The Killing Tide by Dani Pettrey

Since I live in a city that is known as Coast Guard City USA, I was excited to pick up Dani Pettrey's newest series, Coastal Guardians. The first book, The Killing Tide, takes readers on a wild ride with the Coast Guard as they investigate possible drug runners, murders and a lot of evidence that just doesn't add up.

From the Back Cover:
When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer's boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits.

When investigative reporter--and Finn's boss's sister--Gabby Rowley arrives, her unrelenting questions complicate an already volatile situation. Now that she's back, the tug on Finn's heart is strong, but with the risks she's taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it.

Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby can't ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark?

You can check out Dani's Pinterest board with inspiration about her characters by clicking here. 

My Thoughts:
This story was exciting from the first page. I love the Coast Guard, and my family's closest friends are in the Coast Guard. So when I read that one of my favorite authors was writing a series about the Coast Guard, I knew I definitely wanted to read this newest series. This story begins with a lot of characters on the CGIS team and flips around a lot by telling the story from several point-of-views. At first that was difficult to navigate and maybe that was due to me reading this as an e-book. But after I realized the story was shifting back and forth, I was able to recognize the change more readily. I think that all of the switching around for the point-of-views may be annoying for some, but I found that it gave a glimpse into each character to set up the rest of this series in future books. I like that Dani writes about a group of people and then gives each main character their own spotlight in a separate book. It creates that feeling of family. I also liked how Dani wrote in many of the silent prayers the team members had throughout the story. I thought it was a great way to communicate their relationship with God and show their dependence on Him as they lived their lives.
Gabby is quite the character, and can make even the most tolerant reader frustrated. She does go through a good change though as the story moves along. I will say that it's pretty unlikely that an investigative reporter would be allowed in on a CGIS investigation even if they are family. That seemed a little unbelievable for me.
Overall, the story was good, and many of the characters have interesting histories, so it will be fun to see what Dani does with that in future books. While I enjoyed reading this book and the fast-paced story, it was not my favorite of Dani's books. I'm hoping the next book, The Crushing Depths, is a better read.

My Rating:
★★★★

***I received this e-book from netgalley and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.