25 Jun Staff Recommends: Submerged by Dani Pettrey

Whitney Wooters is the IT Manager at the Shelby County Public Library. She’s been here since 2012, where she began in the children’s department working as a page. Meeting so many people and maintaining the website are her two favorite things about working at the library. Whitney is a graduate of Leadership Shelby (2018). When she’s not at work, she’s spending time with her husband and family, hoping that includes a fishing excursion or campfire.

If you’re a fan of Lynette Eason, give this series a try!

What’s the book about?

A sabotaged plane. Two dead deep-water divers.

One single clue.

Bailey Craig vowed never to set foot in Yancey, Alaska, again. She has a past, and a reputation–and Yancey’s a town that doesn’t forget. She’s returned only to bury a loved one killed in the plane crash, but then dark evidence emerges and Bailey’s own expertise becomes invaluable for the case.

Cole McKenna can face dangerous rescue dives. He can face the fear a murderer may be threatening his town. But facing the reality of Bailey’s reappearance is a tougher challenge. She broke his heart…but doesn’t seem to be the same girl who left Yancey ten years ago. And he’s not the same guy she left behind.

Racing against the clock and a rising body count, Bailey and Cole must move beyond the hurts of their pasts to work together until the truth of what is hidden in the depths finally surfaces.

Why Whitney recommends it

Submerged grabbed my attention on the first page and never let me go. I fell in love with the characters, so when I realized this was the first of a five-book series, and each book was about a different sibling, you can believe I was pretty excited. (And in case you were wondering, every book in the series was just as good as the first.)

Alaska has been on my travel bucket list for a long time. I felt transported to that state while I read, which made me enjoy this book even more. Some authors’ descriptions feel lackluster to me – either too much, too little, or too boring, but not Dani Pettrey’s. No matter the scene, Pettrey made me feel like I was there, like I actually knew the characters, and she built suspense artfully. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.

As someone who likes history, the historical mystery thread of this book kept me intrigued. It wasn’t overpowering, and we never slip back in time like the historical fiction I typically read, but I loved it.

If you’re looking for a mystery with some romance, this book is for you!