Dark Water Dive (Underwater Investigation) [Paperback]

The town is being plagued with robberies. The police commissioner is riding Chief Dunn pretty hard to get that solved. Hannah wants to help, but then a tourist is reported missing by his wife. They had chartered one of Peter's boats, he owns a charter company. Hannah doesn't want to work on a missing person case, but Chief Dunn insists. She is pared up with Snyder, a very young detective who likes to drive the boats at top speed. At first Hannah feels the husband just didn't go home to the boat one night and will show up anytime. Then he is found murdered in the water. She begins interviewing all the couples on the boats they spent time with. They had all attended a party on a neighboring boat the night he disappeared. She is sure some of them aren't telling her the truth, but how does she figure who is lying and get them to tell the truth?

Can Hannah keep Snyder busy while she tries to solve this case?

She also gets her ex-partner in Denver to do some digging into the victim's past. It appears squeaky clean. She wonders if his marriage was really that smooth.

Plus Hannah isn't getting along very well with the other detectives on the force. They aren't too happy about working with a woman, and a foreigner at that. Are they trying to sabotage her first case?

Then Hannah begins to see some value in being pared with Snyder. She continues investigating and observing the various couples involved. She feels one of them will lead her to the killer. Can she stay out of harms way in the process?

Hannah is a great character. I love this series. It is so different. Even though I don't dive, I found it very interesting. It is such a well written book that you don't feel like she's giving you diving lessons throughout the books. So many authors try to teach how to do something within their book. She gave great tips throughout, but I found the mystery to be the most important part of the book. A refreshing change. The romance that is heating up between Hannah and Peter is terrific, too.

I highly recommend this book and the first one in this series - Swimming With The Dead.

The next day she is off to the British Virgin Islands where the water is so clear one can see yards in front of them. She learns quickly that paradise has its rash of robberies; with the victims being wealthy islanders pressure is high on the department to solve the cases quickly. Hannah is called out on a missing person's case. Alex Robsen is found caught underwater in the reef with a bullet in his head. Hannah is once again working homicide and even when someone is arrested, she follows through on a hunch that the wrong person has been incarcerated.

Kathy Brandt makes scuba diving in the sea feel so exhilarating; readers will want to take a trip to the Caribbean to see if it is as wonderful as it sounds. The protagonist is a tough, feisty and spunky individual whose honesty, tenacity and intuition make her a good police officer. DARK WATER DIVE allows armchair travelers to visualize the British Virgin Islands from a newcomer's point of view. This police procedural is so exciting readers will finish it in one sitting.

Harriet Klausner