WOW! This book is simply amazing. Literally found it impossible to stop reading. I think this has got to be one of Karen Rose´s best novels so far. Fantastic characters, with whom you create an instant liking to, or dislike, depending on the character. Based in New Orleans, you have murder, police corruption, drugs and family relations rolled into one fantastic book.

If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. Highly recommend.

My thanks to NetGalley and Headline for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy in return for an honest review.

This the second in the New Orleans sub series of Karen Rose's romantic suspense series.

We've got Val, Kaj and Elijah's story this time. We also catch up on the characters from QUARTER TO MIDNIGHT, so we can see how they are getting on.

There is the usual suspense and drama in this one. The protagonists fall for each other way too quickly, as usual, and everyone on the good guys side is an absolute saint :)

All my KR reviews say the same thing - what I love about the books are the characters. It is all about their little universe, and it feels like reading about old friends because they are all so linked and entrenched in one another's stories.

Pick this one up for a romantic suspense with plenty of thrills and heat.

Another fab book by Karen Rose - a real page turner!
After an attempted kidnapping, Val Sorensen of Burke Broussard Investigation agency, is hired to look after Elijah - the young son of ADA Kaj Cardozo.
Cardozo is working on some big cases, but being fairly new to New Orleans he is not sure yet which of NOPD to trust.
Val - ex-marine, teacher and roller derby blonde is a force to be reckoned with - and she comes with a group of friends and colleagues that would do anything for each other.
As they try to keep Elijah safe, the agency find out that those responsible are linked to those who murdered Val’s brother.
One of those identified in the attempted kidnapping is Rick Gates - the younger brother of Aaron who is in jail for the murder of a paediatrician, Another brother Corey seems to be the driving force of the family - but his business is not as clean as he makes out.
What is the connection between the Gates’ brothers and Sixth Day, the drugs gang that killed Val’s brother? The agency must find out before anyone else is hurt.

Great book!

When this book first arrived, my immediate reaction was - she is chunky but I was immediately drawn in to the action and this one was a real page tuner!

This is the second book in the New Orleans series and my first Karen Rose novel but it easily read as a stand-alone!

There were some pretty heavy topics covered including kidnap, drugs, sexual assault and murder and Rose’s descriptive writing style really transported you there but I really like how the hard hitting storylines were a stark contrast to the budding relationships that were developing as well as the close knit friendships!

Above all I love a book with a bad ass female protagonist and really look forward to picking up some more Karen Rose books in the future!

Book 2 in the brilliant New Orleans series.

Assistant District Attorney Kaj Cordozo's life is thrown upside down when two masked men attempt to kidnap his son, Elijah. Given the high-profile case Kaj is working on, he's not about to take any more risks.

When Val Sorensen of Burke Broussard Private Investigation Agency is assigned as Elijah's bodyguard, she realises she also has a very personal connection to the gang thought to be behind the attempted kidnap - a run in with Sixth Day cost her brother his life.

With her usual high drama, fast pace and great characters I was hooked from start to finish. I even lost my heart to a couple of the characters. A fantastic read that I'll gladly recommend.

I love author Karen Rose's novels so when I got accepted for Beneath Dark Waters I was super excited.

Apparently this is book number 2 of a series but I felt that I understand everything fine as if it was a standalone novel.

The story is based around Kaj, a prosecutor and Val, an investigator. Kaj's son is under threat of a kidnapping threat and Val becomes the bodyguard to ensure the safety of Elijah.

I really enjoyed the dynamic between Kaj and Val and thought they made for very interesting and intriguing characters.

Beneath Dark Waters is fast-paced and quite dark in places. A really good thriller of a read and if you love Karen Rose's previous novels then this will not dissappoint.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers and Karen Rose for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

This book is very cleverly plotted with lots of interesting characters. Basically it shows that if you have plenty of skilled resources you can survive multiple threats! It was most entertaining and I could quite easily imagine it as a movie or tv series.

This is the second in the series of assistant district attorney, Kaj Cardozo and it’s a bit of a chunk of a book, as with most, if not all, of Karen Rose’s books.

This book was a real rollercoaster. Filled with action and drama. There is also the romantic tension building between Kaj and Val. I absolutely loved the character development in this novel. Both damaged people who are finding a “friend” in each other.

The book is told from the villians point of view in part one, which I really enjoyed

The 592 pages do not disappoint. It lives up to the usual Karen Rose standard of gruesome, dark and violent thriller. It is hard to believe that after 28 novels, karen rose is still massively on her a game and pulling it out of the bag like this. Looking forward to reading more in this series

Brilliant story and everyone I expected from Karen Rose! Val is hired to protect a little boy who has almost been kidnapped by some very dangerous people. But that’s not the end of it! Really gripping storyline and great character and as always a blossoming love story. Highly recommend.

Karen Rose has instantly earnt herself a place on my favourite authors list with this book! It's my first of hers but I can't see her doing any wrong in her other books!
I absolutely loved the writing style, it was so quick to read and I felt like I raced through it even though it's a super chunky book (and usually I feel really unmotivated with chunky books). About a third in there were two days where I was too busy to read any and honestly whenever I wasn't reading this book I was thinking about the characters and how much I love them and how much I wanted to just be sitting and reading this book! I think it might be the most I've thought about wanting to read a book while not being able to read in a long time. I was so hooked and it really sticks with you!
I totally wasn't expecting the romance element in this, although I really should have been because Goodreads describes Karen's books as Romantic Suspense (I didn't think about that until after), and I thought it was such a great addition to the mystery/crime elements. I love a good crime/mystery book but I always says romance is my favourite genre so to have both in one was absolutely perfect for me!
I loved the fact that you got to see what was going on from all sides, flitting from following different characters (in 3rd person so you never got confused who "I" was), so you knew what the 'bad guys' were doing and plotting whilst the 'good guys' tried to figure it out and stay safe. And I loved every single one of the characters, I basically fell in love with the entire cast. Maybe not so much in love with the 'bad guys' but they still mostly had some likeable traits and definitely all made excellent characters. The amount of twists and turns in this, I honestly didn't see any of the major twists coming at all, they were fantastic!
I loved basically everything about this book! In all 580 pages the only thing I didn't like was one tiny "we won't tell her, she doesn't need to know" moment near the end where I think they should have told her haha. Everything else was 100% perfection. I'm definitely going to grab Karen's first book and read them all!

Ive read numerous books by Karen Rose and they always have been a great read and this book is no exception!
Although this is book two in the series it can be read as a stand-alone!
It is a long book but thoroughly enjoyable and I loved it!

Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I’ve read a few Karen Rose books and they always deliver and this one does too.

This is book two in a series. I’ve not read book 1 and found that book 2 can be read as a standalone.

It was a bit longer than I’d expected but overall enjoyed it and sped through it.

Many thanks to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Karen Rose is a sure bet for a gripping thriller and Beneath Dark Waters is part of another fantastic series from her, set in New Orleans.

I loved this book from the outset. From the word go, we are thrust into the heart of the action and there is no let up from there on in.

There are a lot of characters in the book, but they are easy to distinguish, thanks to the excellent writing and I had very strong opinions and reactions to them all!

Get your hands on this book, and all of Karen Rose's previous books, as soon as possible!

Thanks to the author, Isabelle Wilson, Headline Publishing Group and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #Headline for my copy of #BeneathDarkWaters by #KarenRose
Assistant District Attorney Kaj Cordozo's son has just survived a kidnap attempt and Kaj is so scared. New to New Orleans and not knowing who to trust he hires Burke Broussards Private Investigation Agency to watch over Elijah. Val Sorensen is appointed as Elijah’s personal bodyguard. Can she and Kaj work together to keep him safe.
The plot races along and the words practically leap off the page.
This is Karen Rose at her best!!!!!

Although Karen Rose is a prolific writer I'd not read any of her books. I found this a very long book, but it held my interest right through to the end.
The addition takes place of a week with a lot happening on practically every page.
There's a lot of characters to keep track of that include some vicious whose level of violence is brutal and high. initially the plot is a simple one but it gets more complicated and involved at every turn, involving child abuse, murder for hire and police corruption. It contains a shocking revelation about a deceased family member that has a huge impact on one of the main characters.
All in all a very good book with some detailed descriptions of the bayou area of New Orleans that made me wondering if I should perhaps visit.

Beneath Dark Waters Karen Rose

4 stars

The second book in the New Orleans series

I have always enjoyed Karen Rose’s books and this one is no exception. I did read the first one in this series and although this book could be read as a stand-alone it was good to revisit some of the characters from the first book and see how their lives are proceeding.

The main character in this book is Val Sorensen a bodyguard who is employed to protect Kaj Cardozo’s ten year old son Elijah from a prospective kidnapping by the infamous Gates family.

There are so many different streams to this story which initially seem unconnected but as the book progresses we learn about how Val has suffered a traumatic experience in her past and how her dead brother is linked to the villains in this story. There were many twists and turns, lots of killings but also some lovely moments including the burgeoning love affair between Kai and Val.

This is a long book but well worth the read, as always I read this in a few days in order to reach the ending. I will be waiting for the next instalment and will definitely be reading it.




Karen Deborah
Reviewer Netgalley

A good tale with strong characters but a little too twee for my taste!

I suspect that I'm not Ms Rose's target audience

Thank you for letting me review the book anyway.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose in return for my honest review.
This is the second book in the New Orleans series but could easily be read as a standalone. In true Karen Rose form this is a brilliant page turner with lots going on and just the right amount of romance, can’t wait for the next instalment.

This book had a slightly different feel to it than previous Karen Rose novels. A lot of the story centres round the villain and his two young brothers. I didn't like these characters so I would have preferred to see the story unfold from Elijah's viewpoint or his dad and Val.
Jace grew on me as the story progressed and I was rooting for him by the end.
This is quite a slow burn but the twists and turns are plenty. The last quarter of the book is completely taken over with suspense, action and drama and this was the section that I couldn't put down.

This is the second book I e read centred around Val Sorenson, this time assigned to bodyguard a young boy after a failed abduction attempt.

If you’ve read any Karen Rose before, you’ll know what to expect and this one doesn’t fail to deliver: fast, furious and vicious. It’s great!