Book Review: Low Tide (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 1) by Dawn Lee McKenna

This is a real to life mystery with a strong female protagonist.
Low Tide (The Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense Series Book 1)
by Dawn Lee McKenna

ASIN : B00Z2BXCXE
Publisher : The Sweet Tea Press (June 5, 2015)
Publication date : June 5, 2015
Print length : 191 pages
Genre: Mystery, Small Town, Suspense, Thriller
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

In Apalachicola, Florida, sinister things are afoot, as sinister things tend to be.
Lt. Maggie Redmond is called to a crime scene on St. George Island, where she is met with the body of Gregory Boudreaux. The medical examiner calls it a suicide, but no one knows that Maggie has a horrible connection to the dead man.
When Gregory’s uncle, Bennett Boudreaux, the richest and scariest man in town, takes a sudden interest in Maggie, people start to wonder, Maggie included. Maggie knows he may suspect her of killing his nephew, but she finds herself slowly drawn to the man.
As Maggie fights to help a young girl escape the clutches of a volatile drug dealer who’d love to see Maggie dead, she also struggles to hide her dark link to a dead man, and her burgeoning relationship with her boss, Sheriff Wyatt Hamilton.
Unfortunately, secrets have a way of revealing themselves at low tide.

Review:
Maggie is a police Lieutenant called to the scene of a dead man on St. George Island. The dead man, who appears to have committed suicide, is Gregory Boudreaux, a local man related to a rich and powerful man in town. Maggie has known the deceased since school days, but no one knows the truth of their past association. One of the first people Maggie interviews is Gregory’s Uncle, Bennet Boudreaux. Bennet is a man in his sixties but still makes an impression, especially with his power and confidence in his ability to control the narrative around him.

Maggie runs into a small time criminal she has arrested in the past. This time she sees him with a wraith of a young girl who is holding an infant while shielding two toddlers. Maggie suspects the girl, Gracie, is being bullied and tells her to call on Maggie if there is trouble.

Meanwhile, Maggie has to juggle her personal life issues while doing her job. She is a single mother since divorcing her husband, due to his bad life choices. Maggie has found it hard to move on from her childhood sweetheart, but she is glad to often find support from her boss, town sheriff, Wyatt. Their relationship seems to be growing closer and they struggle to balance their attraction with their work situation.

Danger comes after Maggie when it appears someone wants her to not look to closely at Boudreaux’s death. She is also stirring up trouble from a different direction when Gracie turns informant and seeks her help.

The writing has a good, easy flow. The story is character driven with a nice mix of intrigue, suspense, danger and a touch of romance. The multiple real to life threads are interwoven with Maggie's involvement. The ending closes part of the threads but leaves one wide open for more police (and personal) adventure.

The setting is the Forgotten Coast of the Florida Panhandle, within a few hours of my hometown. The author shares wonderful local, small town color. I am reading this with others in my local Woman's Club, which is a great group of service intensive ladies. They plan to forge ahead with the next book in the series. I recommend this to fans of easy mystery set in a small beach town.

Source: Free Kindle 2017. This qualifies for 2021TBR and 2021eBook goals.