Beneath Dark Waters is a good romantic suspense novel, though one with more suspense than romance. Former Marine, Val, works for a private security firm as a body guard in New Orleans. After an attempted kidnapping, she is hired to protect a DA’s young son. The story develops from there with lots of bad guys, and several plot threads. The book is well written and well plotted. If pushed to name a downside, I would say it’s a little long and perhaps more complicated than necessary—lots of characters and motives to keep track of. All in all, a good read.
Be warned that, like the other Karen Rose books I’ve read, many of the characters are victims of past or present abuse, violence and/or extreme family disfunction.

Holy crap batman, this book was absolutely, positively insane! It hooked me from the very first chapter and kept me on the edge of my seat.

J.P. “Kaj” Cardozo is an Assistant DA in New Orleans. He’s the lead on a major case involving 2 well know celebrities. When Elijah, his son is the victim of an attempted kidnapping Kaj contacts Broussard Investigations. Val Sorensen, a former Marine turned bodyguard and investigator is assigned to their case.
As Val, Kaj, and other Broussard members develop a plan to keep father and son safe, they realize a safe house is not the answer. So, Val and Czar move into their home. Sparks begin to stir between Val and Kaj as they share their histories with each other.
Enter the Gates brothers. They’re grief, anger, and fear filled lives fuel their actions against the Cardozos and the team.
Twists and turns kept me turning the next page until early in the morning with this one. Rose’s development of her characters had me both smiling and worrying about the outcome. This is not the first book by Rose I’ve read and enjoyed it very much. I was given this ARC by netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my fair and honest review.

J.P. “Kaj” Cardozo is the Assistant District Attorney for New Orleans. When his young son is nearly kidnapped, he hires Broussard Investigations to protect him. Kaj feels tormented that his job puts his son’s life in jeopardy. However, he cannot ignore his growing attraction to his son’s new female bodyguard. The investigation takes a darker, drastic turn when they learn there is more to both of his high-profile cases. Will Kaj have to step away from those cases to protect his son? Or will he power through to allow justice to be served?

Veteran Marine, Val Sorensen works as a bodyguard, and sometimes investigator, for Broussard Investigations. She is specifically chosen to protect ADA Cardozo’s ten-year-old son. Val cannot help but grow attached to the boy and his attractive father, but she refuses to act on her attraction while on the job. When she and her associates investigate the kidnapping attempt, they discover something even more sinister and dangerous. Can Val protect Kaj’s son from all the threats? Or will her past incapacitate her from the job?

Kaj is such an unusual name. I appreciate how the author incorporates its pronunciation into the story. Generally, authors leave it up to the readers’ discretion. I understand Kaj’s uncertainty towards Jace. He hates everything the teenager has been through; however, he cannot ignore the boy’s involvement in his son’s near kidnapping. What I like the most about Kaj is his thoughtfulness towards Val’s past trauma. He does not want to do something that would bring up painful and terrifying memories.

Val is a great role model for woman. She has survived the most horrendous ordeal a woman can face. Val has managed to overcome her mental demons and move forward. I admire Val’s willingness to become Jace’s advocate. She knows the boy has been dealt a bad hand, especially by his two older brothers. Val believes the teen deserves better, and she wants to help him achieve it. What I like the most about Val is her thoughtfulness towards Elijah’s medical needs. She researched his condition, so she could better understand everything he may need while under her protection.

BENEATH DARK WATERS is the second book in Karen Rose’s romantic suspense series, NEW ORLEANS. It can easily stand alone, which is good since I did not read the first book. I am no stranger to this author’s works. She focuses more on suspense than romance. However, the romance aspect lightens the heaviness of the plot and some of the subject matter. The story starts out slowly, and it drags on in some places. Then the momentum picked up close to the end that made me reluctant to put the book down. Trigger warning: PTSD, Child abuse, torture, and past rape.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. This is Val and Kaj's story. Val Sorenson works for Broussard Investigations and Kaj is an ADA. Another excellent action packed story. I love the crew and how Karen Rose makes them all into a loving family. I especially loved Jace in this one. I hope the next in the series covers Phin.

Karen Rose back at her very best!

Back in New Orleans we catch up with some of her favourite characters and fan favourites, Burke Broussard and his Private Investigation Agency, but surprise surprise, it’s not for anything good!

After a fumbled kidnapping of Assistant District Attorney Kaj Cordozo’s son, Elijah, Burke assigns one of his best agents, Val Sorensen, to take on the job as the boy’s personal bodyguard until the threat has passed and the high profile court case Kaj has ended.

But there are people out there that will go to any lengths to stop the court case from taking place, starting with kidnapping the DA’s son to use as blackmail.

How far will these people go to get what they want and how far will Burke’s employees and friends have to go to keep not only Elijah safe, but Kaj and Val as well?

In this book Karen Rose has returned to her old formulation, steamy romance on top of heart racing adrenaline from the thrill of the chase, making it yet another one of her books that you just can’t put down so be prepared to loose some sleep reading this one!

Beneath Cold Water by Karen Rose will be published in the UK on 17 August 2023 and is available to preorder now from your local bookshop or the link below.

This is a series and author that I was very excited to try. However, I could never get into the story – there were too many moving parts and the story was long and drawn out. I really kept trying to like it, but nothing I did could get me in the mood. Because the book does have a lot of elements that I usually enjoy, I’m thinking that this is a format error for me. I will be shelving this e-arc but picking up this book in audio format in hopes that listening will hold my attention better.

If I do review the audio version of this book I will update my feedback and post to social media, however I will refrain from posting outside netgalley until that time.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this e-arc.

This book grabbed me from the very start with the attempted kidnapping of a young boy. His father prosecutor Kaj Cardozo hires the Broussard group to guard his son. This book has it all murder, mayhem, police corruption, romance, sweet kids and a dog. What’s not to love. I highly recommend this book to anyone who love’s romantic suspense.