Fans of the first book in Dani Pettrey’s Coastal Guardians series will not be disappointed with her latest fast-paced, action-packed novel, The Crushing Depths. The ensemble cast is back with all their skills to get to the bottom of mysterious activity on an oil rig off the North Carolina Coast. While all your favorites make an appearance, most of the book focuses on Rissi and newcomer to the Coast Guard Investigative Service team, Mason. As their investigation intensifies, so does the chemistry between the two making this book a must-read for fans of romantic suspense.

A centuries old curse, modern drilling, and eco-activists set the stage for The Crushing Depths. The various threads serve to keep the investigators and the reader guessing. But the methodical and intuitive team is matchless in their dogged determination to find the truth. The ensemble cast Pettrey creates is varied and interesting. Their interactions and side plots also promise more intriguing cases and romance to come. Rissi and Mason get the spotlight though, and their history as teenagers gives them a great foundation for finding love as adults. While the plot kept me turning the pages and the romance was just right, I especially liked the setting of this book. I really want to head to the North Carolina coast now! Pettrey always infuses her novels with solid spiritual messages, and this book is no exception.

Great setting, page-turning plot, endearing characters, and sparks galore make The Crushing Depths a very enjoyable read! If this is your first introduction to this series, get books 1 and 2 and settle in for some fun!

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

Dani Pettrey has returned with book 2 of her Coastal Guardian Series, The Crushing Depths. When an accident happens on an oil rig, Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are sent to investigate, en route to the rig, their helicopter crashes, and from there a series of events that continues to alarm the agents. Could all these be coincidences, or are they a part of a much bigger plan?

From the start I have been a fan of Dani Pettrey and all of her books, with her latest series, The Coastal Guardians, I have found a new series and characters to fall in love with. Crushing Depths is a book of twists and turns and a story of two people learning to trust each other and work together to figure out what is going on. I loved this story and the characters of Rissi and Mason as they explored their relationship. This book was a definite page turner and I couldn’t put it down. I cannot see where the next book will take us.

I received this book complimentary from Bethany House Publishers. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.

This combines good mysteries and nice romance. My Rating 4.5.

I like this author for romantic suspense with faith elements. This story provides two lines of mystery and dangers, one very nice ‘reunion’ style romance and two other romantic pairings.

Rissi and Mason were together as teens in foster care. They are both delighted to find each other and get to work as a Coast Guard investigative team. Just as they begin the investigation of a death on an oil rig, they find they must survive another ‘accident’. As they interview the witnesses and chase down leads with the help of their team, they share what happened during their years apart. Before they can finish following the clues another death occurs and they get stuck on the rig due to an oncoming storm. They need to salvage evidence while a killer tries to destroy it.

Meanwhile, the head of the Coast Guard team, Noah, is recruited by his sister to watch over her friend, Brooke, a Coast Guard Medic. Someone has broken into Brooke’s home, leaving behind a threatening message. Noah has sworn off women and is focused on his career. But he quickly begins to feel a strong protective bent towards Brooke and is more than ready to face off with her ex-boyfriend if he is the jerk terrorizing Brooke. Brooke isn’t too quick to trust after her break-up but she finds security whenever Noah is around.

On the romance end (and future books perhaps) another couple on Noah’s team are bantering and maybe a future match, as well as a team member who had fallen for Rissi but knows he has lost out to Mason.

The faith elements are woven in nicely. Not all the characters are believers so I imagine the author would develop that in future books/relationships. There was a good mix of danger, mystery, and romance. I would be interested in reading more in the series and I recommend this story and this author to fans of clean romantic suspense.

Source: 2020 NetGalley.

Investigators for the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) are brought in to investigate the death of a man on an oil rig. There was a lot going on in this book, so much so that it was sometimes difficult to keep track of all the various subplots. I understand that the writer was setting up future books but it made this one hard to follow.

There were a few surprises for me in terms of who was responsible for some of the crimes that took place on the Dauntless as the author did a good job of layering in the pieces of the mystery but the ending felt a bit rushed and things fell into place a little too easily.

Know God–most of the characters in The Crushing Depths had a personal relationship with God. I like how they prayed throughout the story for guidance, protection, and strength. It was a reminder that we ought to do the same.

God is available to us wherever we need Him, all we have to do is reach out to Him in prayer.

Know yourself–both Mason and Rissi had a traumatic experience in the orphanage where they spent some years together. I imagine that during that time they were told or made to believe a bunch of lies about themselves. Lies which they had to unlearn in order to fulfill the purpose God had for their lives.

Run your race–each of the characters in this story had a role to play. While they sometimes worked as part of a team, there came a time when they had to do what they were good at. This was especially true of the CGIS. The team tended to divide tasks based on the skills each team member had. This was a reminder to us that God intends for His people to work as a team. We won’t all be given the same skills but He has given each of us a skill to be used for the glory of God.

The Crushing Depths is the second book in the Coastal Guardians series and while it can be read as a standalone, deciphering the relationship between some of the characters may be more helpful if you read the first book in the series.

I received an advanced reader’s copy from the publishers through Celebrate Lit and NetGalley; a positive review was not required.

Award-winning author Dani Pettrey pens the second novel in her romantic suspense series set on the North Carolina coast.

In The Crushing Depths, Coast Guard Investigative Officers Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are thrown together as lead investigators. The CGIS team works to solve the mystery behind the recent accidents offshore. Mason and Rissi have a shared history together that makes for some awkward moments. Will they be able to look beyond their past to meet the challenges of the investigation?

Pettrey writes a suspense-filled action-packed novel that will keep readers up late at night until they discover who is really behind it all. The novel kicks off with an explosion at an offshore oil platform, quickly followed by a CGIS rescue helicopter crash, ecology protestors whose tactics are questionable, a supposed curse, a possible stalker, a poisoning, and more. There are enough things going one that guessing who is behind it will be difficult!

The Crushing Depths picks up where The Killing Tide ended. However, there is enough backstory that it can be read without first reading The Killing Tide. The faith element is interwoven in the story almost seamlessly. The relationship between Rissi and Mason is a clean romance. The violence in the books is appropriate to a TV crime show, nothing too over-the-top.

Strength and perseverance are themes in this book, both in the character’s themselves, as well as in their lives. Pettrey’s characters are strong but flawed, dealing with challenges that the reader can relate to. Readers will be eager to read the next installment in this series, set on the beautiful North Carolina coast.

Recommended for adults and high school readers, especially fans of Dee Henderson, DiAnn Mills, and Irene Hannon.

The Crushing Depths, the second installment in the Coastal Guardians Series set in North Carolina, drew me in from the “blazing” start and kept my interest through the dramatic end. This page-turning, action-packed read has it all—a well-crafted, intriguing, suspenseful plot; relatable, believable characters; sweet romance; and a strong faith element. The author’s vivid, descriptive language takes you to the scene and brings to life the sights and sounds of the setting whether it be on land or sea or in the air! Although this is the second book in the series, it can easily be read as a stand-alone. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book in e-book form from the publisher via netgalley but am under no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a character-driven book for me. Mason and Rissi just drew me in and I felt so connected to them. They have rather a sad past but seeing how it shaped them and grew them was really cool. I love deep friendships like this. The dynamic is so fun.

These were small little Easter eggs but I like when there are inter-series connections and tying Mason to Kodiak and a certain adventure family was fun! I also like how Narnia comes up in books as being meaningful to the characters.

I really enjoy the scenes where the team is together. I like experiencing that dynamic and the ways they all relate to each other. Emmy and Logan are a crack up (I can't wait for Logan's story).

With the investigative side of the story, things felt unfinished. It just seemed like Greg was solved for sure and Gwenyth (specifically relating to R) felt too loose. Max & Chase were clearly wrapped up but the others felt like there was missing information. Still, the way I connected to the characters has me giving this four stars.

The Crushing Depths is a murder mystery set in the deep blue sea. It was a compelling story about a Coast Guard Investigation into a death on an oil rig. Many sub plots developed and more crimes needed to be solved. A helicopter crash into the ocean at night started this book off and kept me from sleeping. There was a lot of drama from the oil company and protestors. It was high energy. I enjoyed the story.

I am not much of a romance reader, but I just overlooked all of the hand brushing and buff bod talk and stuck to the story. The Christian references seemed a bit awkward, but I went with that too. All in all it was an entertaining read.

I love Dani Pettrey's heroes and heroines. They are not perfect by any means but readers are allowed to see their struggles and triumphs. You see them living out their faith. It is an integral part of their lives. I love to see their interaction with each other and how their faith is such a part of it. Rissi and Mason make such a great team. I liked how they came full circle with the friendship they build in their childhood. This was such a sad story. It reminds you that tragedies can shape you to either seek God and healing or to be consumed by it. I cannot wait for the next book in the series.

I received this book from the publisher and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Oh, The Crushing Depths kept me up late into the night and early into the morning. With lots of action, plenty of unforeseen events and romantic chemistry from all sides, this isn’t a book to miss out on.

This is the second book in the Coastal Guardians series, focusing on the Coast Guard Investigative Service. We begin with Agent Rissi Dawson getting a thrilling shock because Mason Rogers walks back into her life. They lost touch years ago, after he was her protector in a violent children’s home. She loved him as a teen, but Mason is all grown up now and sparks fly as the pair work to solve a suspicious death on board an oil rig.

The body count rises when their helicopter goes down. Then the stakes are raised even further by series of setbacks on the Dauntless. Many blame on a centuries old curse, or could the trouble be down to the environmental activists moored nearby?

Mason and Rissi investigate, and as a result, struggle with conflict from within the team and work to process their emerging feelings that have laid dormant for many years. The attraction and the way it unfolds is smartly written. As ever with a book from Dani Pettrey, the plot twists kept me guessing to the very end. And because this is the middle of a series, I’m now chomping for the final installment.

This is book two in the Coastal Guardian series, but it can be read as a standalone too (Although I recommend reading the first book, The Killing Tide because it’s awesome and because it gives you some of the back story on the characters). So first of all, I want to say that the cover is amazing and the story itself is just as awesome! I absolutely loved everything about this book and have so many highlights and bookmarks that I thought my Kindle was going to give me an error message every time I opened the book! Normally my favorite characters would be the main ones; however, in this book I loved all of them. There was so much going on throughout the story and each set of characters had their own unique challenges. Mason and Rissi were investigating an accident on an oil rig to determine if it was really an accident,and Emmy, Logan and Caleb were investigating the corporation that may have been responsible. Meanwhile, Noah was investigating who was threatening Brooke.

Although there is suspense threaded throughout the entire story, there is also a undertone of romance between several of the characters and moments where you see the way the team had become a family (which was another thing I loved). Overall, I loved the book and cannot wait until the third one – I just hope that it’s about Emmy and Logan. This book is another must read if you like romantic suspense and I rate the book 5 out of 5 stars!

Special thanks to Dani Pettrey, Bethany House Publisher and Celebrate Lit for letting me read and review this book – all opinions are my own.

Oh dear. This is a story that starts right when you open the book. This is a series where you absolutely must have read the previous books. For me, it had been so long that I no longer knew the characters and had to sigh.

An oil-rig worker is killed on the rig, and the coast guard investigators are sent to check it out. Of course, there is slews of drama that you need to keep up with, along with the romantic entanglements. These entanglements started in the books prior to this one.

I will be fully upfront and honest, I couldn't finish the book.

I did receive this book from the publisher, but all opinions on this book are my own.

First off, I really enjoyed this story. I love a good romance, but add in a mystery and some suspense, and that takes it to a whole new level. There were really two stories going on in this book, and it was occasionally a struggle to remember who was who and who belonged where. I think the hardest part for me was the formatting for the ebook. There was no break at all in-between different scenes, so when it abruptly changed from one to the other, it would throw me every time.

Other than that, the storyline was good, and I liked the characters. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

This book is awesome! I love that the mystery has so much going on, that it is hard to catch your breath. I also love how it sets the stage for the next story with the characters.

THE CRUSHING DEPTHS (Coastal Guardians Book #2) by Dani Pettrey is an action packed Christian romantic suspense featuring a Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS team). This is the second book in the series and can be read as a standalone. The H/h romance is complete in each book with investigative plots that are unique, but the characters evolve and crossover from previous stories.

Coast Guard Investigator Rissi Dawson is a talented profiler and Coast Guard Investigator Mason Rogers is an expert diver. They are sent as partners to investigate the death of an off-shore oil rig worker. Everyone on the rig is on edge because of previous accidents, the death of their coworker and the rumor of Henry’s Curse.

Rissi and Mason also find that there is a ship of environmental activists in the area which is antagonistic towards the oil rig. They are studying migrating manta rays and have vowed to stop the oil rig from destroying the sea.

As evidence mounts, the death of the oil rig crewman looks more like murder. Are the activists willing to go as far as murder to get rid of the oil rig or was it a member from his own crew? Rissi and Mason work their way through the suspects as they also deal with their connection from the past.

I loved that this story took off right from the first chapter and continued at a fast pace in both suspense and romance plots. Rissi and Mason were perfect together and when they reminisced about their shared childhood experiences in the children’s home, it was heartbreaking. I believe this is the first time I have read about Coast Guard Investigators and the author did an excellent job of research and making them come to life. The characters and the plot were believable and realistic with a good balance between the suspense and romance. The characters do pray and express their faith throughout the book, but it is never excessive and is expressed naturally.

I thoroughly enjoyed this H/h, all the team members and the suspense plot kept me guessing right up to ‘The End’. I now want to go back and read the first book in the series. I hope there are many more Coastal Guardian books to come.

Dani Pettrey has showcased her talent for writing romantic suspense once again in The Crushing Depths! The suspense was stellar and the romance, while it seemed fast was actually 10 years in the making. I loved that Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers grew up together in foster care, and met again as teammates on a CGIS investigation. It was so cool how Pettrey weaved their backstory into their present circumstance.

The suspense comes when an accident on an oil rig off the North Carolina coast kills a worker. CGIS agents Rissi and Mason are sent out to investigate, and the helicopter transporting them crashes into the ocean, killing the pilot and leaving several passengers injured. As the "accidents" mount, it becomes apparent that someone on the oil rig isn't working for the oil company, but against them. Can Rissi and Mason solve the case before anyone else dies?

I couldn't put this book down once I started. Rissi and Mason's story of life in a pretty horrific foster home wove through their every interaction and gave depth to their characters. I also enjoyed learning more about the rest of the team. I had "met" many of them in The Killing Tide and look forward to meeting more when book #3 comes out..

Readers who love romantic suspense should definitely pick up "The Crushing Depths". Both the suspense and the romance are gripping and this is a "don't miss" addition to the Coastal Guardians series from Dani Pettrey! I highly recommend!!!

The Crushing Depths is the second book in the Coastal Guardians series by Dani Pettrey. As with the previous book, Dani Pettrey hits it out of the park with suspense and intensity. From the bond between the main characters, Rissi and Mason, to the CGIS team dynamics, you will be pulled into the drama and suspense of the investigation happening offshore on a drilling platform. The setting is a unique one that I have not encountered many times in the past but thoroughly enjoyed. The storyline is full of twists and surprises which makes the ending unpredictable. Overall, it's an excellent clean read with a good dose of suspense. Readers will be waiting expectantly for the series to continue with the third book.

Rissi Dawson, profiler for Wilmington, NC Coast Guard Investigative Services, gets sent out to an oil-drilling platform to investigate a death along with the Coast Guard’s newest team member—Mason Rogers. She hasn’t seen Mason in ten years—ever since he aged out of the foster care system and walked out of the hell called a group home.

Rissi, two years younger than Mason, had loved him for his tender ministrations and quiet friendship during one of the darkest periods of her life. Now they have a case to work together—one that gets more and more dangerous as the minutes tick by.

Mason thought he’d lost Rissi forever, but for the last ten years, he’s prayed that God will bring them together in his own good time. And that time has come. Rissi and Mason share a history that allows them to form a seamless team of investigators from day one. Together they must uncover the truth about Henry’s curse and the series of mysterious deaths aboard an oil platform before another life is lost.

If you love inspirational suspense and mystery, you’ll love this second installment in the Coastal Guardians series. You don’t need to read the first book to enjoy the second one. Each story highlights one member of the CGIS team while acting as a prequel to a new storyline.

Pettrey seamlessly weaves together faith, friendship, and food along with local color in this fast-paced book.

"I had never heard about author Dani Pettrey before so I am new to her style of writing. I am so happy I read this new book "the crushing depths", second in the series called Coastal Guardians.

Mystery, romance, poisoning, sabotage, murder, stingrays, near drowning, many characters...oh my..I am hooked! That combined with Christian faith makes this author a new staple in my library.
Highly recommend this book and if you like, read the first one in the series as well! Characters return in the second book, but you can easily follow without having read the first book.

Hold on to your seat and get ready for action!


Thank you, Bethany House Publishers and Dani Pettrey, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. My review is not colored by anything and is my honest opinion.


@authordanipettrey @bethanyhousefiction #thecrushingdepths #danipettrey #releaseday #inspirationalromanticsuspense #bookstoread #summerread #bookstagram

The Crushing Depths by Dani Pettrey – Romance, Mystery and Suspense

The Crushing Depths by author Dani Pettrey is the second book in her Coastal Guardians series. The storyline is why I wanted to read this book.

The Dauntless is an oil rig 38 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Greg Barnes has had a very bad day and he’s looking forward to having a cigarette break. When he steps outside, he can hear the environmental protesters chanting. Do they ever take a break? When he flicks his lighter, little does he know that his day is going to get a whole lot worse. Was this a tragic accident or something more sinister? Former friends are reunited when Rissi Dawson and Mason Rogers are called in to investigate the accident as part of the Coast Guard Investigation Services team. Before investigators can even reach the Dauntless the action heats up.

What I really liked most about this book was the relationship between Rissi and Mason. Especially learning of their friendship from when they were young. I liked the support that the CGIS team gave one another and their friendships. I appreciated that faith was included through prayer. I would like to have seen the characters personal faith developed further. It was interesting learning about what it’s like working on an oil rig out in the ocean. Those are some of the elements that worked well.

I struggled with the book in a few areas. There were so many characters that it was kind of hard to keep track. While I liked the characters, Noah and Brooke, I thought that the storyline involving these characters didn’t advance the main story and was almost a distraction. I think another book about Noah would be good. There was a lot of action and at times the story dragged switching between the main story and the one involving Noah.

Something that seemed odd was the personal relationships and romance that developed between characters that worked together, especially in light of how that is viewed in today’s culture. Since there was a deep bond between Rissi and Mason focusing on their physical attraction seemed unnecessary and perhaps not what I would expect in a book by a Christian author.

I thought that the transitions between storylines within chapters could have been handle better. I would recommend some kind of a break, like a line, to show the story is now focusing on different characters or have shorter chapters.

If you are a fan of Dani Pettrey or like romantic mysteries, suspense or stories that involve the military you may want to read her newest book The Crushing Depths.

I would like to thank Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of Dani Pettrey’s newest book The Crushing Depths. I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.

3 1/2 Stars