Deadly Depths is a genre crosser. It can be found under Amateur Sleuth mystery and murder thriller. I would classify it as an Adventure bookended by Amateur Sleuth. Archeologist Barrington “Barry” Holmes is dead. With a slit wrist, the police rule it suicide. Holmes’s protégé, Matthew Shane, former Air Force Intelligence and current professor of law, calls bullshit. The path to resolving Holmes’s death puts him face-to-face with a voodoo curse, a notorious antiquities dealer and a three hundred-and fifty-year-old promise between the leader of the Aztec people and the famous Englishman, Captain Henry Morgan.
Bottom line: Deadly Depths is for you if you like treasure hunts, a jumble of altruistic, self-serving, and devious characters, and murder of the lowest degree.
Listen to the first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For Podcast.
Strengths of the story. There are several things to love about Deadly Depths. First in my book is the treasure seeking adventure. Lovers of Indiana Jones stories, “National Treasure”, and “The DaVinci Code” will enjoy the mix of folk lore, voodoo, pirates, and the potential of a treasure of incomparable value. The clues are cryptic yet meaningful. The locations are grounded in real history. The characters are distinct and true to their nature—for good or for bad.
The pacing is strong. Once picked up, this is a hard one to put down.
While this story does not have the time deadline common in this genre, there is a sense of being up against a ticking clock. For most of the book, there is a sense of an unseen hand manipulating the situation, creating the feeling of a race but against an invisible competitor.
.Where the story fell short of ideal:
As noted, this story crosses genres. It stands strongly but readers focusing on only one of the genres may find areas for complaining. The story begins as an Amateur Sleuth, creating the impetus for starting the Adventure. Then Adventure takes over, driving most of the book. Only after the Adventure is nearing completion is the original mystery resolved. Adverture lovers could scoff at the time to get the Adventure going. Mystery lovers could do the same for pursuit of the murder. If those genre-specific expectations are put aside, Deadly Depths is a very satisfying read.
TG Wolff 