Shallow Remains (Skeleton Island 3) by Kaylea Cross-review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date September 29, 2026

A deadly betrayal taught her to guard her heart at all costs.
IT expert Maddy Krause has always felt like an outsider, never fitting in anywhere. When she finally let her guard down and opened her heart to a man, it almost cost her life. Now she’s starting over and building a new life on Skeleton Island. The last thing she expected was to meet a man who makes her want more and to trust again. Then a ghost from her past resurfaces, and surviving what happens next will test the fragile foundations they’ve started to build.

But one man tempts her to risk it all again.
Former Coast Guard rescue swimmer Lachlan McCaffrey carries emotional scars of his own, but Maddy brings out all his protective instincts. It’s clear she’s been hurt before and he’s determined to win her trust and heart. But just as she starts to let her walls down, danger closes in. Someone connected to her past is bent on exacting revenge, putting them both in a killer’s crosshairs.

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REVIEW:SHALLOW REMAINS is the third instalment in Kaylea Cross’ contemporary, adult SKELETON ISLAND romantic suspense series. This is twenty-seven year old, IT specialist Maddy Krause, and thirty-three year old, former Coast Guard rescue swimmer Lachlan McCaffrey’s story line. SHALLOW REMAINS can be read as a stand alone without any difficulty. Any important information from the previous story lines is revealed where necessary. For followers of Kaylea Cross, there is a slight cross over with the author’s numerous, interconnected CRIMSON POINT series.

NOTE: Due to the nature of the story line premise, there may be triggers for more sensitive readers .

Told from several omniscient third person perspectives including Maddy and Lachlan, and first person (unknown) SHALLOW REMAINS focuses on IT specialist Maddy Krause, and the ghosts she left behind in Syria. Working as an IT cryptologist, Maddy found herself the victim of abduction and torture for something she knew nothing about. Rescued by Black Ops soldiers including Blaine Slater, Maddy would return to the USA, finding a new family of friends but struggling to move on with her life until our heroine becomes a target, and Lachlan McCaffrey names himself guardian and protector of the woman with whom he will fall in love.

The world building focuses on the search for the truth, for a possible ghost who refuses to let go, and the fear of one woman struggling to move on with her life. From Syria to America, land and water, the threats increase with each method of contact. While Maddy’s life hangs in the balance, Lachlan’s reveals his own history of love and loss.

The relationship between Maddy and Lachlan begins a friends, to protector in the face threats against our story line heroine. The past refuses to let go, coming for revenge, demanding everything and more. Lachlan has lost his heart to a woman who is struggling with the demons from her past but Lachlan’s demons are riding him hard.The $ex scenes are intimate and provocative .

There is a large ensemble cast of colorful, energetic, and tenacious secondary and supporting including the return of Blaine and Xanthe, Willow and Tripp, and firefighter Greyson Matthews.

SHALLOW REMAINS is a story of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control, obsession and retribution, friendships, relationships and love. The character driven premise is dramatic, dark and captivating; the romance is passionate and seductive.

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Kaylea Cross writes edge-of-your-seat military romantic suspense. Her work has won many awards and has been nominated for both the Daphne du Maurier and the National Readers’ Choice Awards. A Registered Massage Therapist by trade, Kaylea is also an avid gardener, artist, Civil War buff, Special Ops aficionado, belly dance enthusiast and former nationally-carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her husband and family.

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