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DARK WATER DIVE
by Kathy Brandt
Signet, July 2004
263 pages
$5.99
ISBN: 0451212525


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Here's a book to read or re-read in the dead of winter when sun and sand seem a distant memory. In DARK WATER DIVE, Kathy Brandt paints the British Virgin Islands so vividly that you'll be looking for a fan in the middle of a blizzard.

The book opens with Hannah diving for the Denver Police Department for the last time. She's accepted an offer from the Chief of Police of Tortola, a town in the British Virgin Islands, and will soon be on a plane, but Hannah stays around until the Colorado crime scene investigation is finished because that's the kind of person she is.

When she reports for duty in the BVI she finds that a series of home burglaries have the rest of the detective squad working overtime. Because everyone else is so busy, Hannah's assigned as the lead detective on a missing tourist case. Allen Robsen never came home from a party on one of the boats anchored in the bay and his wife is worried about him. Before too long, Allen's body is found with a bullet in it.

At first there are no apparent clues, after all, who would murder a tourist on vacation? But as Hannah pokes deeper several people emerge who had possible motives to kill Allen. Could it have been a spurned lover? Her angry husband? A jealous wife? Or could there be some other motive?

Brandt's experience as a diver and a frequent traveler to the islands comes through in her amazing evocation of what it's like to be underwater, your only source of oxygen strapped to your back. The dangers, excitement and beauty of diving are lovingly detailed. You can hear the jukebox in the funky palapas bar on the beach, taste the mangoes and glimpse the vibrant colors of the town in her sensual portrayal of island life.

Brandt has created some memorable characters in this series, but this book's weaknesses lie in its plot. The action seems caught in a gill net, and instead of flying along on the surface of the story, this reader found herself impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for Hannah to catch up with what seemed to me to be obvious.

There's also an environmental subplot here, but its relevance to the story is never clear. In fact, Brandt notes that the problem the book describes doesn't exist in the BVI. I applaud her wish to make her books a forum for the discussion of important environmental issues, but the issues must be better integrated into the story for maximum effect.

It's clear that Brandt's a writer still a little unsure of her craft. Her first book, SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD showed great promise. DARK WATER DIVE doesn't have the careful polish of that book, but these are small quibbles, really. The world Brandt creates in her book will make you feel the sand under your feet and the sun on your back. Hannah is one of the most engaging heroines to emerge in the last couple of years. She's an exuberant guide to the islands she loves and you will find tagging along with her as she works to see that justice is done an irresistible pleasure.

Reviewed by Carroll Johnson, August 2004

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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