Darkwater Descent ~ Review

Darkwater Descent

Roxburgh Scions #2

By Paige Edwards

This is the second book in the Roxburgh Scions but the fourth book in the Roxburgh story world (Roxburgh Heirs). This time we are introduced to the estates heir Roddy Henderson who has been living the last few years as business owner and diver master in the Cayman Islands. So may have labeled him as a shirker and a well-to-do-bored-rich-guy but Roddy had his reasons for living away from the estate that would one day be entrusted to his care. He never expected to connect with anyone from Scotland, much less an auditor who captures his attention. But Everly manage to do just that in the midst of her investigation for MI6. Things do not go well. Nope not a bit and she doesn't even get the opportunity to explain what happened to Roddy before she's on her way back home.

But when Roddy's gift for examining eyes puts him in the crosshairs of a crime boss, who has no qualms about killing anyone and everyone around them just to keep his identity a secret, Roddy has no choice but to leave the life he has come to love behind. He just wishes he had a chance to say goodbye to Everly Pattinson before he was forced to return to Scotland. But danger follows him and soon the estate and the people he loves and is responsible for are in danger.

This is an intense and engaging read. I love that we are finally able to get Roddy's story and to see how he and his sisters (and their significant others) all come together to protect their home, family, and friends. While navigating this whole "my life and estate are in danger" thing Roddy gets a surprising chance to reconnect with Everly. Of course there is the whole MI6 thing to deal with and his feeling adrift with the sudden responsibility that is unexpectedly and way too soon dropped on him. So yeah, this was a good read with the right balance of danger, suspense, clean romance, and family drama. I personally hope that their will be future books featuring this family but if not this had a good ending.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book with no expectations. All thoughts expressed are my own.   

Darkwater Descent is releasing September 15, 2026.

About the Book:

The wrong discovery. 

The right woman. 

Deadly consequences.

While exploring a shipwreck in the Cayman Islands, Scottish dive master Roddy Henderson discovers a hidden underwater listening device and unwittingly places himself in the crosshairs of a ruthless Albanian crime boss–an elusive master of disguise who has evaded capture for decades. Now Roddy may be the only person who can identify him.

MI6 auditor Everly Pattinson’s mother is dying of ALS, and though Everly longs to spend every possible moment with her, the medical expenses require Everly to accept an overseas project assessing suspicious bank activity in the Caymans. Following a hunch, she takes an unauthorized risk and is caught and expelled from the island without a chance to say goodbye to Roddy, the handsome dive instructor she has fallen for. Eager to reestablish her tarnished reputation with MI6, Everly poses as a plus-one for a high-ranking British Intelligence official.

After narrowly surviving an attempt on his life, Roddy retreats to his native Scotland. There, at a glittering social event, he unexpectedly runs into Everly, on the arm of someone else–someone Roddy knows. Before she can explain, the Albanian crime boss walks through the door.

Convinced Everly deceived him from the beginning, Roddy wants nothing more to do with her. When the killer threatens the people he loves, Roddy must team up with Everly and MI6. Hunting a master of deception forces him to confront not only a deadly enemy, but also the painful past that drove him from Scotland–and the possibility that trusting Everly could either heal his deepest wounds or destroy him for good.

Start at the beginning with the Roxbury Heirs

and continue with the Roxburgh Scions