3.5 stars - We've seen Logan and Emmy making eyes at each other through their non-romance in the first three books of the Coastal Guardians series. In this novella, it's time for them to face the truth and realise that of course they're in love with each other. Any of their work colleagues and readers could have already told them that!
The case is a bit too personal this time, with Logan receiving the news that his grandfather Colt has been murdered. Colt pretty much raised Logan, so the news comes as a devastating blow. Emmy insists on flying out to New Mexico to help him work the case, alongside Logan's boyhood friend Tom who is the local sheriff. It turns out that Colt had helped a young drifter by letting her use one of the bunk houses on the property. The woman, going by the name of Mary, has now disappeared and is the No. 1 suspect.
There are some interesting moments in this novella. We see a vulnerable side of Logan we hadn't seen before, and it's nice to see the romance finally moving along. Colt used to set puzzles and codes for Logan and Tom to solve when they were kids, and some of those skills come in handy when they discover some hidden messages Colt has left behind. It appears he was onto something, but what?
The reason I've only given it 3.5 stars is because there were some parts that didn't ring true. (Slight spoiler ahead.) Emmy and Logan are supposed to be top investigators and their boss Noah has rung Tom to sing their praises. When they walk through the crime scene, they start looking at different scenarios. Tom comments on how good they are as a team and Logan says how Emmy is great at working every angle. BUT ... when they discover a second footprint at the scene, they don't run the obvious scenario that the person who owned that print could be the murderer. We don't know if that's true, but surely crack investigators would at least acknowledge the possibility. Even when it becomes apparent that a man hocked a ring stolen from the scene, they still don't consider anything other than the fact that Mary is the killer. It takes ages for them to acknowledge that it could have been either of them. There were a number of times in the first half of the book when I wanted to shake them and say, 'What about the second footprint?' There was also the promise of a subplot with the friction between Logan and deputy sheriff, Denton, who had bullied him as a child. But that never really takes shape as Denton is mostly off the page investigating somewhere else. I know it's hard to resolve all of those threads in a novella-length book, but I thought more was going to happen with that.
However, I thought the scheme that led to Colt's death was interesting and I did like the developing relationship between Logan and Emmy. Elements of faith were also intertwined with the story, as Logan learned to rely more on God. If you've read the other books in the series, you'll enjoy seeing what happens with Logan and Em. Although this book could be read as a stand-alone, I'd suggest going back and reading the others first, as I think the plotting is stronger in the full-length ones. I'm still glad I read this one though.