Cronin's Key by N. R. Walker (Cronin's Key, Book 1)

NYPD Detective Alec MacAidan has always been good with weird. There were inexplicable events throughout his childhood (rescued from drowning in a pool, saved from a toppling bookcase) and even some once he became a cop like when a bullet that should have killed him deflected at the last moment. But, nothing has been as weird as tonight when a man disintegrated to dust in his arms.

While filing paperwork in the squad room following the event, a man suddenly appears and calls Alec by his true Scottish name – Ailig. Not only does he know something that others don’t, Alec finds himself unreasonably drawn to the man. When called, he steps forward, wraps his arms around the man and they disappear in the blink of an eye.

Cronin, a vampire elder, has been waiting for Alec his whole life. He’d been told that his fate involved a man with a shield but had never expected that it would be a human with a police badge. Upon seeing Alec, he immediately recognizes him as his “fated one” and does what he can to protect him.

Even as Alec and Cronin explore the meaning of their fated relationship and come to accept it, their new relationship is jeopardized by a vampire uprising in Eqypt. A new leader with unheard-of powers is threatening the existence of mankind and it’s up to Cronin and Alec to stop her.

Sadly, of the four main characters – Alec, Cronin, Jovis and Eiji – I found myself liking Alec the least. I didn’t dislike him, I just didn’t like him. I found him to be whiny and obnoxious while the other characters were strong and interesting. Eiji is great and made the story fun; Cronin’s caring and vulnerable nature made him deep and interesting and Jovis was supportive and calm in face of adversity.

I listened to this book on audio as narrated by Joel Leslie. The narrator had an amazing range in voices and did a great job with the book. However, the voice that the narrator used for Alec was – in part – a reason I was initially unhappy with the Alec character. Perhaps if he’d done something else, I could have gotten past some of the personality issues I had with Alec.

Rating: 3 Stars