)
6. Gone Too Far (2003)
7. Flashpoint (2004)
8. Hot Target (2004)
9. Breaking Point (2005)
10. Into the Storm (2006)
11. Force of Nature (2007)
12. All Through the Night (2007)
13. Into the Fire (2008)
14. Dark of Night (2009)
15. Hot Pursuit (2009)
16. Breaking the Rules (March 22,2011)

I think those who enjoyed Troubleshooter series would enjoy Pamela Clare's I-Team Series. These currently are not out in audio though I did hint to Tantor they should pick in up and that was seconded by the author on twitter. I'm keeping fingers crossed on that...

Two more from Brockmann's Tall, Dark and Dangerous series were released today on audio.

The Admiral's Bride - Allyson Johnson

Identity:Unknown - Watson Heinz

Anybody familiar with the narrators?

I like Allyson Johnson as a narrator. She does a Sci-Fi series I like a lot.

I listend to the entire series on audio, except the first one. The narrator was so bad, I downloaded the book and read it on my Kindle. The rest were pretty good, except the one person who kept mis-pronouncing Ken Carmody's name (CarMOdy? seriously?) I forgot which book it was. With the Chief.

Thanks Kelli, as another who is very "discerning", I'm stealing that word from Terra :), about narrators I'm glad to hear a thumbs up on Allyson Johnson.

May I ask which Sci Fi series she does so well?

Susinok the CarMOdy would make me crazy but that wasn't Ken's own book, right?

Brenda wrote: "Thanks Kelli, as another who is very "discerning", I'm stealing that word from Terra :), about narrators I'm glad to hear a thumbs up on Allyson Johnson.

May I ask which Sci Fi series she does so..."

Brenda, it was David Weber's Honor Harrington series.

I have to add the caveat that I would rate her ability with some accents (primarily Germanic) as her weak point but for all other aspects, I liked her narration.

Brenda wrote: "Thanks Kelli, as another who is very "discerning", I'm stealing that word from Terra :), about narrators I'm glad to hear a thumbs up on Allyson Johnson.

May I ask which Sci Fi series she does so..."

Brenda, you crack me up! :)

I also remember listening to that narrator pronounce it "CarMOdy" and I said "CARmody" out loud (and rather loudly) every time she did it! My kids thought I'd lost my mind...that was years ago, though. They're used to by now. ;)

Brenda wrote: "Thanks Kelli, as another who is very "discerning", I'm stealing that word from Terra :), about narrators I'm glad to hear a thumbs up on Allyson Johnson.

May I ask which Sci Fi series she does so..."

No it wasn't Ken's book. It was the Chief's book. Forget the title. Book 3 in the series, I think?

Yep, book 3, Over the Edge. Thank goodness it wasn't Cormody's book.

Just did a mini re-listen of books 3, 10, 14, 15. Loved 10, 14 and 15 and enjoyed 3 audio (Over the Edge) but narrator did bug me. (Specifically Wildcard's name and Jenk's voice). The audios are much better for books from 7 on IMO.

I've been wanting to try this series and I just found out my library has at audiobooks 1-10...woohoo!! Just put myself on the waiting list for #1. There are only 4 people in front of me...I hope I don't have to wait long!

D.G. ~The Hydra~ wrote: "I've been wanting to try this series and I just found out my library has at audiobooks 1-10...woohoo!! Just put myself on the waiting list for #1. There are only 4 people in front of me...I hope I ..."

Book 1 was not the best on audio IMHO - but I was able to slog through. Hope you enjoy them. SB usually has lots going on in her books (1+ romance(s), thread of historical flashback tied to characters, suspense thread...)

Thanks for letting me know, Vic. If I don't like the narration of the first book, then I'll read the print version and jump back to audiobooks for the second.

Lately I'm finding it so much easier to listen to audiobooks than to read print books so if I try to get the audio, I'll get to it sooner than later. :)

You are so right about the narrator for the first one - he can't even pronounce the names right, not even the hero's! drove me nutz and I dnfed it. I love this series, and only started audio on it with Into The Fire. I wanted to go back and listen to them all but was so put off by the first book, I stopped. Maybe I'll pick up with #2 - or #7.

This series is fantastic on print or on audio. I have done both. I have listened to the books many times each. The narrators are brilliant and smooth. You forget someone is reading for you. These narrators are actors, not just readers. I never get tired of them and I get excited if I see their names on other titles.

Patrick Lawlor completely ruined me for most other narrators. lol I've been an avid audiobook fan for about 4 years(I work in an office doing extremely redundant, boring stuff so I depend on them to keep my day rolling). I've listened to probably a hundred at least and as far as male talent goes, he's the best!

Savannah wrote: "Patrick Lawlor completely ruined me for most other narrators. lol I've been an avid audiobook fan for about 4 years(I work in an office doing extremely redundant, boring stuff so I depend on them t..."

I agree Savannah, he is the best. I have a hard time giving other male narrators a chance. I also count on them to get me through the day. As far as Brockmann goes, no one can weave a full cast like her and make you fall in love with them. No matter how many times I've listened to them I still find little details I've missed before. It's amazing. I just wish she would write faster:D

Boemum wrote: "Savannah wrote: "Patrick Lawlor completely ruined me for most other narrators. lol I've been an avid audiobook fan for about 4 years(I work in an office doing extremely redundant, boring stuff so I..."
Boemum, I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings but I think she is done with The Troubleshooters series now. I would be so very happy if it turns out I am wrong.

We ran a recorded interview at AudioGals with Patrick Lawlor (hilarious) and Suzanne Brockmann shared extensively in the comments area both following his interview and our article on Brockmann's books the next day. One thing is for sure - these two totally enjoy working together. I'm sure we will see Patrick narrating more Brockmann. Now, will it be another Troubleshooter entry? I have no idea. But I'm certain that it will be very, very good.

I noticed recently that at least of Suzanne's Troubleshooter audiobooks (Flashpoint, Hot Target, Breaking Point) are no longer listed. I know they were on Audible at some point because they were on my wish list then "not available" popped up. I have emailed customer service but wondered if anyone had read/heard anything.

Ali-ef
I read something a while back where she said she eould pick it back up but it would be a while. Something about #16 being a good place to take a break from Team 16 lol. She didn't make it dound permanent bit again, its been a while back.

I thonk the series got better the more stories she wrote. I enjoyed the last 5 or 6 way more than the early ones.

And forgive the smart phone typos. I hate posting on this thing!

That's great to know. I'll definitely keep an eye out for any news on the Troubleshooters front then. Many thanks.

(also sent from a phone, apologies for errors)

Tracy wrote: "For those who are not familiar with Suzanne Brockmann, she primarily writes romance and romantic suspense. She's probably best known for her series Troubleshooters which centers around an assortme..."

Just want to thank you, Tracy, for listing all the books including their narrators. It's so helpful!

I'll be starting the series right from the top soon and have checked the posts here so I know what to expect as I'm not very familiar with MF audiobooks. I've started to listen to them because I ran out of MM romance to listen to!

What made me pick The Troubleshooters for my MF listen is that it has male narrators, and even better - a male/female duo. I like Raudmann (from Sandra Brown's oldie, French Silk) so I like that she was picked to replace Ewbank.