Hooray, a procedural where I actually learned something!

This is a fun and action-y procedural with a unique spin on the genre. Loads of fun if you’re into boats and diving and the ocean, and a good education for those of us who don’t dive but are fascinated by the activity.

Sloan is an oddball of a protagonist, particularly for one of the cop variety, and she’s surrounded by an intriguing supporting cast.

The plot veers a tad into the ridiculous (there’s just no way all of these people aren’t murdered by a cartel), but it’s fun and light and all of the ocean-related content is a delight. I’m super excited that there is more to come in this series!

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!

An interesting start to a new series. I had to give it a try because it featured a female diver, Sloan's a good character with potential to grow in future installments, It's a different sort of procedural that won't appeal to everyone but I enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to enjoy this book the plot sounded great but I did not enjoy the authors writing style and had a hard time finishing it.

While the heroine is sleek, sexy and tough-as-nails and the underwater adventures are thriller-y, I must confess that I have been expecting more. More in the innovations, newness, something a bit extra. What I got was a good thriller, but not an extraordinary read. Damn expectations! :)

https://lynns-books.com/2020/11/19/the-girl-beneath-the-sea-by-andrew-mayne-underwater-investigation-unit-1/
4 out of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Gripping, tense, unique, thrilling ride

Okay, I already know that I like this author. I mean I’m loving the Naturalist series, it’s literally like a blast of fresh air, and so to be honest wanting to read The Girl Beneath the Sea was something of a no-brainer for me and one that worked out really well because, again, Mayne seems to have pulled another rabbit out of the hat (or fish out of the water) with this unique murder mystery.

The Girl Beneath the Sea really hits the ground running. We immediately meet Sloan McPherson who is on a dive, this isn’t exactly business, nor is it pleasure. For her day job Sloan is a diver for Lauderdale Shores PD, Florida, however, she’s also a student and is out trying to uncover something interesting for one of her tutors. Of course, this is an off schedule dive and so when she recovers a dead body things become a little tricky. The thing is, Sloan’s family have something of a history. Her uncle is serving time and her father is something of a pirate (or a treasure hunter as he prefers) so, of course Sloan’s reputation is sometimes called into repute and this murder victim, who it turns out she knows, doesn’t make her tarnished rep look any better.

In some respects this holds traits of The Naturalist. Sloan is something of a wild card, she doesn’t exactly play by the rules and once she has a notion she pretty much acts on it which leads to some crazy, and scary, situations. However, it differs in that Sloan is not as much of a loner, she has an ex partner and a daughter and is in regular contact with her father. It also has a lot of tension, the story line ratchets the tension up at an impressive rate, there’s never a dull moment and this is further heightened by the short snappy chapters and gripping plotting.

The difference with The Girl Beneath the Sea is the style. Sloan feels like she has a team or support network and although she can be a bit reckless she loves her job and doesn’t antagonise people in quite the way that Theo from the Naturalist does. This also has more of a police procedural style story although, this is with Mayne’s own very special kind of twist that does involve a little natural suspension of disbelief.

The setting is great. Based out of Florida there are natural dangers to diving – alligators and snakes to name but a few. Not to mention other divers who work for the drug cartels! There are canals and underwater tunnels, scenes out at sea where deep sea diving brings it’s very own set of problems and plenty of time spent aboard boats of one description or another.

The other characters. Well, there are others on the periphery, such as Sloan’s ex and her daughter but the other main character is a guy called Solar. He’s not popular with Sloan’s family, as you may imagine after you discover his evidence put Sloan’s uncle away for years for drug smuggling, but there’s more to him than initially meets the eye, and I liked him and thought the two worked well together. There’s certainly plenty of potential for further instalments with their newly established UIU – that’s right, a new agency to add to the list of secret units (the Underwater Investigation Unit).

In terms of criticisms. I can’t really think of anything to be honest, Like I said above, Mayne has a very over the top style of writing that skirts on the edges of disbelief so if that doesn’t appeal to you be aware.

One thing that I’m beginning to think when picking up anything that Andrew Mayne writes is to expect the unexpected and I hope for more from Sloan in the not so distant future.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above opinion is my own.

Mr rating 4 out of 5 stars

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. I love a good mystery/thriller. I wasn't sure if I would like it with the underwater aspect. I have to say this was a great read. I enjoyed the mystery and suspense and all the underwater details. It added an extra layer to the normal stories. You won't be disappointed with this book!!

This one grabbed my attention & I was excited to read the first in a series of underwater investigation books, just sounded so unique & thrilling to me. Mostly fast-paced, I enjoyed reading about a female diver kicking butt - just wish there was little bit more character development for her, but there’s more in the series to come!

This is the first book in a new series about an Underwater Investigation Unit formed to solve the crimes in this book. Sloan McPherson and George Solar are ready to solve crimes, primarily with clues found deep underwater.

A good series really needs good characters. Sloan McPherson is quirky and likable from the start. She follows her own rules (while always putting her daughter first) and is independent even at her part-time job as a police diver. Add this to her family’s reputation of not always following the law and it means she sometimes clashes with those in authority. She also has learned that even those who are supposed to look out for her don’t always have her best interests at heart.

When she meets up with George Solar, all she can think about is watching him in a courtroom years ago, testifying against her uncle. She’ll have to learn more about his history and factor in her own experiences with him in order to decide whether to trust him for help with her situation. He seems like he may be the only one who can effectively help her navigate the chaotic case she’s stumbled into.

These two main characters, and their supporting cast, lead us into a whole new division of law enforcement - the Underwater Investigation Unit. I’d give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is a strong start for a potentially great series to follow. I’d recommend it for those who enjoy police procedurals and crime novels.

More of a 3.5 but wasn't like super sexual so bumped it up to 4, this book was pretty good but theres just like something about it that was just like weird? like it was fast paced and things always went just right? like too right? idk not bad but yea

The Girl Beneath the Sea is the first installment of the Underwater Investigation Unit series by bestselling author, Andrew Mayne. The protagonist is Sloan McPherson, who grew up diving with her treasure hunting father and brother; her family has a bad reputation, and her uncle is in prison for drug running. She is a diver for the Ft Lauderdale police and is used by other departments in Florida. In this first novel of the series, Sloan is diving looking for archeological artifacts for her college professor (she is a part-time college student studying for her masters) and comes across a dead body. When she calls it in, she is immediately considered a suspect because the woman was murdered while Sloan was under the water. Sloan has ties to the murdered woman and also her father, and

Sloan is an interesting and unique character, and Mayne develops her well. The supporting characters are also interesting, and Sloan must pair up with a supposedly corrupt retired police officer who put her uncle in prison. There are dozens of different things going on during the course of the novel, and not only Sloan’s investigation, but her diving will keep readers on the edges of their seats. Anyone who has wondered about diving, will learn a lot; the scenes are quite believable, and the author is either a die-hard diver or has done a lot of research.

While the novel has some violence, it isn’t over-the-top, and there is a bit of profanity, which is also not over-the-top. The story flows and is well-written. This is a book that thriller aficionados will want to pick up because it is different from the norm and the diving scenes are fascinating.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

I like the idea of a diver and treasure hunting although it's been done before. This time we have a female diver, a police consultant. This mystery definitely had some bumps along the way but the second half pulled me back in with the action and storyline. I would read the next in the series.

Copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley

As a Florida girl myself, I loved reading The Girl Beneath the Sea by Andrew Mayne. This is the first book in his Underwater Investigation Unit (UIU) series and it's a real gem.

Sloan is a part-time police diver and college student. During an archeological dive, she hears the distinct noise of a body hitting the water. Maybe it's an alligator that is ready to take a bite out of her. Instead, it's a dead girl who looks very familiar. Instantly Sloan is a suspect.

Sloan's family is full of colorful characters. A sometime boyfriend who is her father's daughter and I imagine her father as the live version of a Jimmy Buffett song. Her uncle is in jail again and her only ally is the man who put him there, George Solar.

Great police novels always have an element of truth in them. Sloan, George and the additional cast are lively characters that a reader won't forget. This book was hard to put down and was a lot of fund to read.

The Good
* The Girl Beneath the sea is a fast paced, fun and easy read. The chapters are short and snappy an the plot is not weighed down with unnecessary details or drama.
* The action scenes both in and out of the water were brilliant. The book was at times tense, violent and very cinematic.
* George was a really excellent side kick. I loved him. He had a gruff exterior which hid a gooey centre that sometimes came out.

The Not So Bad
* The book hit a but of a lag in the middle. The pace fell away slightly and it lost its energy but it soon picked up again.
* Sloan is a great, kickass, independent woman but she is lacking in personality. I liked her but found very little under her tough exterior.
* I really wanted this book to end on a bang. Instead, it kinda fizzled.

I really enjoyed this one. A young woman from a family of barely-legal treasure hunters goes to work for a Florida police department as a diver. She becomes embroiled in a case involving a local crime boss. Great characterization and an interesting plot. Recommended.

This book was good not great! It was a solid story that kept my interest by didn't surprise me or have any twists that I didn't see coming. I rate this book a 3.1

This author is pretty hot right now, and with +10,000 ratings, I don't have anything to add that will be of value. other than to recommend it to mystery fans.

Thanks very much for the review copy!!

Sloan McPherson is a professional diver, recovering underwater evidence and bodies for the local police department. One day while she's out on a dive, a body is dumped into the canal - and Sloan recognizes the victim. Sloan finds herself in the middle of a hidden operation, and her only ally is George Solar, the man who put her uncle behind bars when Sloan was a teen.

This is a pretty original concept for a thriller; I've never read anything like it. The first chapter had me hooked. I like Sloan as a character, and I like how we get to hear about her past and her relationship with her family members. It makes Sloan's motivations make sense, and it's nice to see her love for her family instead of the jaded stereotype of "lone cop". George Solar is also a gem of a person. He and Sloan make the perfect team. I can't wait to read more of their adventures!

Thank you so much to netgalley and MBC books for sending me a copy of this book. This was my first book by this author and I was not disappointed. I would recommend

Coming off a binge of Narcos and Narcos Mexico, this was a perfectly timed, entertaining and fast paced read, featuring police diver Sloan McPherson. The first book in the new Underwater Investigation Unit series, the storyline follows Sloan as she investigates the connection between a body discovered at an archeological dive site she was studying and a South Florida drug smuggling ring.

Original with an intelligent and strong female protagonist, I look forward to reading this series in the future. A definite thumbs up from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Mercer for providing a digital copy in return for an honest, unbiased review.