Customer Reviews

Dangerous Depths: An Underwater Investigation

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Police underwater diver and homicide investigator Hannah Sampson went down to the British Virgin Island as a favor to her boss who wanted someone on his team nearby during the inquiries into the death of his son there. Hannah loved it so much that she quit her job in Denver and went to work as a detective in BVI in Tortuga. After a year of living there she has a lover, good friends and a houseboat where she can look out at the sea every day.

One day she is awakened by an explosion and sees the Caribbe on fire and sinking into the water. She dives and brings up her friend Elyse Henry who lapses into a coma. Evidence points to the incident being an accident because she left her propane stove on, which apparently sparked and caught fire. Hannah's instinct tells her somebody was trying to murder her friend. In defiance of her boss' orders to leave the case alone, the determined Hannah tries to prove her instincts are correct, but almost gets killed in the process.

DANGEROUS DEPTHS is an exciting police procedural set in an exotic setting. What makes the attempt on Elyse's life interesting is that she didn't have an enemy with a motive to murder her; so readers keep wondering why as they seek along aside the heroine to find out who the killer is. Armchair travelers beware! Once you read this book, you'll want to hop at plane and visit the unspoiled British Virgin Islands.

Harriet Klausner

Third in a great series. This book, in particular, will take you for a ride both above and underwater with enough twists and surprises to satisfy any reader. I have a love of diving and a healthy respect for the Sea. It is obvious Kathy Brandt does too. Through her facinating main character, Hannah Sampson, she tells a heck of a yarn, but in so doing gives us all a tast of beauty, danger, romance and the need to respect our "one earth" and its endangered species.

Detective Hannah Sampson is back in her third adventure and this time dealing with what she believes was an attempted homicide. It was Sampson who was first on the scene when her friend Elyse Henry was thrown into the burning sea by an explosion aboard the boat "Caribbe." Sampson was asleep on board her own boat "Sea Bird" when the noise woke her up and she investigated. Despite her injuries due to the flames, she was able to rescue Elyse who now lies in the hospital in a coma.

For Hannah Sampson, she believes that the explosion and resulting fire were caused by foul play. Everyone else, including Chief Dun of the Tortola Police Department, believes it was just an accident. Elyse Henry, advent environmentalist especially in regards to the sea turtles and the coral reef, annoyed some of the natives in the British Virgin Islands and appealed to others. With no real evidence other than a gut feeling on Hannah's part, Dun wants her to move on to more serious and obvious matters such as who is breaking into charter boats and stealing stuff. Hannah is not about to let anything go.

What follows is a rather simplistic but enjoyable read. The second storyline of the break-ins on the charters is rather obvious as is the author's feelings on environmental issues. Frequently the narrative read stops completely as the groups are portrayed simplistically as either for or against the environment and the reader is lectured. Like the character development itself, the lectures are simplistic and cultural differences regarding native islanders are mentioned but basically ignored.

The main plot line is enjoyable however and holds a couple of minor surprises. Obviously, the author loves the area she writes about and that comes through clearly to the reader when she concentrates on her main plot and the beauty of the area. When that is in play, the story moves forward at a steady pace. Unfortunately, the lectures are frequent and not at all subtle or woven skillfully into the story and thus, stop the action and the reader cold.

The overall result is an average read at best. Simplistic on all levels, this is a pleasant diversion for a couple of hours.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright) 2006

This book contained very indepth information about the British Virgin Islands (BVI)including not only information about the island groupings and their names but also detailed descriptions of the underwater world around the islands; the coral varieties, fish, sharks, etc. The novel easily kept you enthralled with mystery, intrigue, suspense, with a bit of romance thrown in on the side.

Before purchasig this item it would be helpful to know this book is the 3rd book of a four book series. You could read it as a stand alone, but trust me, you'll enjoy it so much more if you read the previous two books first. There is also a fourth book in the series which end leaves the reader in suspense, hoping there will be subsequent books in this series.

The book came fast and was in great shape. I'll definately order from them again!

Third in this mystery series called "An Underwater Investigation." When I was recommending this series to friends, I called it "the love child of (Nora Roberts's) The Reef and C.S.I. Crime Scene Investigation. I've really been enjoying this series. This one's grittier than the previous books.

This time, Hannah's best friend Elyse's boat burns, and Hannah's the only one who thinks it wasn't just a tragic accident. She's racing against time and her boss to prove it was attempted murder before the killer can finish the job.

In addition to the diving details and the exotic British Virgin Islands scenery, Dangerous Depths includes interesting environmental details about sea turtles and the effect of rats in the islands.

The mystery has nice twists, and I'm enjoying the development of Hannah's friendships and her romance with O'Brien.

Good series. I recommend it if you like mystery. There's romance there, but the door's shut on the sex scenes, and, glory be, the heroine wasn't a relationship idiot--I've seen that WAY too many times lately.

Three in a row for Kathy Brandt!! I couldn't put Dangerous Depths down after the first page. Great mystery , wonderful story and I even leaned something. I can't wait for number 4.Go Kathy Brandt - Go Hannah Sampson!!!!

I read all 4 in this series. They are easy to read through and offer a great look into not only the fictitious character in the book (who is a diver detective) but also the island life and diving.

And this is a great book in that series. An easy and enjoyable read, very entertaining, and wonderfully written.

The explosion wakes Hannah Sampson in the middle of the night. Her neighbor's boat has just blown up. Quick diving saves Elyse Henry's life, but she's in a coma in the hospital. Chief of Police Dunn thinks that it was a tragic accident, but Hannah is convinced her friend is the victim of an attempted murder. Since Elyse's work as an environmentalist wasn't always received well, the list of potential suspects is rather long. Can Hannah put the pieces together?

So the series has never been a favorite with me, but I have enjoyed them. This time, the flaws of the series were too much. The sub-plot about charters being robbed was obvious from the very beginning. The book is obviously a lecture on the environment, but the characters fell into two camps, the good environmentalists and the evil business owners. The only exception to that was Hannah's boyfriend O'Brien. There were also times the story was stopped so we could have characters lecture us on the importance of their pet environmental issue. Finally, the author and editor paid no attention to detail, referring to events from several days ago as yesterday and calling the same meal breakfast and lunch multiple times within a few pages.

The idea of a scuba diver in the British Virgin Islands is a great premise, and I've been generous to the series in the past, hoping it will improve. After this outing, I'm not holding my breath.