Series: Vancouver Island – Carver Brothers
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: August 6, 2013
Source: Review copy through the Amazon Vine Program

Danger once again laps at the shores of Barkley Sound, the Graveyard of the Pacific…

Since her rocky childhood and its abrupt, brutal ending, schoolteacher Anna Silver hasn’t given her trust easily. But when her estranged father gets in over his head—again—and winds up dead, his last message to Anna is as clear as it is insistent: she’s in danger and Brent Carver, the man with whom he shared a prison cell for five years, is the only person she should turn to for help. With nowhere else to go and with her father’s killer on her trail, Anna flees to what she hopes is safety.

​Tucked into the west coast of Vancouver Island, Brent Carver’s isolated home hasn’t seen many visitors. And his friend’s daughter is the last person he ever expected to grace his doorstep. She’s in trouble, and he can’t deny her protection…just as he can’t deny his attraction to the independent beauty. As their passion sparks into flame, the perfect storm brews off the coast of his island home, bringing with it a sadistic killer hunting Anna and the secrets she’s come close to uncovering.

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DARK WATERS is the second romantic suspense novel I’ve read by Toni Anderson, and like the first, I really enjoyed it. Ms. Anderson has a knack for blending sizzling romance, angsty, well-drawn characters, and nail-biting suspense into a riveting read.

This story begins with Anna Silver receiving a frantic voice mail message from her father just before he dies. He’s an ex-con who’s found trouble again, and now Anna’s life is threatened. Her father tells her to find safety with Brent Carver, a man he shared a prison cell with for many years.

Since being released from prison four years earlier, Brent has shut himself off from the world. He makes a living as a reclusive yet very successful artist, and he doesn’t venture far from his secluded home on Vancouver Island. Brent’s none too thrilled about a strange woman invading his private space, but when he finds out Anna is his best friend’s daughter and hears her tragic story, he can’t turn her away.

Anna and Brent – wow, these two were lugging some heavy emotional baggage. I’m not sure which one had been wronged the most, but my heart went out to both of them. Understandably, they had major trust issues, yet somehow they made their relationship work. On top of that, Anna had a truly evil baddie on her tail wanting something of her deceased father’s. The villain was horrid! Not happy to just get the information from Anna, but he had to be a sadistic you-know-what too, playing on her fears. He made me cringe.

DARK WATERS was a fast paced, entertaining romantic suspense novel that was heavier on the darker “thriller” elements, which I liked. My only quibble was that I found it hard to believe Brent went to prison for 20 years for his crime, considering he was 16 at the time and there were extenuating circumstances. Still, it was an enjoyable read that I would recommend to fans of the genre.

Rating: 4 Stars

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine Program in exchange for an honest review.