Gritty, violent, and crime-filled is how you expect a mob book to be written and Nora Ash does not disappoint in “Dangerous”. What you don’t expect to find is the layers of relationship between the Steel brothers and the romance that builds between Mira and Blaine. Listening to two people that cannot stand each other only find out their familial past & present bind them in a way only they can understand is heart wrenching and moving. Even better than reading the excellent story Ms. Ash wrote was listening to the magnificent voice of Shane East as Blaine Steel and the new-to-me narrator Rachel Knight.
Mr. East gives a performance that is remarkable in the variation of characters voices and the ferocious main character that is Blaine Steel. His cockney accent and growly voice are pure aural perfection when he’s communicating the passion Blaine feels for Mira. When speaking as the patriarch of the family, East’s speech turns into a combo of Bob Hoskins & Michael Caine (circa Italian Job) letting you know the Father is in charge of this family and is ruthless enough to turn on his own family to stay in control.
Mira is given voice by Rachel Knight and while her cadence and acting emotion are spot on for the characters, there is something different about the production that is just off dragging me away from the performance. Ms. Knight appears to be speaking directly into the microphone while narrating, but steps back when speaking the character dialog. However, the performance given to the various character voices is fantastic and the excellence continues throughout the series. Her conversations with Marcus were so emotional that I couldn’t wait to get more of his character – and I was not disappointed to see he would lead Book 2.
More Nora Ash books are definitely in my future and I need more of this “Dangerous” world of Blaine & Mira.