Book Review: Beneath Dark Waters by Karen Rose

Beneath Dark Waters is the second in Karen Rose’s New Orleans set mystery series. It follows up last year’s Quarter to Midnight. “Karen Rose’s special seasoning is corruption and murder. Her first New Orleans novel is a winner and readers will want more.” Readers will be pleased that many characters from Quarter to Midnight are back. 

We are immediately plunged into a frightening scenario. Rick Gates is castigating his younger brother Jace, after Jace asks what they’re doing in a quiet suburb. Rick says they’re “picking something up for Aaron,” and points to a heavily pregnant woman.

“Yeah, her. Didn’t you read Corey’s email? Oh right,” Rick said sarcastically. He’d been sarcastic a lot lately. Mean, even. And more jittery than usual. But they were all stressed out. “You can’t, because you’re so stupid you can’t even read.”

Rick isn’t wrong, Jace can’t read, something his brother Corey reinforces every day when he tells Jace he’s stupid. Jace asks again what they’re picking up for Aaron, his oldest brother. 

“Him.”

 

Jace frowned. There was a little boy walking next to the pregnant lady. He looked like he was only eight or nine years old. “Why?”

 

“Because he can get Aaron out of jail,” Rick spat. “He’s currency.”

 

Jace blinked, confused. “What?”

 

“Currency,” Rick repeated. “That fucking no-name public defender Aaron got can’t help him, so we need to do something. We need Aaron back. We need him. Jace was struck by the desperation in his brother’s tone.

Everything goes terribly pear-shaped. The pregnant lady tasers Rick, the little boy rips Rick’s black ski mask off his face—it’s all on Jace to capture the currency. “But . . . he couldn’t do it. It’s wrong. Meeting the boy’s terrified eyes, he made another decision. “Run,” he snapped. “I said run!”

This is a disturbing, violent, visceral tug-at-your-heart-strings book. Former Marine Val Sorensen works as an investigator and sometime bodyguard for Broussard Investigations. Her work team is like family. J. P. “Kaj” Cardozo is a widower with a son who is infinitely precious to him. Elijah is preternaturally smart. A diagnosis of childhood diabetes hasn’t crimped his sails. Kaj (“spelled K-a-j, but pronounced Kai, rhyming with pie”) is a public prosecutor who has made a name for himself in the six months he’s lived in New Orleans. There are folks in NOLA who will stop at nothing to prevent Kaj’s “high-profile celebrity sexual assault case” from ever reaching court. They try to kidnap Elijah, hoping his father will drop the case to ensure his son’s safety. Instead Kaj turns to Broussard Investigations, a private investigation firm that is famous for its ability to protect its clients, for help. 

Val is assigned to keep Elijah safe, and she takes her responsibilities very seriously. She arranges to have a delicious dinner cooked for the household. Kaj thanks her for everything she’s doing: “You bring all kinds of perks,” he added with a smile. “Dogs, roller derby, and friends who make good food.” Val deflects his praise, but he thanks her again.

He leaned closer to look at her screen. “What are you doing?”

 

“Research. I first talked to your sister and she sent me some educational links on what Elijah should and shouldn’t eat. But then I got an email from Antoine—he’s our IT guru—and I stopped reading about food to read the background checks on all the major players. Antoine sent information on Aaron and Corey Gates, plus anything he could find on Dewey Talley. Which doesn’t appear to be anything more than I’d already gathered myself over the years.”

 

“Anything jumping out at you about Aaron?”

 

She glanced at Elijah, who still slept deeply, before turning her screen so that Kaj could see it more easily. “I’m sure you’ve seen most of what I’ve got here, since you’re prosecuting Aaron.”

The Gates family are vicious criminals, yet Jace saved Elijah’s life. Jace has grown up in an atmosphere where anyone, including children, can be collateral damage. Beneath Dark Waters is not for the faint of heart. Rose demonstrates repeatedly the vulnerability and permeability of the New Orleans police. Criminals can bribe and coerce the police force almost at will.

The plot is almost medieval: Val moves into Kaj’s home and transforms it into a fortress. The barbarians are on the outside, feverishly attempting to storm the castle. There is a pervasive sense of foreboding.

On a parallel track to Elijah’s life is Jace, a criminalized and abused teenager. His educational deficiencies are palpable. Jace is a counterpoint to Elijah, both having suffered family tragedies. Jace’s sense of pathos notwithstanding, he is suffused with a deep longing for love, warmth, and community. 

Beneath Dark Waters is billed as romantic suspense and it is. But it also examines the notion that family can extend beyond relatives—Val and Kaj and those in their orbit create a self-chosen family over the course of some agonizing weeks. Let’s hope this isn’t the last of Karen Rose’s New Orleans novels.