Deep Tide by Laura Griffin is book #4 in the Texas Murder Files series. Get ready for lots of action and suspense. Leyla Breda, owner of the Island Beanery and sister to two Lost Beach police detectives, meets FBI Special Agent Sean Morgan at her brother's wedding. Instant attraction. Along the way to their Happily Ever After there's plenty of danger they face. This is a well-written, fast-paced romantic suspense story. I really liked the characters, especially Leyla and Sean. It was great to see characters from earlier books in the series again. I highly recommend this book and the entire series.

This story has mystery, romance, woman owned business and family connections. You ask yourself, who is the killer, will the couple make their relationship work, will the small business survive and how does the family pull together.

When one of Leyla staff is murdered behind her shop she learns that a man she met at her brothers wedding is an FBI agent working on a case in the area. Against her better judgement she is attracted to him. She offers to try and get information for him on his case but he wants her to steer clear. These are some really dangerous people. This book is part of a series but easily stands on its own. It is a good mix of suspense and romance. I always look forward to books by this author and this book doesn’t disappoint. I highly recommend it. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

A stunning example of suspense and romance. Laura Griffin has gifted us a stellar addition to her Texas Murder Files series. The art of the procedural is clearly defined by the magic Griffin exhibits when putting pen to paper. What more can I say? It’s top-notch escapism.

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This book is another one of my favorite reads of the year so far. But every book that Laura Griffin writes gets better and better.

Leyla is aware of how police operate with her brothers being on the force. But this does not prepare her for when she finds one of her employees murdered behind her coffee shop.
Leyla had already wondered about Sean, her brother’s friend that no one knew at the wedding. And now after finding the body and finding out that Sean works for the FBI and not just in town for the wedding she wonders if he’s working a case and does it involve her dead employee. Slowly and hesitantly Leyla and Sean grow closer amidst the murder investigation going on around them. But when Leyla gets a little too involved, will Sean be able to save her?

This book is part of “The Texas Murder Files” series, but the series is based on the location – not the characters. In all the books you get to meet all the family’s members. As with all her books I read I have a hard time putting it down. Laura Griffin has a way of pulling you into the books and make it feel like you are right there as a part of the book.

I received this ARC copy for my honest opinion.

Not my favorite of Laura Griffin’s books, but still a solid romantic suspense read. When Leyla gets a frantic call from her staff the action begins. Finding out that a young staff member has been murdered throws Leyla right into the mix and smack into danger. Not only is she in the sites of a killer but her heart is in danger from the evasive FBI agent here supposedly to attend her brother's wedding. The action is once again fast-paced and the characters are both compelling and likable and have great chemistry.

Deep Tide, the fourth installment of The Texas Murder Files, follows Owen and Joel’s sister Leyla Breda. When Leyla meets undercover FBI agent, Sean Moran, at her brother Joel’s wedding she is completely smitten but she refuses to even think about dating non-locals. When on of Leyla’s employees is murdered behind her coffee shop, she’s shaken by the attack. Unbeknownst to her, Sean Moran is already on the case, and while the local Lost Beach PD is focused on the single murder, Moran has a much bigger investigation in play.

I expected to be completely in love with this story, as I enjoyed Leyla in the previous books. But I didn’t particular like Leyla’s character here. On one hand, she’s this no nonsense, tough women and on the other she completely emotionally immature and insecure. The contrast between the two sides of her personality made it hard to get to know her, and this took away from the story for me.

I loved the murder/mystery story in this installment. It felt much higher stakes with the FBI being brought in then some of the previous books in this story. Which made this story more heart-pounding and had me on the edge of my seat multiple times.

While this has been my favorite police mystery of the series, this was my least favorite romance from Griffin. The relationship between Sean and Leyla felt forced with none of the chemistry the previous couples (Joel/Miranda, Macey/Owen, Bailey/Jacob) had. This could have easily been a 5 star for me, but with romance being half the point of Griffin’s books, the lack of chemistry took this down a star for me.

We meet quite a few new characters in this book, and I’m still excited to see who we’ll see leading in the next installment. Personally, I’m hoping we see Emmett and Nicole soon!

Deep Tide comes out April 25, 2023. Huge thank you to Berkley Books for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof.books.

Leyla has two brothers who work on the local police force. When her brother gets married, a friend Sean is there, who she believes worked with him on a police force years prior. When her employee is murdered behind her coffee shop she is surprised to find that he is an FBI agent working a case that could be tied to the murder. Sean does not want to get involved with Leyla out of respect for her brothers, but he cannot stay away. As they grow closer Leyla gets more involved, and she offers to help him gain information by catering at the bad guys house by catering a party he is throwing. But when she gets a little too close, will Sean be able to save her?

Laura Griffin is one of my go to authors, and I enjoyed this book more on the mystery side than I did the romance side. I feel like the mystery and piecing the evidence together was more well written more complete in the end and it couldn't go any further. However, I felt like Sean and Leyla's story ended after they said "I love you", I just wanted a little more from them, maybe a Prologue of what they're doing one year in the future. I enjoyed this book and I recommend this book. Also, if you haven't had a chance to check out the other books in this series I highly recommend it!

Received ARC in exchange for voluntary honest review

Deep Tide was a truly enjoyable book. The main characters were Leyla, a chef, Sean, an FBI agent and Lucy Gagnon who was a member of of the underworld and a person that Sean was investigating. Leyla and Sean were in a relationship and he inadvertently told her about his assignment.

Amelia, one of Leyla's employees, was murdered. A detective, Nicole, was lead investigator. She learned that Amelia has been dating a computer geek, which turned out to be Luc. Sean and Nicole figured Luc must have had something to do with the murder.

Jillian, Luc's assistant, hired Leyla to cater a party. Sean didn't want her to do it because he knew Luc was dangerous, but Leyla did it anyway. When she was at the house she happened by Luc's office. The door was open so she went inside and took pictures of what was on his desk. She then gave them to Sean, who was angry that she had taken such a risk.

Not long after, Jillian showed up at Leyla's restaurant. She pulled a gun on her and kidnapped her. It turns out that Luc has cameras in the house and he saw her take the pictures. When Leyla was taken, she dropped her phone in hopes someone would find it and realize something was wrong, as she was never without her phone.

Leyla had two brothers who were cops, Joel and Owen. So her phone was found. Sean, Joel, Owen and Nicole were at the restaurant and decided to look at the surveillance tape. They saw Jillian with a gun escorting Leyla into an SUV. Leyla ended up in a helicopter with Luc. Luc's plan was to kill her.

The team at the restaurant found out about the helicopter and the hunt was on. I'm not going to get into all of the ins and outs because that would spoil the ending. But suffice it to say that this book is full of suspense and espionage. I read it cover to cover in two sittings. It really held my attention. The characters and the plot were well developed and the author did a fine job weaving espionage throughout. I gave this book five stars.

Laura Griffin delivers with another mystery/thriller that focuses on Joel and Owen Breda's sister Leyla. She's an independent entrepreneur with her own coffee shop (technically two, because one is in the Windjammer). If you've read previous books by Laura Griffin, not only have we met Leyla before, but we've already been introduced to her delicious pastries (with Rogelio's assistance) that she often supplies to her overly protective brothers.

In Deep Tide, Leyla is catering her brother Joel's wedding when she meets Sean Moran. Despite her rule against dating tourists, Leyla can't deny the magnetic pull she feels toward Sean. These two characters are remarkable guarded for very different reasons. Leyla's had bad experiences in the past and Sean is an FBI agent, which doesn't allow him much room to share.

When a woman in found murdered behind Leyla's shop, the police get involved, which allows Nicole, a fairly new officer in Lost Beach a chance to take the lead and show her boss what she's made of. Laura Griffin writes strong independent female characters and I enjoy the way they take front and center in her books. The male characters sit opposite many of the women, but as I read them (and it's possibly just me), I find the men aren't nearly as prominently penned as the women.

If you're a fan Laura Griffin, I think you'll really enjoy this latest novel of hers. At times, I wanted things to pick up the pace, but the last 20% of the book deliver action packed chapters.

I huge thank you to @BerkleyRomance and @BerkleyPublishing for granting me free access to this title.

Oh man! This book. Its my favorite read of the year so far. I’ve read some really good one, but this one has been my favorite.

Leyla is aware of how police operate with her brothers being on the force. But this does not prepare her for when she finds one of her employees murdered behind her coffee shop. Leyla had started flirting and getting to know Sean at her brothers wedding and is surprised to discover that he is FBI and not just in town for the wedding – he’s working a case. Slowly and hesitantly Leyla and Sean grow closer amidst the murder investigation going on around them. But when Leyla gets a little too involved, will Sean be able to save her?

Romantic suspense has quickly become one of my top five genres to read, and this book did not disappoint. It is part of “The Texas Murder Files” series, but the series is based on the location – not the characters. This was my first time reading this author, and I was pleasantly surprised. I will be reading more of her books. This book was fast paced, and action packed. While it wasn’t necessarily spicy, it was descriptive enough you knew what was going on and weren’t left disappointed. I read this one in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. I am going to get in line for more Laura Griffin novels now!

If you are looking for a wonderfully done romantic suspense novel then check this one out April 25th! Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, @berkleypub, the author, and @netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for this honest review

Laura Griffin books always leave me feeling satisfied, and this one is no exception! Once again, she delivered a great mystery with a strong female protagonist, great supporting characters, and a big side of “will they won’t they” romance. I really enjoy that each of her books explores not only different character personalities, but different careers. Griffin does her research and always makes me feel like I’ve learned something - and not just who the murderer is! I love that this book continues to follow characters we’ve met previously in this series but really digs into the life of those related to law enforcement (the sister of two cops), rather than someone directly involved. I loved the friendships in this book & finished it in just two sittings! A quick but fun read that I highly recommend.

[I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.]

Laura Griffin has done it again with this fast-paced murder mystery! Laura takes back to the expanding beach/vacation town of Lost Beach Texas and the Breda Family. This time it's Leyla, the owner/operator of the island Beanery, a popular coffee and pastry shop on the island.
When Leyla gets a frantic call from her staff the action begins. Finding out that a young staff member has been murdered throws Leyla right into the mix and smack into danger. Not only is she in the sites of a killer but her heart is in danger from the evasive FBI agent here supposedly to attend her brother's wedding...
The action is once again fast-paced and the characters are both compelling and likable and have great chemistry.
I have always loved Laura's books and this one makes my list of "must reads"!

This is the fourth book in the Texas Murder Files series, so I had some preconceived notions going in. Each installment flings together two people, individually connected to a crime in Lost Beach, Texas. Each story starts with a new couple - new relationship, and a new murder to solve. This time it’s an FBI agent and the owner of a local coffee shop. Leyla finds one of her employees murdered behind her coffee shop. Sean is an agent in town, working undercover to triangulate the next moves of not one, but numerous criminal organizations using Lost Beach as their rendezvous point. This is bigger than one murder - much bigger. What follows is plenty of adrenaline, both from the evolving mystery and the a rocky path forward to the anticipated new relationship, as well the expected sense of place. It's a rare thing to have a series so well grounded in setting, given the genre. This was a totally enjoyed read with a quick pace.

I'm happy to say that I loved the Tracer series and am looking forward to more of the Texas Murders! Laura Griffin has found a new backdrop for her mysteries and it's fascinating! Wide expansive outdoor spaces where only luck and superb investigating skills solve these puzzles.