Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Thriller Award finalist Mayne's pulse-pounding third Underwater Investigation Unit thriller (after 2020's The Girl Beneath the Sea) opens with police diver Sloan McPherson and her partner, Scott Hughes, speeding in their rescue boat toward a cruise ship in distress off the Florida coast. The ship is listing, smoke is coming out of the portholes, and there's an explosion on the bridge. Once aboard, Sloan and Scott help get passengers and crew to safety. Early speculation is a terrorist attack, but no one claims credit. When the FBI takes over, the UIU is pushed aside, but Sloan and Scott continue to look into a local ecoterrorist. Nothing, however, adds up: evidence is contradictory, suspects go missing then turn up dead, and purported thieves repeatedly try to board the stranded ship. As the UIU tries to determine why, powerful foes target the group, putting its future in doubt. The fast-paced plot is filled to the brim with fascinating characters, and the locale is exceptional--both above and below the waterline. One doesn't have to be a nautical adventure fan to enjoy this nail-biter. Agent: Erica Silverman, Trident Literary. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
What lies beneath the mystery of the torpedoed pleasure boat off the coast of Fort Lauderdale? Sloan McPherson and her Underwater Investigation Unit are called to rescue people aboard the cruise ship The Sea of Dreams after it inexplicably explodes. Sloan and partner Scott Hughes search for crew and passengers on the sinking ship, aided by Ava Crozier, on loan from the Fort Lauderdale PD Marine Unit. Moving at breakneck speed, and aided by lifeboats, they take crew and passengers to safety. The FBI is reluctant to panic the public but confirms that this was an attack, not a malfunction, a conclusion underscored when one of Sloan's divers finds a piece of a drone. Special Agent Olmo muddies the investigative waters with a list of all the international miscreants who could be responsible. The Coast Guard and the CIA also have an interest in the crime, but dogged Sloan outdistances them with her legwork and analysis, leading to jurisdictional challenges from state law enforcement officials, who desperately accuse Sloan and Hughes of corruption. When Sloan eventually identifies the sneering, high-powered villain behind the attack, prosecution is jeopardized by his association with one of the above-mentioned groups. Mayne begins his third UIU thriller, told in short, brisk chapters, on a high-tension note, depicting the initial disaster moment by tense moment, and never lets up on the suspense. Spurts of brisk dialogue nicely break up the action scenes, full of authentic detail. Strong pacing, lean prose, and maritime knowledge converge in this crackerjack thriller. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
