Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

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.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2023; Berkley; 978-0593336328
audio, ebook, print (592 pages); romantic suspense

Beneath Dark Waters is book 2 of the New Orleans series, but it can totally be read as a stand-alone novel. I did read book 1, Quarter to Midnight (read my review) but I don't really recall much of the story.

Karen Rose is about the only romantic suspense author I read regularly because the suspense and tension is so good that I can usually overlook the more romance novel aspects. However, I struggled with Beneath Dark Waters. 

It might be because when I started the book I could only snatch a few minutes of reading time. I got more into the story when I was able to sit down for longer periods of time with the book. Still though, I just wasn't as sucked into the story as I usually am. 

The characters well-written, but I didn't really connect with any of them. The descriptive sex scenes were also more annoying and I really could have done with it.

I mentioned in my review of Quarter to Midnight that Rose's stories are a bit formulaic or cookie cutter and I may just be growing tired of the formula. Though I did put her last book Cold Blooded Liar (San Diego series) on my best read of the year list. So it might just be this series that I'm not a fan of.

I didn't feel like the tension was there but again that might be because I didn't really care about the characters. 

If you love romantic suspense, you should give the book a chance. There is plenty for fans of the genre to love about this book.

Buy Beneath Dark Waters at Amazon

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour. 

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