MoonglotexasIt is a treat to return to Dani Pettrey’s Coastal Guardian Team in Book two, The Crushing Depths. The team had a new case and a new team member, Mason. Action-packed from the start, Rissi and Mason’s helicopter crashes before they even get to the death to be investigated. Rescued and taken aboard the oil-rig, they soon suspect foul play even though they can’t yet prove it.
I loved Rissi as a character in book one and it’s great to get to know her better. Mason is a friend from her childhood and soon the two realise whilst they may be older now, the fondness they hold for each other remains. After ten years apart, they work to reconnect and catch up.
Onshore, Noah has his hands full with a second case as a friend of the team‘s home is broken into and they suspect her ex-boyfriend is trying to intimidate her. Keeping an eye on Brooke and trying to unravel the threads of the oil-rig case has everyone working overtime.
I enjoyed the way Dani weaved all the the elements of the story together. Whilst I knew the obvious culprit wouldn’t be it, I didn’t quite fathom out the full mystery in either case. The twists were surprising but plausible and interesting.
Each of the characters is so well thought through and easy to connect with. I particularly enjoyed the witty repartee amongst the team members which adds some levity to a heavy mystery. There is plenty of suspense as the team works against the clock and the weather to solve the cases before more people are hurt and I read it straight through! I highly recommend it, it’s a five out of five on the enJOYment scale!
From the back cover:
When an accident claims the life of an oil-rig worker on the first drilling platform off the North Carolina coast, Coast Guard investigators Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are sent to take the case. Tensions surrounding the oil rig are high and the death has everyone on edge. Environmental activists are threatening to do whatever it takes to stop the structure from being completed, while rumors are being whispered about ancient curses surrounding this part of the ocean.
Mounting evidence shows the death may not have been an accident at all. Was he killed by one of the activists or, perhaps more frighteningly, a member of his own crew? Rissi and Mason have to sort through not only a plethora of suspects, but also their own past and attraction to each other.
Just as the case seems like it’ll break open, worse news arrives. A tropical storm has turned their way and soon they’re cut off from any rescue–and right where the killer wants them. It’s a race to discover his identity before he eliminates the threat they pose.
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
