Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose – Review & Excerpt
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Description:
There’s no safe place for a child to hide when danger comes from every direction.
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.
A veteran Marine, Val Sorensen is glad to have found a new career with Broussard Investigations. Her latest assignment as the bodyguard to ten-year-old Elijah Cardozo reminds her why–Val is a kick ass guardian with a tender heart. Through her duties, Val grows fond of the boy–and his handsome father.
But when the high-stakes investigation reveals an explosive network of crime through a revived drug gang, lingering deep-seated corruption in the NOPD, and a group of murderers-for-hire targeting Kaj, Elijah, and his star client, they’re all left scrambling for safety…
Review:
Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose is the 28th book in her Romance Suspense novels, and the 2nd book in her New Orleans series. As I have mentioned previously, I am a big fan of Karen Rose, as her suspense thrillers are amazing, and unputdownable. Beneath Dark Waters is another fabulous book that is once again over 600 pages. Rose always creates fantastic heroes and wonderful secondary characters, as well as evil villains; and this does not change in this book, as she writes another masterpiece. Beneath Dark Waters is a tense, violent, exciting, non-stop action filled story that kept me on the edge of to my seat from start to finish.
We meet Assistant DA J.P. (Kaj) Cardozo, when his 10-year-old son, Elijah, who was almost kidnapped. Kaj fears for his son’s life, especially since he doesn’t trust some of the New Orleans Police Department, and hires Broussard Investigations to protect him. Burke Broussard’s private investigation firm has an excellent reputation, and after talking to Kaj, Burke assigns Val Sorenson, a former marine, to be his son’s bodyguard.
Val is very good at her job, and has been very successful in protecting young kids, as well as having a past connection implicating drug gangs. Val is a strong, savvy and fantastic guardian, very caring around children; she also ensures that Elijah, being a diabetic, takes his medicines and eats the proper food. Val moves into Kaj’s home, with her dog, Czar (huge dog), who has been trained. I quickly fell in love with Czar and how close the dog protected Elijah.
Val, Kaj, and other members of the Broussard team, begin to investigate deeper into the kidnapping attempt, realizing that is a more dangerous and explosive crime, between a drug gang, murderers who will stop at nothing to kill anyone standing in their way, as well deep corruption in the New Orleans P.D. Kaj, Val and Elijah, as well as members of the team, find their lives deep in danger. Kaj is currently working on two high profile cases, involving the death of a doctor, who was beaten to death, as he was blamed for the death of his son; the other is a trial with an actress accuseing an evil man of rape. Both cases have some connection, with a group of evil and dangerous hired killers, who have no qualms of committing murder; as well as the police corruption.
Both Val and Kaj slowly become attracted to each other, not to mention Val also becoming attached to Elijah. They each have their own past trauma, with each sharing their history. Kaj having lost his wife to cancer, and taking good care of his so; Val was brutally raped by three Marines, which she needed therapy to move on with her life.
Corey Gates, and his friends Bobby and Ed are evil villains, who have involvements in both of Kai’s cases, and will stop at nothing to get what they want, even killing the younger Gates brothers. Throughout the book, from start to finish, there were so many murders, emotions, grief, torture, PTSD, as well as twists and turns. Who will survive the onslaught?
What follows is an intriguing, intense, exciting, and edge of your seat suspense story line that had me holding my breath so many times. This story was very tense from all the way through, especially with the evil villains constantly killing off many innocent people. As we raced to the wild climax, I prayed for the for the survival of all the good people, and the demise of the main villain. I do not want to give spoilers, as you really need to read this book from start to finish.
Beneath Dark Waters was very well written by Karen Rose, which was an intense thriller, with non- stop action all the way. As I have said before, Karen Rose never fails to give us an amazing fantastic well written thriller that is intense, always on the edge, with fantastic characters, evil villains and a wonderful family you care for. If you love suspense, with a touch of romance and a thriller all the way, then look no further then Karen Rose.
Reviewed by Barb
Copy provided by Publisher
BENEATH DARK WATERS by Karen Rose
Berkley Hardcover | August 15, 2023
Excerpt
“Morning, Val,” Burke rumbled in that deep Cajun drawl of his. “You have a new client. Bring a cupcake for him.”
Okaaaay. Holding the two cupcakes, Val walked to Burke’s office door, hearing the whir of Joy’s motorized wheelchair as the older woman followed her, unabashedly curious. A shiver of trepidation raced down Val’s spine.
A moment later, she knew why. Assistant District Attorney Jean-Pierre Cardozo was coming to his feet, having been seated in one of the chairs in front of Burke’s desk. She’d first met him at a party back in the summer. Burke and his staff had been celebrating with some clients after closing an all-hands-on-deck case when Cardozo had arrived, dressed in an expensive black suit that made him look like a Fortune 500 CEO.
He’d been charming as hell and impossible to ignore, despite her best efforts-that day and later. Unable to resist, she’d found herself googling him later that evening, learning surprisingly little personal information. Other than a few of the cases he’d tried up in the New York City courts, the man had no real internet presence, which took a lot of talent. Burke’s IT guy, Antoine, would surely have been able to dig up a lot more, but she’d been unwilling to ask. Unwilling to voice aloud that the man had fascinated her.
She knew only that he’d recently moved from New York and that his first name was spelled K-a-j, but pronounced Kai, rhyming with pie. And she only knew those tidbits because she’d overheard Burke telling someone else in the firm.
After that day, she’d seen Cardozo twice. Once a couple weeks ago at another party at a friend’s restaurant, Le Petit Choux. He hadn’t stayed long, and she’d managed to avoid him. Their most recent crossing of paths had been in a courtroom the week before, a plea hearing for one of the criminals whose crimes Burke’s group had exposed. No words had been exchanged between them either time, but Val had noticed the man’s every movement.
He moved so very nicely. And he was a good guy, prosecuting bad guys, but that smile he’d worn . . . He could get her to trust that smile. Which meant he was dangerous.
He didn’t look anything like that now. He was as handsome as before, his dark brown hair neatly combed, his face freshly shaven. His khakis were unwrinkled, the sleeves of his casual button-up shirt rolled up, exposing tanned forearms. He even wore a tie printed with whimsical dinosaurs. But his expression appeared haggard, as if he hadn’t slept at all.
And his dark eyes were full of fear.
Val glanced to the corner of the room, revealing the source of his fear. A boy of about nine or ten sat at Burke’s little meeting table. His hair was white-blond, unlike Cardozo’s. But their faces were too much alike for them not to be related. Father and son, she thought.
She hadn’t realized that Cardozo had a child, and she didn’t want to think about why that disappointed her. It didn’t matter that the child had a mother, that Cardozo had a significant other. It didn’t matter because she was not interested in ADA Cardozo, first name Kaj that rhymed with pie.
The child, however, had captured her attention. He clutched a tablet in his hands, staring down at it with a vacant look that Val recognized all too well.
She’d seen it in the mirror plenty of times.
He’d been traumatized. He didn’t look up, so Val turned back to his father.
“Hey,” Val said quietly, because the mood in the room was brittle. “It’s good to see you again, ADA Cardozo.”
The man’s throat worked as he swallowed. “Likewise. This is my son, Elijah. Elijah, this is Miss Sorensen.”
My new client? Val wondered. She looked at Burke, who inclined his head toward the boy, gesturing her to engage.
“Hi, Elijah,” she said, approaching the table. “I’m Val.”
The boy didn’t look up until Val put the cupcake in front of him. “Hi,” he whispered.
It was one tiny word, but said with a determination that won her respect. She pointed at the cupcake. “That’s yours.”
“And that one, too?” Elijah asked, pointing at the cupcake still in her hand.
“Pfft. No,” she said, using her best duh tone. “This one is mine. You’re a greedy one, aren’t you?” She smiled so that he would know she was teasing.
The boy’s lips quirked up before returning to a grim line. “Was worth a try.”
“It’s always worth a try when cupcakes are on the line. Are you my new client?”
Elijah pushed Harry Potter-style glasses up on his nose. “I guess so.”
“May I sit down?” She waited until Elijah nodded before taking the seat beside him. From this vantage point she could see the boy’s face as well as that of his father.
Cardozo lowered himself back into his chair in front of Burke’s desk, his face still frozen in a rictus of fear.
Whatever had happened, it had been bad.
Excerpted from Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose Copyright © 2023 by Karen Rose. Excerpted by permission of Berkley. All rights reserved.
