‘Threshold’ by @jordanlhawk #Audiobook #LGBT #Review

MtSnow reviews Threshold: Whyborne & Griffin book 2 by Jordan L. Hawk. Narrated by Julian G. Simmons Audiobook Edition released November 25, 2013 by Jordan L. Hawk. 

Why I listened to this book: We were offered the opportunity to review the audiobook ‘Necropolis‘ in exchange for an honest review, and I already owned all the previous in the series, so I took the opportunity to listen to them all back to back.

Also check out my audiobook reviews for Widdershins (Book One) and Stormhaven (Book Three).

For a second opinion, check out Marc’s audiobook reviews of Widdershins (Book One), Threshold (Book Two), Stormhaven (Book Three) and his eBook review of Necropolis (Book Four). If you already read Necropolis, you might be interested in the in-depth Interview/ Discussion Marc had with Jordan about her forth book and what her answers reveal about Bloodline (Book Five) (Publication Date October 7th, 2014).

Introverted scholar Percival Endicott Whyborne wants nothing more than to live quietly with his lover, ex-Pinkerton detective Griffin Flaherty. Unfortunately, Whyborne’s railroad tycoon father has other ideas, namely hiring Griffin to investigate mysterious events at a coal mine.

Whyborne, Griffin, and their friend Christine travel to Threshold Mountain, a place of dark legend even before the mine burrowed into its heart. A contingent of Pinkertons—including Griffin’s ex-lover Elliot—already guard the mine. But Griffin knows better than anyone just how unprepared the detectives are to face the otherworldly forces threatening them.

Soon, Whyborne and Griffin are on the trail of mysterious disappearances, deadly accidents, and whispered secrets. Is Elliot an ally, or does he only want to rekindle his relationship with Griffin? And if so, how can Whyborne possibly hope to compete with the stunningly handsome Pinkerton—especially when Griffin is hiding secrets about his past?

For in a town where friends become enemies and horror lurks behind a human mask, Whyborne can’t afford to trust anything—including his own heart.

This story starts out with Whyborne making a bit of a…mistake. Out of boredom, and anxiousness (he does seem anxious quite often in social gatherings) he starts out practicing a little spell from the arcenoram…a little wind spell. Recall, he mastered a small ‘fire spell’ in the previous story. Well, he draws the ‘sigil’ (a pattern somewhat like a rune) twice in his palm with his finger and ends up raising natural disaster type havoc at the museum event. All because he’s distracted watching the clock due to Griffin being away for three weeks and due back that evening.

Next, we see him reunited hours later with Griffin back at their apartment where there is an unexpected summons from Whyborne’s father..for Griffin.

They both arrive at his parent’s estate and surprisingly his infirm mother is out of bed and waiting to greet them BOTH with a warm hug.. There is still much suspicion over his father’s summons. Was it guilt over almost destroying the world using Griffin in the previous story?

There is a mystery talisman presented. Black stone piece.’Gladstone’ ….his father shows them.. Pictographs… Father wants both Whyborne and Griffin to investigate mines in Threshold. His father has an investment in the mines. There is a mystery at the mines, of a paranormal nature that Whyborne’s father wants both of them to look into.

When they arrive to the town of Threshold, low and behold, we are introduced to a VERY attractive former ‘friend’ and coworker of Griffin’s from his Pinkerton days. And there the adventure begins… *a bit of jealousy Whyborne?*

As we continue through the adventures of Whyborne and Griffin, hidden depths in Whyborne are exposed. More confidence, less timidity, and slowly I find myself peeling back the layers of the story and warming up to the cast of characters. This story shows us Griffin with a different lens as well.

Narration: Whyborne’s voice sounds fairly analytical and almost monotone in my head, and as I’ve listened to all of the books in audio, I’ve come to think of the narrator as an actual good fit for Whyborne, warming up to him more than I had in the first book.

Whyborne is new to ‘passion’ and pretty reserved and a naive to the world outside of his bookish scientific room at the museum. His feelings for Griffin bring about a spark of ‘life’ that was sadly lacking previously. The narration is good at displaying this slow growth to passion for life as Whyborne also begins to grow in confidence. His heart is quite exposed in this one, and there is much that he learns about himself.

My favorite character is still Whyborne’s best friend and coworker, independent woman extraordinaire Christine. She shows passion about everything, and is refreshing and portrayed quite lively by the narrator.

As for the narration as a whole, I feel that the narrator has gotten more and more comfortable with the cast of characters and improved in timing and pacing. He is showing more inflection and sounding more like he is enjoying the story than I was feeling from the previous work. Now I can’t imagine anyone else narrating this series. The narration gets steadily better and better, and I am glad the same narrator was kept for the complete series.

Very good adventures and hardily recommended for anyone that enjoys historical mysteries with a gory paranormal twist. Not quite horror, but definitely graphic horror elements. Fun!

Enjoy audiobooks? Buy Threshold in audio here:

 

Jordan L. Hawk grew up in North Carolina and forgot to ever leave. Childhood tales of mountain ghosts and mysterious creatures gave her a life-long love of things that go bump in the night. When she isn’t writing, she brews her own beer and tries to keep her cats from destroying the house. Her best-selling Whyborne & Griffin series (beginning with Widdershins) can be found in print, ebook, and audiobook at Amazon and other online retailers.

 

Website: http://jordanlhawk.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordanlhawk
Twitter: @jordanlhawk