A good murder mystery that has you turning pages. It’s a series but the first I read and definitely can be read as a standalone. Leyla is expanding her business to include catering and one of her first jobs is catering her brother’s wedding. Things aren’t going smoothly, the wedding cake is missing, four of her staff has called in sick, another has not shown up. A chance meeting with a friend of her brother’s, Sean helps by lending a hand, but that leads into so much more. Returning to her coffee shop Leyla discovers her missing employee murdered behind her shop. With 2 brothers on the police force and discovering Sean is FBI she winds up in the middle of the mystery and eager to help them solve who is the murderer.
Sean is also working undercover on a different case, but evidence is connecting the murder to his case. Trying to keep Leyla safe and out of trouble by doing her own investigation is possible and of course she gets caught.
There is also Nicole the lead cop working the case who gets some leads from a reporter. Which ties into Sean’s case and a much bigger problem and more dangerous situation.
Good fast pace read, I did listen to the audiobook and was drawn into the story from the start. The narrator was good, but not much difference in the characters voices. Will backtrack and read the previous books, I did like the story and thought this was well written. Thank you NetGalley for this eARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #DeepTide #DreamscapeMedia

Leyla Breda is a successful entrepreneur at Lost Beach with her coffee/bake shop hopping and now expanding into catering she’s a busy woman. Her life is thrown upside down when a woman is found murdered behind her shop in a back alley. However, she has more than just her brothers to rely on. Sean Moran, her brother’s friend, also in law enforcement, keeps showing up when she’s at her lowest. There’s an immediate attraction between the two, but Leyla’s has rules about getting involved with non-residents as they have a lot of tourists. At some point they go home and she’s not about to be a vacation fling.

Sean Moran is in Lost Beach for his friend’s wedding (Leyla’s brother) but also because of an ongoing investigation into a rich tech mogul with ties to a criminal cartel. Rumor is a deal is going down soon and Sean’s there to intercept it. The murder of the girl outside of Leyla’s coffeeshop has Sean’s red flags going up as there are some suspicious details that might mean it’s related to his investigation. He didn’t count on meeting Leyla, though. Although she continually rebuffs his romantic proposals, he’s drawn to her over and over. Unfortunately, her questions on the case put her in danger.

I’ve been a fan of Laura Griffin’s police procedural/romantic suspense stories for quite some time, but Deep Tide was a little slow going. It was entertaining but didn’t have the intensity or threat of danger throughout that some of her other stories had until the very end. There was a lot of time spent with Nicole, one of the Lost Beach detectives, and she wasn’t the love interest. Maybe this is a setup for a story focusing on her and Emmett in another case? I feel there wasn’t as much time spent with Sean and Leyla together. Even so, I wanted them to overcome any obstacles and find a way to be together. Even with some of these issues, I’d still recommend Deep Tide to mystery/romantic suspense fans. The other books in the series are really good, as well. Particularly Flight and Midnight Dunes which are my favorites so far.

I alternated between an e-ARC and audio copy of Deep Tide and I recommend either. The audio, narrated by Teri Clark Linden, was excellent. I’ve enjoyed several books by her and love her voice, accents, and performance! I listened at my usual 1.5x normal speed.

Deep Tide
Laura Griffin
This is the fourth book in the Texas Murder Files series.
This is the first book in the series that I have read. I enjoyed it very much and plan to go back and read the first three books.
In Deep Tide we meet Leyla Breda and Sean Moran. Leyla is the sister of two of the officers on the police force; she is a caterer and owns The Beanery, a coffee shop. She was catering her brother, Joel’s wedding when she met Sean an FBI agent. While Sean is a friend of the groom he is also working undercover. It was obvious Leyla and Sean are attracted to each other, but Leyla avoids visitors to the area because she isn’t interested in a short-term relationship. When Leyla returns to her coffee shop, she discovers the body of one of Amelia, one of her employees.
Natalie Lawson, the only female on the police force and the youngest office is placed in charge of the investigation. Her partner and some of the other officers question why she was placed in charge. The evidence points to a serial killer. Natalie and Sean start collaborating on the case. Leyla is already in the sites of a serial killer then she does something that helps Sean but puts her life in danger. Sean realizes he is in love with her and will do anything to keep her safe.
This is an action-packed suspense, mystery, romance. I loved the characters both main and secondary. I enjoyed watching Leyla and Sean has their love for each other grew. The romance was well done and so was the investigation/procedural part of this tale. This was a fast and easy read/listen. Kudos to author Laura Griffin.

This is the forth book in the series and can be read as a stand alone although I think the previous books would help to add to the story. Leyla Breda is super busy with the season fast approaching and getting a new catering business off the ground. She has no time for the instant attraction she feels for a guest at her brother's wedding. She is just too busy. Sean feels the same instant attraction and wants to get closer to Leyla too, even though he is undercover with the FBI on a task force that has been working for years to infiltrate a syndicate of criminals who they suspect have moved into the small beachside community of Lost Beach, Texas. She discovers an employee murdered behind her coffee shop creates a new mystery and some tense scenes.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity

The Texas Murder Files continues with Leyla’s story. Layla is Owen and Joel’s sister. While everyone is celebrating Joel and Miranda’s wedding, one of Layla’s employee’s is murdered.

Since Joel and Owen are related to Leyla, and her business is now a crime scene, Nicole takes over as lead with the investigation. Sean, an FBI agent who is undercover, attended his friend Joel’s wedding while in town on business. This business just might be connected to the murder that occured at Leyla’s bakery.

Leyla tries doing some of her own investigating, and Sean keeps telling her to stay out of it. He should stay away from Leyla himself, but keeps finding himself drawn to her.

I enjoyed reading Leyla and Sean’s story, but found myself wanting Nicole’s story more. I wonder if there will be any chemistry between her and her colleague in the next book of the series. Nothing really surprised me or stood out to me in this book, but I still enjoyed it. With the audio, I kept getting confused if it was Leyla or Nicole that was the focus of the story.

A greatly narrated audiobook with a really fun and interesting storyline. I loved the mix of crime mystery and romance with characters you can really get invested in. Although this is the fourth in a series I read this as a stand-alone and still really enjoyed this. Overall I found this to be a really solid mystery with great characters that will make you want to read the rest of the series.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

I thought the narration on this book was great! I loved how they gave it a little southern accent so it really felt genuinely like they were in Texas. The story started off strong for me, a solid murder mystery whodunnit, but slowly lost my interest as the story went on. By the end I wasn’t nearly as invested as I wanted to be and I doubt I’ll be continuing this series when more books are released. I’m sure some would love it, but the slow pace just didn’t keep me captivated.

I jumped into this book without realizing it was the fourth book in a series! Good news, it can be read as a stand alone. Romantic suspense is one of my favorite of all time genres and this one did not disappoint. It was a fun fast paced read and I listened to it in a day! The narrator did a good job of bringing all of the characters to life but I definitely got confused in the beginning with the switching of POVs. Once I realized who everyone was it was much easier to follow along.

Leyla was likable and straight forward. If there is something she feels like she should do she won’t be talked out of it, even if it’s dangerous. I loved that about her. The chemistry was awkward at points and I felt like Sean just wanted to get into her pants for like half the book but I ended up really liking them together. I am definitely going to have to pick up the first three books in this series now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this audiobook! All thoughts are my own.

Laura Griffin has become a go to author for me when I need a solid and reliable mystery/thriller. I haven't read all of the books in this series, and I was able to follow the plot of this one without any trouble even though it is the 4th book in the series. I thought the pacing was well done, and the plot unfolded in a realistic way. I love the elements of romance thrown in that don't overwhelm the action of the story. The characters were well developed, and I will definitely check out more of this series to get more backstory on some of them as well as to see what is next!

Deep Tide, Book 4 of the Texas Murder Files by Laura Griffin, had many great plot points but wasn’t a clean read. As an adult title, I really liked the way Griffin was able to smoothly switch between narratives. The multiple view points did cause me to replay the first chapters of the book to be sure I was following the storyline properly. After the initial chapters, there was no problem following the plot.

3.5 stars
I’ve enjoyed listening to the Texas Murder Files series this week. We’ve been hearing about Leyla in the previous books so I was glad we get her story this time! She’s the sister of two local cops when enter Sean, an FBI agent investigating the murder that took place in Leyla’s bakery. Romantic suspense can be a tricky genre— there’s murder, there’s danger, there’s romance!
This series has done a great job balancing that edge.
Kudos to the narrator for maintaining the tone throughout all 4 books!
*Thanks to Dreamscape media and NetGalley for the advance listener copy.

I haven’t read the previous books in this series but I saw that this can be read as a stand-alone and I was excited to give it a go.
This story is told in third person POV, and I was able to see what several characters were up to. It’s a bit of police procedural, and a romantic suspense.
The narrator, Teri Clark Linden used a southern accent to portray the characters. I feel that as the story progressed her vocals got better. It may vary for everyone as I listened at a 2.0x speed. She portrayed a variety of characters, since the book had several. I enjoyed the mystery around the crime and was very eager to solve the crime alongside the detectives and police.

A very special thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the ALC.

🎧 𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 🎧

Thank you @dreamscape_media and @NetGalley for the gifted ALC.

𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗧𝗶𝗱𝗲
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗲𝘅𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 #𝟰
𝗕𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻
𝗡𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗶 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗻
𝟵 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝟭𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀
𝗣𝘂𝗯: 𝟰/𝟮𝟱/𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯

📖 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁: Leyla Breda is the owner of a coffee shop in the small seaside town of Lost Beach, Texas. As the sister of two LEOs, she's not unfamiliar with the rising crime in her town, but she never expects to find one of her baristas murdered behind her shop.

Undercover agent Sean Moran is investigating Lost Beach - as the FBI believes it's the hot spot for connected crime syndicates. When he and Leyla cross paths, their spark is instantaneous! Despite the warnings from others to keep their distance, they decide to work together to solve the murder... but things get personal and the chemistry between the two make the stakes even higher.

💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: Romantic suspense is my comfort genre. It's the genre that got me into reading fiction in my early 20s. I love romance, and I love mysteries, and romantic suspense is the perfect mix of both!

In Deep Tide, Laura Griffin weaves a captivating tale of suspense and intrigue. This is a great combination of mystery, thriller, police procedural and moderately spicy, slow-burn romance.

This is the fourth in a series, but it also works as a standalone. In addition to Sean and Leyla, we also follow Nicole's perspective and are introduced to others on the force. Nicole is the lead detective on the case, and I assume there's some backstory there, and that the other books likely follow her. That said, I didnt feel like I needed to have read the previous books to follow this one, as Leyla and Sean are the main focus here.

The audiobook narrator, Teri Clark Linden, did a great job performing this large cast of characters. The pacing was spot on, and Griffin kept me guessing and entertained.

Overall this was a solid audiobook and one romantic suspense fans will surely enjoy! Out Tues!

👉🏻 Review posted on my IG and Goodreads.
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Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to audibly read and review Deep Tide.

Narrated by Teri Clark Linden
Published: 04/25/23

What came first, the chicken or the egg? Perhaps the story before the narration? I'm not a fan of multiple narrators; however, I really didn't like all the voices, Linden was responsible for. Leyla literally sounded like a prepubescent child and while seducing a man (issues with him too), I was uncomfortable. The man was written as a Federal Agent. Well, he came across whiny and not believable. Then there was a brother, the voice was not fitting. It was not possible for me to take him seriously. The voice was off, whiny is being kind.

It's too late for me, however, hopefully not for you. As it stands, I would suggest the physical or E-book. The storyline has potential. I was grasping at straws trying to get through the voices. Do your own.

There is profanity, which really just made my blood boil. It was placed like an after thought in the end.

Deep Tide (The Texas Murder Files #4)
by Laura Griffin, narrated by Teri Clark Linden

Undercover cop, Sean Moran, has a great cover for being here in Lost Beach. He had an invitation to Josh Breda's wedding which is where he laid eyes on Leyla Breda. It was lust at first sight when she was moving a cake into the reception area and she started ordering him around. Later he tried to get her to spend some time with him but she turned him down.

The next morning Leyla found a body behind her place of business. Two of Leyla Breda's brothers are detectives on the Lost Beach police force. Josh has just gotten married and his boss threatened to fire him if he came home from his honeymoon early and Owen has been told to stay off this latest murder case because his sister found the body so the case is out of bounds for him. But they are both worried about Leyla and they don't want her to have anything to do with Sean.

As the story unfolds there are signs that the murder at Leyla's place could be connected in some way with the case that brought Sean to Lost Beach. Leyla, nosy in a way that drives her brothers nuts, tries to get some info out of Sean but he's not telling. Sean wants Leyla to stop snooping around but telling her to do that just makes her snoop harder. It's difficult for either to keep their minds on their jobs because they are always thinking about each other.

After hearing the same narrator in all four books of this series, I've grown to like her. Poor Leyla, in the other books she was a side character with a somewhat squeaky voice. Now that she is the main character in her own story, that's a lot of squeak to hear in a narration. But I'm glad her voice wasn't changed, she's the nosy Leyla I'd come to know. Her brothers have good reason to worry about Leyla and her nosiness. Each of the books in this series can be read/heard as a standalone without feeling like you are missing something if you haven't read/heard the other books.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC.

I loved this book. I never read any of the author's books in this series but it was ok as a stand alone book.
I grew up and still live in Texas so I always love books that are set in Texas.
Now i want to read the others in this series.
The characters are well rounded and the storyline is good.

Deep Tide
By Laura Griffin
Narrated by Teri Clark Linden

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Pub Date:  4.25.2023
Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: 🎧

🌊 Synopsis 🌊

With two brothers on the police force, Leyla Breda is well aware of the rising crime in her small beach town, but she never expected it to show up on her doorstep. When Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop, she’s deeply shaken, and as a new law enforcement officer in town begins to circle her place of business, her instincts only sharpen.

Sean Moran is on an undercover mission: The seaside community of Lost Beach may look like a picturesque postcard, but his team suspects it’s a point of intersection for several crime syndicates that the FBI has been investigating for years. Even so, when the brash and beautiful Leyla Breda starts bossing him around, he’s immediately intrigued. He knows her brothers want him to back off, but every time he sees her, he feels more of a spark.

Leyla’s connections in the local community and Sean’s skills allow them to go deeper into the case together than they would be able to go alone. But when a single crime spirals into something much darker, Sean’s carefully planned mission takes a deadly turn.

🏖 Review 🏖
After finishing Fourth Wing today, I needed a complete change of genre (the book hangover was REAL). With publication day quickly approaching, Deep Tide was a no-brainer.

I enjoyed this fast-paced audio adaption. The narration was solid, the characters were enjoyable, and the plot was engrossing.

When I requested Deep Tide, I wasn't aware it was part of a series. It works as a standalone, but I'm sure reading in the correct order would make the experience that much more enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of Deep Tide!

IT'S PRETTY GOOD!

Good News!
You can fully read this book as a stand-alone, even though this is the 4th book in the Texas Murder Files series.

SUMMARY:
Leyla Breda is the owner of a coffee shop. One day, when she wants to open her shop, she finds one of her employees, a 25-year-old barista, dead in the alley. She thought this was just a simple murder case, but it wasn't. There's a dark secret behind her employees' deaths. Sean Moran is an undercover agent; he comes to the town for Leyla's brother's wedding and also for work, but he gets attached to Leyla. Together, they're trying to make things work out between them, while at the same time solving the case that has tangled them.

👁️‍🗨️This story is told in third person POV

🕰️There is only one Timeline in here (Present)

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW🔊:
Narrated by: Teri Clark Linden 👩
Length of audio: 9h 13m
I got mixed feelings with the narrator; at first, I didn't really like her voice; it somehow felt a bit awkward and stiff, and in some parts, it sounded like Google Translate. Though it was still quite clear and nice, and she did such a great job with her voice changer.

BUT here is the interesting part!!!!!

As I listened more and more of her voice, unexpectedly, it was good! Well, I don't know if my ears had already adapted so well to her voice or is indeed getting much better🤷‍♀️.

And I think there's a slight glitch with the audiobook, like it gets cut off or stuck, or maybe some kind of speed problem (?). It happens in some chapters and for just about a second. At first, I wasn't fully sure, then I re-listened a few times, and yes, it's a glitch.

❗️(Be aware I read this audiobook as an ARC, so it could not be the final one).❗️

MY THOUGHTS:
📌 FMC and MMC
Our FMC,
She expressed very well every feeling she had, as someone who claimed she didn't express much of how she was feeling to the other person.

Our MMC,
He wanted to get in her pants, and he is madly in love with her, and he is trying to solve the case.

📌 The main focus of this story is not only on the two main characters (FMC and MMC), but also on the other characters. I remember hearing a lot about Nicole (one of the side characters' names). At some point, I thought, "Shouldn't she be the main one, not Leyla?" Cause her job as detective and her role are more bigger and important than Leyla in this case. Hahaha🤣

📌 The Romance and The Mystery
Speaking of the romance in this book, their chemistry is not bad since I listened to the audio and the narrator described their scenes very good. Uhmm......To me, it doesn't count as a slow burn if they kissed within the first half of the book and had the sex scene in 70%–71%.
 
Move on to the mystery and suspense. I think it was good enough for the romantic suspense genre.

<MY PROBLEM:
⚠️ FMC more appeared like a side character; she gets nothing special except that she's "intense" (that's what MMC said, "intense") and good at making coffee, also overshadowed by the actual side character🥲.

CREDIT:
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for providing me with this audibook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This audiobook… wow. It was absolutely amazing and I loved it. It definitely keeps you on your toes!

The romantic interest of this book was probably my favorite. Once the book turned murder detectives and town crime I was wishing for more of the love interest the two main characters had going on. The book was decent. I just felt like the investigation aspect of the book was very choppy and felt rushed.