This was an excellent thriller and I enjoyed the slow build. Once the action started, it didn’t stop. The characters were realistic and I enjoyed learning their stories.
Many thanks to Greenleaf Book Group and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

SALTY SKY is the first novel written by author Seth Coker, with the story based on four groups of people that for one reason or another happen to be on the North Carolina coast, and focuses on individuals within those groups whose paths cross and merge into a course with destiny moving towards a dangerous situation involving the cartel formerly headed up by Pablo Escobar, which is currently run by his nephew Francisco.

Cale Coleman is a retired DEA agent, who was involved in the death of Pablo Escobar, but is currently making a living as a pilot hiring himself and his private jet out to parties that can afford his services.
Old friends and former colleagues of Cale’s are in town to celebrate a bachelor party of one of their own, causing Cale to wake up with a serious hangover after a wild night on the town.

Cale lives on his fairly secluded property that affords him solitude and the ability to see potential adversaries from a long way off, as he knows his past could make him a target for retribution.
Being a widower who hasn’t been into getting back in the saddle, his home also provides him an escape from keeping up a social life since he has little or no desire to be a part of that scene.

Ashley and a group of nurses that she works with at a hospital are off on vacation, and they are like Cale’s group looking for a good time, and possibly a short term romance or two.

Joe and Tony are two older New York men of Italian descent that are both also on vacation, and are acting as guides for Ashley’s group, as well as babysitting Joe’s nephew and his bodybuilding buddies who seem to be intent on impressing the group of girls, although their focus on their muscles gets in the way of their success, especially in the case of Joe’s nephew Geno, who is a real knucklehead.

Francisco Escobar is busy evaluating his inherited empire, along with being in the process of developing a strategic plan to establish his power, and also to protect himself from being overtaken by any of his entrusted individuals who would desire to overthrow his operations. Hoping to present a strong image, he makes plans to seek out and exact revenge on the DEA agents involved in the “murder” of his tio Pablo.

Seth Coker has written a pretty good novel, and while it takes a long time for the groups to intersect in a way that focuses on the impending showdown between Cale and Francisco, the action is really good once things get rolling along from around the midway point of the book. Although the setup takes up much of the book, it is still interesting, and worked well to flesh out the characters that are of importance to the story.

3 stars.