Customer Reviews

Swimming with the Dead: An Underwater Investigation

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Michael Duvall's body is found trapped in a sunken wreck in the British Virgin Islands, it is deemed a tragic accident. But when his father, the Denver police commissioner, has his office broken into the day that Michael's personal effects are delivered, something doesn't feel right. So Hannah Sampson is sent to investigate.

A homicide detective and the head of the Denver underwater recovery team, Hannah has the perfect credentials to find out if there's more to Michael's death then meets the eye. At first skeptical, she quickly changes her mind when a car that's been following her tries to run her down her first morning on the islands. But was it Michael's environmental policies? Or had he found something else that got him murder? Hannah's undeniable attraction to one of her top suspects only complicates matters.

This book is obviously a first novel. It doesn't have quite the polish of someone with a few more books under her belt. However, that only takes away slightly from the book. The setting is an area that the author knows and loves, and it shows. I'm ready to hop the next plane down to visit myself. The underwater scenes bring a new world to life. The plot, while a bit uneven, does progress nicely. I had my suspicions, but I only figured things out a little before Hannah did, and the climax was breath taking.

This was an enjoyable debut, and I look forward to seeing the series progress when the next book is released.

Kathy Brandt makes an impressive debut in mystery fiction with her first in a series of books featuring Hannah Sampson, head of Denver's Police Dive and Recovery Team. Denver's Police Commissioner sends Hannah to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean to investigate the supposedly accidental scuba diving death of his son, a graduate student doing marine biology research. Hannah's time in this idyllic setting is no vacation, and she is quickly beset by a series of "accidental" mishaps, including a near fatal dive in the sunken ship, Chikuzen, where the Commissioner's son had met his demise. Hannah soon concludes that the Commissioner's son's death was no accident, and her suspect list quickly grows. Along the way to her discovery of the murderer, Hannah comes to appreciate the beauty of the coral reef and begins a romantic involvement with the head of a charter sailboat company.

There is much to like in Swimming With The Dead. Mystery fans will find pleasure in the abundance of plausible suspects and the difficulty of deciphering the perpetrators. At the end of the book the reader can reflect back and see the subtle clues that Kathy Brandt has woven into the story--clues that seemed only innocent occurrences at the time. For scuba divers there are underwater scenes with harrowing escapes for Hannah. Sailing enthusiasts will enjoy the cruise to St. Martin. Conservationists will appreciate the description of the threats to the coral environment and the growing awareness in Hannah of its fragile nature. Best of all, there are more books to come in this series. I can't wait to find out how Hannah adapts to the warm Caribbean island milieu. Highly recommended!

Hannah Sampson is a Homicide Detective in Denver. She is also a member of the Dive and Recovery Team for the Denver Homicide team.

The Denver police commissioner's son, Michael Duvall, was found pinned inside a submerged wreckage of a cargo ship in the British Virgin Islands. He had been living down there and was an expert diver and researcher. Hannah is sent down to investigate. When she first arrives, Chief Dunn was not too receptive. He didn't like her coming in to look over his shoulder and re-investigate Michael's death.

Slowly she is able to gain some people's respect, including Chief Dunn, and helps them get to the bottom of his death - proving it was murder and not an accident. During this time, though, Hannah finds herself in many dangerous situations, above and below the water. At first, everyone thinks they are accidents. Hannah believes they are related to Michael's death and someone not wanting the truth to be known. Eventually Chief Dunn begins to believe this to be true too.

I really enjoyed this book. It is so different from any other mysteries I've read. I am not a diver, but I found the diving portions to be so well written, I enjoyed them. I felt like I was down there with Hannah and seeing everything she saw. It was fabulous!

Hannah is a very likable character. She is a loner and thinks she wants to stay that way until she meets Peter O'Brien. He is a suspect and she has a real struggle because she is so attracted to him. This relationship really adds to the storyline.

I think Kathy has a real winning series! I have also read Dark Water Dive, the second book in the series, and loved it. I highly recommend both books.

I was very impressed with the writting in this book. Very easy to understand even if you are not a diver, but very interesting. I would suggest anyone who is interested in a good murder mystery should pick this book up. I cant wait to tell all my friends to go get a copy of their own. I know they too will not be disapointed! Thumbs up to Kathy Brandt - I will be looking forward to her future books!
(P.S. I am 31 - Didn't want to give my email.)

Kathy Brandt weaves us through the darkness of investigation and the beauty of BVI waters in her new book. Brandt is an excellent story teller with a knack for making the reader see and feel the story. The main character, Hannah Sampson, is complex, strong, and the setting, foreign and deceptively serene. She has entered a league with Grafton, Cornwell, Patterson- a mystery novel for the mystery authors. I can't wait for the next book to discover more about the Islands and to what depths Sampson's unique training takes her.

After you finish this book, you'll want to buy five more to give to your friends. It's that kind of novel. I'm planning on putting the book in a basket with a tea cup, delicious tea and some cookies for those long, cold months of January and February. My friends are going to love it!

What makes Swimming with the Dead so wonderful isn't just the beautiful Bahama setting -- although it is lovely, and Kathy Brandt writes so well that you can taste the salt water and feel the heat -- but the story, and Hannah Sampson.

Hannah is the kind of woman you already feel you know. She's strong and smart and funny, imperfect and yet striving to be a better person. I found myself hoping she'd solve the mystery, instead of knowing that she would.

Get in on the ground floor of what promises to be a really wonderful series. And keep those winter blues away with some hot sandy beaches, silky smooth Carribean water, and a dash of murder.

Swimming with the Dead is full of suspense and mystery as well as a wonderful description of the beautiful islands and waters of the BVI. Kathy uses humor,wit and her knowledge of marine life and the environment to enhance the intrigue of her book. As an avid mystery book reader, I was kept on the edge of my seat until the very end. Excellent first book by Kathy Brandt. I can't wait until her second book is out. In the meantime, I will be rereading her first.

This one kept me in suspence throughout the entire book. Being an avid mystery reader, I am usually able to figure out "who done it" before the last chapter. This one kept me guessing untill the very end.
Patricia Cromwell,John Sandford,Tammy Hoag and the rest had best be ready to move off the best seller list to make room for Kathy
Brandt.

In the British Virgin Islands (BVI), the owner of the Lucky Lady is making a solo dive into the bowels of the sunken ship, the Chikuzen. While looking around he sees another diver and when he recognizes who it is he knows he is in trouble. When his body is found, the authorities believe it was an accident and it looks like his killer will get off free. Soon afterward, someone breaks into the deceased's office, kills his secretary and rifles through his files. His father, the Police Commissioner of Denver, begins to believe that his son was murdered

On the chance that his son was a homicide victim, the commissioner sends Hannah Sampson, head of the Dive and Recover team to the BVI to investigate his son's death. From the moment she gets there and starts to question people, attempts are made on her life leading her to believe that Michael's death was not an accident. As she gathers information about Michael's last days, she begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together and once again comes very close to dying.

SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD is the first installment in a very exciting new series. The heroine of this novel falls in love with the British Virgin Islands and by the time the case is closed she is ready to move down there and give a new romantic relationship a chance to develop into something deeper. There are many viable suspects who had reason to want the victim dead so the reader is thoroughly entertained trying to figure out who the killer really is.

Harriet Klausner

This was a well written easy read. The plot was good and the descriptions of the BVI diving was accurate. I enjoyed the book. The plot was basic and easy to follow yet well written.