Customer Reviews

Deep Blue (Beck Easton Adventure Series #1)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Morrisey can tell a good story. He did so in "Yucatan Deep" and in "Turn Four." He's the Clive Cussler of the Christian market, churning out testosterone-driven adventures with strong spiritual themes.

This time, we meet a new hero in Beck Easton. Nosy young Jennifer Cassidy, a university graduate, drags Beck from his Florida diving business, to the Bahamas, then up the Great Lakes. The goal: to track a lost fortune in gold. But not all is as it seems. Soon history and mystery collide, with Beck and Jennifer risking their lives to uncoer the truth.

"Deep Blue" has some good twists, some memorable locations, and great "what ifs." I raced from beginning to end, curious as to the fortune's true nature. I appreciated Jennifer's spiritual struggles. Although Beck is likeable enough, he's harder to relate to because of his "Incredible Hulk" physique, his fortitude in the face of any temptation, and his seemingly endless repertoire of knowledge. No matter what situation he's in, he knows just what to do because he's done it before...flying, diving, espionage, etc.

Morrisey combines the adventure of "Yucatan Deep" with the spirituality of "Turn Four", throws in his most flawed character yet in Jennifer Cassidy, and offers up his best thriller yet.

This book is a winner, though not quite up to the standard of Yucatan Deep. Beck Easton, a widowed 5th level black belt with military intelligence background has all the requisite skills for his role, but barely escapes being somewhat flat. Jennifer Cassidy, an attractive research specialist, is a more colorful character with a vulnerability that makes her believable and winsome.

The fascinating glimpse of historic cave diving before scuba gear is a delightful plus for this book, and some of the strongest writing. The technical cave diving - the hook that drew this reviewer to the book - received less attention than I had hoped for.

The competing interests that all characters become obsessed with - and the clues to an ancient treasure in gold - seem contrived, but are almost imperative to drive the story.
Still a good and enjoyable read in spite of the weaknesses. Overall a well crafted story with some intriguing historic tidbits.

I just finished this great book by Tom Morrisey and will anxiously be looking forward to the next one of his books I can come across. I have been an avid fan of Alton Gansky and am so pleased to find another Christian fiction writer that can keep me as captivated. I found myself anxiously looking forward to what the next page would bring. Being a woman I especially enjoyed the part of a tough, ex-marine not being ashamed to show how important his faith and Christian beliefs were to him. All I can say is, Well Done, Tom Morrisey, Well Done. I can't wait for the next book of the Beck Easton's series.

Jennifer Cassidy is a university graduate assistant who has been hired for a summer job researching the history of Cecilia Sinclair. In researching the former Civil War widow, Jennifer comes across information that leads her to a diving spring in Florida. Enlisting the help of Beck Easton, a former marine diver, Jennifer is determined to discover the secret that Cecilia had hidden there.

In the spring, Beck recovers a 140 year-old clue from the spring that convinces Jennifer to begin a treasure hunt all over America to uncover the mystery surrounding a concealed secret. Unknown to either, is that there is someone else interested in what Beck and Jennifer have found who is watching their every move.

Deep Blue by Tom Morrisey was an excellent novel that I enjoyed reading. The plot has historical accuracy, which was greatly appreciated as it showed obvious research of facts. I found the characters of Beck and Jennifer real instead of unbelievable. Sometimes the terminology got a little hard to understand but not enough to take away from the story. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

As a prolific reader and a "tough sell" when it comes to this kind of fiction, I can't say enough about Deep Blue. I've been drawn in and pulled under and will watch for more of Tom Morrissey's great writing.

I love Christian fiction and it's nice to have Christian action/adventure/suspense books. I really enjoyed this book and unlike many of the reviews on this and Tom Morrisey's other books, I did not think that the characters were "too perfect" or the plot "too preachy". It is a sad state of affairs that people think men cannot be He-men and Christ-like at the same time. Do we feel guilty reading about "good" people because we aren't? Can we not handle "sermonizing" and "preaching" because it convicts us? We are called to "be perfect as He [Christ] is perfect". Christians shouldn't have a "dark side" and if they do they need to repent and change. Thank God for fiction that shows us a better standard to attain to. Christ himself has been labled "too perfect" and I think that's a pretty good standard to strive for!

A fast-paced plot, well-drawn characters and lots of twists and turns embraces and draws in the reader. If this is a taste if what the series offers, I can't wait for mystery #2.

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This was a great read up to the last two chapters. Having read the reviews, I was not surprised by the many religious references included in the book. In fact I was impressed with the way Mr. Morrisey wove them into the plot and the obvious research he did for the historical parts of the plot. However, I did feel he got a bit overboard (no pun intended for those who have read the book) at the end with the religion.
A couple other miscues near the end also dragged down my rating. Two consecutive 200 foot dives with hardly any surface interval and minimal safety stops (in reality these dives required deco stops) were bad enough, plus doing them on air and not trimix kind of stretched reality as Beck seemed to have no signs of nitrogen narcosis. Plus, he did the second dive with no fins and only 900 psi in his tanks. Even with twin steel 120's this would be close to impossible just going down and back up but he also had to find a handheld radio in limited visiblity that had sunk from the surface. Anyone who has done any search and recovery underwater will get a good laugh with that. The other unforgivable sin "TO ME" was the rescue. Mr. Morrisey, US Coast Guard and Navy helicopter rescue swimmers are enlisted NOT officers. Therefore the PJ (that's an Air Force aircrew rescue person term by the way) would not be an ensign as that's a commissioned officers rank in the Navy and Coast Guard. This was a slap in the face to the outstanding, brave, and committed professional petty officers and seamen who make up their ranks. With all the research you obviously did for this book I don't know how you could have blown this simple fact! Also, if you wanted the hero to have gone through BUDS why not make him a Naval Officer instead of a Marine? Would have been more factual in my opinion. I know Force Recon Marines sometimes train with Navy SEALS but I've never heard of them going though the entire BUDS training course as an individual.
I still enjoyed this story even with my complaints and recommend it as a fun read.

DEEP BLUE
By Tom Morrisey
Review by Laura V. Hilton

Former marine diver Beck Easton has planned on a slow, hot summer running his small dive shop. He specializes in cave diving--a sport of some controlled risk. He has a black belt in the karate, and all kinds of tricks up his sleeves from his stint in the military. But he doesn't expect someone like Jennifer Cassidy to make his summer more exciting.

Jennifer Cassidy is a university graduate assistant who loves research. When she is hired by a Civil War widow to find a valuable secret hidden at the bottom of a Florida spring, she immediately heads to the Detroit, Michigan airport and flies to Tallahassee, Florida. There, she looks up Beck Easton and tries to involve him in her quest. After all, she needs an experienced diver.

Intrigued by Jennifer's story, Beck agrees to help. But it soon becomes apparent that someone is trailing Jennifer. One man has already died for this secret--is it worth more deaths?

DEEP BLUE is book one in A Beck Easton Adventure series. It is intriguing, a man who makes a living diving in caves. I liked the unusual occupation. There is a lot of research that Mr. Morrisey did to write this story, which is based on true events. Jennifer is delightfully innocent, and confused by some of the events. However, Beck falls just on the side of flat.

I was caught up in the storyline immediately and couldn't wait to get back to the book to find out what happened next. I recommend DEEP BLUE for those tired of the same-ole storylines. This is delightfully different. $12.99. 344 pages.

Take a reasonable beach read, tone it down a notch, throw in a few too many clichés, add religion and you get Deep Blue. The male lead is a stereotype and the other characters entirely two-dimensional.

I will admit to feeling a little hoodwinked: just when the chiseled hero and attractive heroine get to the point where two healthy adults usually rip each others' clothes off and make mad, passionate love in a tropical paradise, he makes a principled stand for celibacy. It was so jarring I went online and found that this book is part of a genre I didn't know existed called "faith fiction." Had I known, I wouldn't have started it (I got the book off a trade shelf in my office). Full disclosure: I'm more spiritual than religious and do belong to a Christian church but don't subscribe to this kind of sex-negative, humanity-denying view of Jesus' teachings. The book needs to tell potential readers what it is. It says "fiction/general/suspense" on the back. It doesn't say "religion" or "faith fiction" anywhere.

The story itself drags in places but is a competent plot for a thriller. The author seems to have been aiming for Clive Cussler meets Dan Brown. He falls short, but that's the vibe. In all fairness, her conversion was reasonably plausible in the context of the narrative, i.e. if you're a Bible-thumper who knows something about literature and want to read some "faith fiction" without totally barfing, you might be able to choke this down. Personally, I'd rather see more Christianity in the practice of everyday life and less in the pages of self-congratulatory novels.