Reading the blurb to this book, I was immediately intrigued.  It takes place in & off the coast of North Carolina, and involves murder, romance, mystery.  And a good bit of the story takes place on an oil rig 20-something miles from the NC shore!  That was probably what drew me in to begin with.

This novel follows several POVs (point-of-views) of different characters, many of which are a part of the Coast Guard Investigative Service.  My hubby & I have been watching The Mentalist, and how the characters in this book worked to solve the mysteries sent their way reminded me a lot of Agent Lisbon, Patrick Jane, & their team.  ;P  

I LOVE stories with a military and/or nautical theme to them, and I enjoyed reading a little more about the Coast Guard in this book.  I enjoyed the characters & the premise, but I will say the ending felt a little rushed.  And there was quite a bit of head-hopping---however, in the books' defense, I was reading an ARC (advanced readers copy), un-proofed copy, so I'm sure all the issues I came upon will be fixed by the time it's released.  :]

I really liked Rissi's gentle, yet firm if necessary, personality.  She reminded me a lot of how I see myself.  Her job on the investigative team was as a professional profiler, but I felt as if we didn't dive deep enough (pun intended) into her skills & abilities.  That was a little disappointing as I don't think she was all that necessary or even helpful in the investigation... My thoughts, of course!  Other than that, she was an adorable cinnamon roll & I loved her & Mason's sweet relationship.

A man is burned alive.  A helicopter crashes into the ocean---metal collides with water, cracking windows & allowing in a flood of saltwater.  In her efforts to free herself from a seatbelt, a character accidentally cuts her side with the knife she's using to sever the restraints as the cockpit begins sinking.  As characters slip through the broken windows of the helicopter, at least one person is scraped by broken glass in their escape.  Characters sustain other minor injuries: bruised rib, sore muscles, strained neck, etc.  The passengers in said helicopter are rescued a little later; one man is unconscious, another missing, later assumed dead.

A children's home is referred to as a "hellhouse"; it's mentioned that the children were abused, beaten, belt-whipped.  A woman bears scars on her back because of her history growing up there...

The animosity between two groups---the workers on the oil rig, Dauntless, and the protestors aboard the ship, Freedom---gets violent.

Characters examine a man's burned body, observing the 3rd-degree burns all over the flayed skin, bits & pieces of the man's orange uniform.  Mention of a character's trauma from stepdad's suicide. 

A woman is being stalked by unknown man.  He vandalizes her home & property, enters her home to terrify her at some point, and leaves a whole slew of black widow spiders in her car... 

A diver is pulled from the water dead, assumed killed by a stingray---[SPOILER] later determined to be foul play... Two men go at each other, fist to fist, bloodying noses & more.  

Someone screams, "dear God!" at one point.  A woman prays to Jesus for help.  Several characters offer up prayers to God during a variety of circumstances.  Many have a strong faith in their Savior.  

Sailors & workers alike begin to believe or do believe that the oil rig is cursed due to an old legend.

A man mentions his life changed during basic training when he accepted Christ as his Savior.  A couple prays over breakfast.  A woman prays for strength.

At one point, Romans 12:19 is referenced.

A few slang words like, "dang," "bloody"; and at least one use of "hellacious."  Other than those, if they even count, it's a clean novel!

A crewman on the oil rig goes topside for a "breath of smoke," seemingly nervous about something & craving the tobacco to "calm" him.

A man drinks at least two bottles from a six-pack.  A couple share some wine or other type of alcoholic breakfast.  I don't recall any overindulgence at all.

A woman claims two male agents are sexist in assuming she was also male by her name, "Austin."  (That bit just seemed kinda silly to be, though I do understand some people are actually like that.  Austin herself was not a bad character.)

Obvious attraction between Mason & Rissi---mostly due to the history they share of growing up together & all the trials they faced in their rough childhoods.  They share a few tender kisses... And both of their thoughts reflect said attraction to each other.  Caleb believes himself in love with Rissi also, but doesn't feel he has even half a chance with her now that Mason is on board---because of that they have a little talk at one point, and it's implied another woman will eventually intrigue his attentions.  No hard feelings there, I think.  Caleb & Mason are both good, honorable men.

It comes to light that at least two of the Dauntless workers were womanizers---and went after other guys' girls, sleeping with them & whatnot... Two men fight it out because one had slept with the other's fiancee. 

News comes to the investigators that a girl just out of high school was raped by one of the Dauntless workers.