Review: Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose

 

Beneath Dark Waters (New Orleans #2) by Karen Rose

Publication Date: August 15th 2023 by Berkley Romance

Pages: 592

Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★½

Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Audible | Goodreads

My Thoughts:

Prosecutor Kaj Jean-Pierre Cardoza and his son ten-year-old son Elijah are new to the New Orleans area, only being there six months. Kaj knows there is corruption in the police department and the Prosecutor’s office has had their hands full cleaning up a past ADA’s shady dealings. Kaj has been assigned two high profile cases, one where a movie star was allegedly raped by the director and one where a drug dealer beat his son’s oncologist to death when he failed to save him. Unfortunately, both put him and his son in danger. When Elijah narrowly escapes an attempted kidnapping, Kaj doesn’t trust the police to guard them and instead hires Broussard Investigations to keep them safe.

Val Sorenson, an ex-marine, is leading the protection duty and it’s not long before Kaj and Elijah dig out a special place in her heart. Little does Val know though that she’s got a personal connection to the thugs gunning for Elijiah and Kaj. It’ll take all of Broussard Investigations to head off these determined villains!

Beneath Dark Waters was action packed with danger at every turn, but also a character driven story with Val, Kaj, Elijah, and others forming close bonds. They all had some painful past baggage and found solace in each other. Val and Kaj were immediately attracted, having met through mutual friends, and being thrown together just faned those flames.

My heart ached for the innocent here because these bad guys were awful! I didn’t want anyone landing in their hands at all! My heart pounded as the events unfolded! Thankfully, Val and Kaj were smart and didn’t take unnecessary risks. Still…

This has a high page count, but the story really flew by! There are a few repeat characters and I think the group is growing into an extended close family as Broussard operatives form relationships, both romantic and platonic. We’re getting the personality and feel of the group as the series goes on, so I do recommend starting from the beginning (book one of the New Orleans series) but you could read this as a stand-alone and still enjoy the story because it’s focused on Kaj, Val, Elijah and Jace, and the mystery/conflict wraps up here. I’m looking forward to the next one and wonder if it’ll feature Phin. What was revealed about him hints at an interesting backstory!

4.5 Stars

Book Description:

Deadly secrets lie beneath the murky waters of the Louisiana bayou in this pulse-pounding new romantic suspense novel from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Karen Rose.

There's no safe place for a child to hide when danger comes from every direction.

Public prosecutor J.P. "Kaj" Cardozo has only lived in New Orleans for six months, and he's already working on a high-profile celebrity sexual assault case that's made headlines all over the country. But when his son becomes the target of a kidnapping attempt as a threat to Kaj, he is desperate to keep him safe and turns to a private investigative firm famous for their protection services.

A veteran Marine, Val Sorensen is glad to have found a new career with Broussard Investigations. Her latest assignment as the bodyguard to ten-year-old Elijah Cardozo reminds her why--Val is a kick ass guardian with a tender heart. Through her duties, Val grows fond of the boy--and his handsome father.

But when the high-stakes investigation reveals an explosive network of crime through a revived drug gang, lingering deep-seated corruption in the NOPD, and a group of murderers-for-hire targeting Kaj, Elijah, and his star client, they're all left scrambling for safety...