"The Killing Tide" by Dani Pettrey

Reporter Gabby Rowley's life is in danger after she helps put away a drug lord. Taking refuge with her brother and his buddies in the Coast Guard, Gabby's physical safety is more certain, but her heart is in more danger than ever.

When Gabby walked away from their relationship, it took Finn Walker a long time to get over her. Now that his ex-girlfriend is in need of protection, he's ready to help in any way possible, even if it means letting his own feelings get tangled up again.

A rash of mysterious deaths of Coast Guard officers and local divers have Finn's team on alert. What's going on in the deep blue sea? Gabby can't help getting involved, her reporter's intuition on high alert with the suspicious circumstances.

I freely admit that I don't read much suspense, so that could color my enjoyment of this book, but I had a hard time following all the various threads. There were a lot of characters, both point of view and secondary, and it hard to keep people straight or grow to care about them. As an avid reader, though, I also had an issue with the nonsensical progression of the main characters' emotions. They were not relatable or understandable. The backstory was also presented in such a way that I never grasped the reason certain things were they way they were. All of these made for a rather disappointing reading experience on my part.

However, there are some good action sequences, and the identity of the bad guy will definitely keep a reader guessing. If you enjoy romantic suspense this might be a book you would enjoy. The setting was certainly unique, and it does a good job setting up interest in the characters who will feature more prominently in future books in this series.

I received my copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.