Variable Onset cover art

Variable Onset

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Variable Onset

By: Layla Reyne
Narrated by: Tristan James
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $24.99

Buy Now for $24.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.
Cancel

About this listen

When the serial killer known as Dr. Fear seemingly reemerges after a cooling-off period, Special Agent Lincoln Monroe wants on the case. He knows his research on the calculating criminal, who targets couples and uses their worst fears to kill them, could prove invaluable. But nothing can prepare Lincoln for the agent waiting for him in Apex, Virginia: a brash and cocky former student. Carter Warren is everything Lincoln is not, and somehow everything he wants. And they'll be going undercover. As newlyweds.

For Carter, seeing Lincoln again - and flustered to boot - pokes his raging bear of a crush something fierce. He thinks posing as lovers will provide the perfect bait for Dr. Fear. But pretending to be married forces them to confront fears of their own...like giving in to the very real chemistry between them.

With evidence pointing to the possibility of a copycat killer, Lincoln and Carter will have to race to separate truth from fiction. But when another couple goes missing, finding the killer will test every ounce of their training, skills and the strength of their bond like never before.

Contains mature themes.

©2019 Layla Reyne (P)2021 Tantor Crime Literature & Fiction Mystery Mystery, Thriller & Suspense Police Procedural Romance Romantic Suspense Fiction Suspense
All stars
Most relevant  
While FBI Special Agent Lincoln is not a good field agent, he trains agents in criminal research and is the leading expert on Dr Fear, a serial killer who specialises in torturing his victims with their worst fears until they beg to be killed. When a close friend’s daughter is snatched by Dr Fear or a copycat killer, Lincoln is asked to go undercover with field agent Carter Warren, the cockiest student Lincoln ever trained. Carter continually wrong-foots Lincoln but the two make an effective team so it’s hard for Lincoln to stay mad with him for long and Carter is definitely hunky, so that helps too.

I found this age-gap / grumpy-sunshine romance mildly diverting but I didn’t grab me. I liked the premise of Dr Fear and serial killer case, unraveling the forensics, and puzzling out whether there were two killers or one … but I found some of the author’s creative decisions frustrating. Why catch a killer and rescue victims off-page? Why have such a long slow burn when the UST was there from the start? And why would an agent as competent as Carter take such ridiculous personal risks? I didn’t buy that someone so cocky had something to prove. 🎧 I have an ambivalent reaction to Tristan James’ audio narrations, he can sound wooden but he’s at his best in law enforcement stories, like here (currently free on the Audible Plus catalogue).

Great premise but some things were frustrating!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.