Not a bad read but somewhat predicable. Slow in to many places.

Thrilling adventure.
Take a quick trip to the Keys with this fast action mystery.

Wow! What a debut! More. please... And soon!

I received this book from Netgalley to review.
This is a debut novel by Micki Browning and its pretty good. The story is about Meredith Cavallo, a researcher/scientist turned divemaster working at a shop in the Florida keys. A group of paranormal investigators come to the shop to rent a boat and Mer's services as a diver to investigate the hunting of a shipwreck. But the dive turns deadly when one of the investigators disappears during the investigation. Meredith becomes one of the main suspects and so she starts to try to find out what really happened. But her poking around because dangerous and could cost her, her life.

ADRIFT (A Mer Cavallo Mystery #1) BY MICKI BROWNING

The author of this terrific mystery debut used to work in law enforcement. I loved everything about this book. From page one the story pulled me in and the plot was interesting. I really loved Mer Cavello's character and am excited that the author is in the process of writing another book featuring Mer Cavello. I really enjoyed the suspense which never let's up. The story takes place in Key Largo, Florida which is south of Key West. I had spent a semester in my freshman year in high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I never traveled that far south to visit the Keys. I remember the beautiful beaches and warm ocean that was a greenish aqua color.

Meredith Cavallo has come to Key Largo while waiting for funding to do further research. She has previous been doing research at both the Artic and Antartica. Meredith is a scientist and applies the scientific method to everyday life. Meredith takes a job as a safety scuba diving instuctor who goes out with Captain Leroy Penninichols boat called the LunaSea. Captain Leroy and Meredith are out with other scuba divers when they come upon when they spot a man thrashing in the water about thirty yards from their boat. Meredith and Leroy know he wasn't on their boat, but they immediately try to rescue him. He says "Help me! Keep it away from me!" His name is Rob Price. Rob Price is rescued and he said he saw a ghost. "It was a ghost and the creepiest thing I've ever seen," Rob said "It was shaped like a man, but green and kind of see-through." The other divers on board start filming Rob and it gets uploaded onto YouTube. Meredith does not believe in ghost's. Rob is making quite a spectacle tearing off his oxygen mask and raving "People have to know about this." Another diver tells Rob "Already Posted. Don't worry dude. they'll know your story." "On Facebook now, too," another diver said, "Fifty likes in less than five minutes. That's gotta be a record for me." "Really, people?" Mer said "This man was just pulled out of the ocean unconscious. He didn't see a ghost. Now back up." "I know what I saw." Rob is relieved that the others believed his story.

Both Captain Leroy and Mer work for the Aquarius Dive Shop and neither of them believe in ghosts. They both work very well together and take scuba divers out on a daily basis. The next morning Mer meets Leroy at the dive shop when a man enters named Ishmael. He has the spookiest green eyes Mer has ever seen. He mentions that all the news outlets claim that the crew from Aquarius Dive shop rescued the diver from Spiegel Grove. Ishmael wants to hire a boat for a night dive to the Spiegel Grove on the next moonless night. He will need at least six hours and then a return trip the next morning. He hands Mer his card that says "Spirited Divers Paranormal Scuba Team" and says "We seek ghosts." Mer says "Sounds Shady." Ishmael says "We're filming a documentary about paranormal activity on the Spiegel Grove for the Expedition channel."

"Wouldn't the science -fiction channel be more appropriate?" says Mer.
"I see I have encountered a nonbeliever." says Ishmael.
"I believe in science." "And proof." says Mer.
"Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed." says Ishmael.
Mer looks in the book and tells Ishmael that the first moonless night is tonight and she has to check with the owner before holding over a crew. Ishmael says to Mer that he needs a safety diver.
"Not a problem," Mer said. "We always staff our charters with a divemaster,"
"Excellent. I'd like you." says Ishmael
"I really don't think you do." She reached for the charter agreement and waivers, eager to end their conversation.
"Nonsense." says Ishmael
"I'm a scientist. I deal with facts. Data makes me happy. Adhering to the scientific method makes me downright giddy. To be blunt, your quest for paranormal activity strikes me as silly." says Mer.
"Not according to the man you rescued yesterday. Seems to me that you, of all people, should know that." "Despite what you may think," Ishmael continued, "there's far more to your rescue than you want to believe." says Ismael.
A chill shook Mer's body. She hadn't shivered since being in the Arctic, and there she had the temperature to blame.

The owner Bijoux Fouchard walks in and Ishmael shakes her hand saying how much he wants Meredith to serve as his safety diver on the many trips he plans to make. He pulls out his wallet and pulled a wad of hundred dollar bills. He lays out seven hundred dollar bills on the counter with triumph in his eyes. Meredith reluctantly agrees to be his safety diver because that seven hundred dollars is for her and Leroy to split. That night will set off a chain of events that propels the reader to turn the pages. I could not put the book down. I think it is a great mystery that will appeal to both genders. It is intelligent and in Meredith you get a well educated protagonist with non stop action. I can't wait to read more of this author and I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for an engaging mystery.

Thank you to Net Galley, Micki Browning and Alibi publishing for the opportunity to read and give a fair and honest review.
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I tried to be even-handed about reviewing this book, because mass-market mystery novels aren't really my favorite genre. I love a good thriller, but this book was a bit more traditional whodunit: think Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone goes to the beach. I do love a good ocean setting, though, and the scuba descriptions definitely elevated this book for me.
I enjoyed Adrift, but not to the extent that I would seek out the next books in the series. The two possible love interests, Selkie and Detective Talbot, are a bit confusing, and one of them is a definite red herring. Mer bears a bit too strong a resemblance to Temperance "Bones" of the eponymous TV show, which is fine, but the book needs some offsetting humor to make Mer more likable. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

This is a good story. I think it was an interesting mystery that incorporated paranormal activity with scientific reasoning. I figured out the twist early on, but it didn't detract from enjoying the author's style of storytelling. The heroine was smart, persistent, and emotionally strong. I liked her. She borders on the autism spectrum in my opinion, which is a refreshing take on a crime-solving heroine. For lovers of mysteries, this is a good story.

Well, another new author has me hooked by her debut mystery for her series.
ADRIFT (A Mer Cavalllo Mystery #1) by Micki Browning features Dr. Meredith “Mer” Cavallo, a marine biologist, currently working as a safety dive master in the Florida Keys as she waits for a funded research position. On a normal afternoon tourist group dive, Mer rescues a man five miles from the boat he came out on, who swears he doesn’t know how he got there and he saw a ghost on the wreck of the USS Spiegel Grove.
Mer needs money and is financially bribed into a night dive with a paranormal group filming a documentary trying to prove the existence of the ghost on the USS Spiegel Grove. The dive goes terribly wrong and Mer stands to lose all of her scientific credibility because she believes she saw a ghost as she tries to save one diver while she loses another. The police are suspicious of Mer because she was involved in both incidents surrounding the wreck and she knows she has to clear her name if she is to have a chance to return to academia and she refuses to believe in ghosts.
This story has mystery, suspense, surprising plot twists and a great lead character. Ms. Browning leads you down one path, only to twist and turn you onto another, always with facts and logic. I have never been to The Keys or been diving and yet I was never bored or lost as the logistics and technical elements were woven into the story. Mer is a character that at first was a little too cold for me, but as I got to know her through a past love interest (who is going to be an interesting story himself), her brothers and mother, you realize that she isn’t really cold, just intellectually brilliant and socially inept, similar to Dr. Brennan from the Bones series. I am now hooked and need to know what path Mer will follow in the future. Hopefully the next book will be out soon!
Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group-Alibi and Net Galley for allowing me to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. Looking forward to more in this series.

Adrift is the debut novel for author Micki Browning – and it’s amazing. Mer, a safety diver who saves a man while babysitting a set of tourists, is thrown into an epic mystery about a ghost, a murder and starring the dysfunctional crew of a paranormal investigation team. Mer becomes part of the safety divers for a paranormal investigator’s documentary on a ship wreck that the diver Mer rescued had seen a ghost. The head of the documentary, Ishmael goes missing under water and Mer becomes the prime suspect in murder. Meanwhile, Mer begins to suspect that not all is above board with Ishmael and his paranormal investigative team and vows to unearth the truth – even if it destroys her. What she finds may not be what she was expecting..

I loved this novel and couldn’t put it down. I mean, struggling marine biologist, diving, an underwater mystery, paranormal documentary AND shipwrecks? Yes, pleaase.

Adrift is one part mystery and one part drama. While the police investigate Mer, we follow Mer as she investigates the mystery of the haunted ship wreck that inevitably leads us to an unexpected conclusion. Browning sets the stage by creating an “interesting” dynamic between all the members of the paranormal crew as well as bringing in Mer’s shifty ex-boyfriend at just the right time. The reader is suspicious of most of the cast while also being lead along on the dramatic roller coaster that is Mer’s romantic and personal life.

Personally, I loved that Browning created a novel filled with suspense and suspicion. The two S’s are interspersed by strong emotive descriptions, intense action scenes and a strong plot. I read this book cover to cover in one night and was left wanting more..thankfully this is book one of the Mer Cacallo Mystery.

Most shocking, this is a debut novel that is written as if it were written by an experienced writer (pen name, perhaps?). Browning hits all the stops, breathes life into her stories and yet doesn’t let the plot wither – something that is rare in a new writer. I would definitely recommend Adrift to anyone who loves a good mystery with complex romance or even just a novel that defies expectations on both the skill front and the plot front. I DID NOT SEE THAT ENDING COMING!

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy mystery, complex romance, suspense, novels about the ocean and marine biologists who daylight as a safety diver and novels that defy the norm. I would not suggest this novel to those who are looking for a dreary DNF novel because you will be up all night reading this one until the very end.

Very good book. Especially reading it in the dead of winter. Makes my summer fever that much worse! (4-star review on Amazon)

I couldn't put this book down.

Well, I did, to go to a baseball game. But as soon as I got home that night I picked it back up and finished it about 2 a.m. Yes, it's that good.

Mer Cavallo is a marine biologist waiting working as a dive master in the Florida Keys while waiting for her next, great research job to come through. While diving one day she rescues a man who claims to have seen a ghost. The story goes viral -- and a documentary team shows up and hires her boss to take them out ghost-hunting. Then something goes horribly wrong and the team leader is killed.

Mer's the prime suspect. Determined to clear her name, she parries with a handsome detective and seeks help from a former lover as she searches for the truth.

This is a fantastic novel. It's a quick, breezy story. But what makes it so compelling is its tough, spunky, smart heroine. We need more Mer Cavallos.

Really enjoyable book, when I started the story I was really interested in the ghost aspect because sometimes I like books about the paranormal. I was really hooked when discovered that it was a set-up and then the murder aspect and twists and plots. Very well written and kept me interested beginning to end.

A suspect in one of her dive client's disappearance, Mer Cavallo must fight to not only solve the missing diver problem, but also defend herself from the accusations of a suspicious detective, and perhaps the presence of a ghost presence off of Key Largo. Entertaining reading.

Adrift is the first in what is sure to be an intense mystery series. Micki Browning introduces marine biologist Mer Cavallo who is caught between science and the supernatural in this thrilling read.

When she rescues a drowning diver who claims to have seen a ghost among the ruins of the Spiegel Grove shipwreck, Mer is confronted with a shaken foundation. Could everything she believes about science and the facts of the world be upturned based on one mans claim? She wholeheartedly disbelieves his story until she goes out with a team of ghost hunters as their safety diver. Mer is determined to find out whether she truly saw something out of the ordinary the night of the dive or if there is a logical explanation.

Though Mer is a marine biologist, the story isn't necessarily about her knowledge of cephalopods. She throws out some facts about octopuses here and there, but the plot isn't directly linked to marine biology. It saves readers the boredom of having to read through pages of some kind of information dump. Adrift strikes the perfect balance of creepy and intriguing. Then there's a little romance thrown in the mix that adds an element of drama to the plot. Mer is intelligent and it shows in the way she approaches the impossible mystery laid before her. However, she has a hard time maneuvering through social normalcies which makes her more relatable. She may not know how to read emotions in other people, but she sure knows how to solve a mystery.

I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series, because the way Adrift ends is totally unfair! However, I must admit that the abrupt ending has enhanced my desire for more.
*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy of this novel.

I loved the characters, they were relatable and had backstories that made them so much more than just background. As for the main character, she was impulsive, brave, intelligent,fierce, everything I want in a main character. I was rooting for Mer to solve the mystery the entire time & what a suspenseful set of twists & turns that led up to that unexpected ending!

This is an enjoyable, but uneven story set in the Florida Keys. The plot was good and had enough twists to satisfy, but the love story was not strong and felt like an add-on. I will read another story by this author.

NetGalley allowed me to read this book before release and all I can really say is that for some strange reason I never really thought about ghosts underwater! I don't know because I'm sure I've read books or seen movies/shows that involved ghosts underwater (Pirates of the Caribbean, Spongebob Squarepants, etc) but for some reason this book was pretty creepy with a ghost that just seemed extra evil!

Mer lived a life of science so when she was put into a position to be the lead diver in paid for mission to go underwater to explore the haunted skeletal remains of a ship that had crashed long ago, dealing with the explainable was not what she had in mind. When she witnesses, but at the time doesn't realize that she witnesses, the death of someone she is diving with due to the ghost of the ship she has to deal with the police investigation suggesting she murdered the person, but also she has to deal with her own skepticism of the supernatural realm.

It was a really fascinating read and I recommend it to everyone.

A great, fast paced mystery and a strong debut for Micki Browning. I look forward to picking up the next in the series! What a fascinating lead character. Not always completely likeable, but interesting and entertaining. She reminded me a bit of Dr. Brennan in the early seasons of the show Bones: highly educated, extremely intelligent, needs a bit of work on her people skills.

Meredith "Mer" Cavallo is a marine biologist currently working as a divemaster in the Florida Keys. Her job is to keep everyone safe in the sometimes dangerous environment of the ocean. She's good at her job, and enjoys it. It's a good break while she decides what the next step in her career should be, and never intended to be a long term commitment. When she rescues a man that surfaces near her boat that wasn't on her diving team, a bit of local celebrity is thrust on her. The man, who has surfaced from a different group who were diving an impossible distance away, claims to have seen a ghost.

Turns out the story is good for business, and Mer soon agrees to accompany a team who are searching for the paranormal in the oceans depths... only for the money. There's still not a doubt in her brain that there's a logical explanation to the ghost story. They dive to the same ship wreck the first man dove to... and they don't all make it out. One man, the leader of the whole operation, is gone. Mer was distracted while bringing up a less experienced diver who experienced a panic attack. Ishmael, the charming man who talked Mer into joining them, is gone. For the first time, Mer has failed to bring all her divers up to safety.

Mer has fallen under suspicion... she has to deal with a detective that seems convinced she is somehow to blame and the other divers in the paranormal group, including the missing man's girlfriend and ex-wife. She's determined to figure out what really happened, and eventually even her logical brain starts to wonder if there may be truth to that ghost story after all. Soon, she's in danger herself and has to find out the truth or risk losing more than just her career and reputation.

A lot of mystery, a bit of science, and a touch of romance. Very enjoyable story. I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Alibi, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

Ghosts, Murder, and a Dive Gone Wrong

Mer Cavallo, marine biologist, takes a job as a divemaster while waiting for her dream job in the Antarctic. When she rescues a diver in distress who insists that he’s seem a ghost on the site of the sunken USS Spiegel Grove, the rescue sparks interest in looking for ghosts at the site.

A team specializing in tracking ghosts on ship wrecks charters the Lunasea, the boat Mer works on. They want to search for ghosts and do it at night. The tension among the team members is palpable since it includes both the ex-wife and the fiancée of the team leader, Ishmael.

Against her wishes, Mer is the divemaster on the night cruise. When they reach the site, Mer, Ishmael, and Amber, his fiancée, go down, but only Amber and Mer come back. Now the police are involved and Detective Talbot seems to think Ishmael has been murdered, and Mer is responsible.

I like the characters in this book. Mer is the complete scientist trying to understand what happened in a logical way, looking for facts. My favorite character was Leroy, captain of the Lunasea. His sage advice is given with just the right amount of salty dialog.

The setting in the Florida Keys is realistic. This is a great book to read when you’re freezing in the winter snow of the North. Although I know nothing about diving, the scenes seem technically accurate. The danger underwater keeps you on the edge of your seat.

If you enjoy mysteries with good characters, interesting plot, and ghosts. You’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Alibi for this review.

Mer is a safety diver who saves a man who somehow drifted 5 miles away from his boat and dive team, claiming to have seen a ghost and that it's after him. As a scientist, Mer is nothing if not skeptical. News gets out fast and Mer becomes somewhat of a sensation and receives unwanted attention. In comes Ishmael, who wants to do a documentary of potential paranormal activity in the water and hires Mer to be a part of the crew. On their first dive, things go south and Mer loses Ishmael while helping another crew member get back to safety. The mystery begins. What happened to Ishmael? Is there really a ghost or something more sinister happening? Right now the entire community, including the police, hold Mer as their number one suspect.

Great debut by Micki Browning. I read this in a day and a half. I could see certain elements happening before they unfolded but still thoroughly enjoyed the story. The dialogue cracked me up at certain moments. It definitely kept my curiosity throughout the book - is this a paranormal mystery or not? Highly entertaining and fast paced. The author has clearly done her research! The last few paragraphs seemed a tiny bit cheesy in it's set up for the next book, but somehow I didn't mind too much. Hard to explain - you're just going to have to read for yourself. One thing I took away the most, it's octopuses, NOT octopi! Finally, I know the answer! :)

This book has excitement, adventure, suspense and a little romance. Mer Cavallo is an unusual protagonist, a Phd marine biologist between research assignments working on a dive boat in the Florida keys. She is drawn into the investigation of paranormal activity on an artificial reef. The descriptions of dive and boating action are perfect. A rich variety of characters fill out the cast. The mystery is deep and thrilling she attempts to find how her diver vanished. I read the book in one day, because I just couldn't put it down. The ending is very satisfying, and sets the stage for more Mer Cavallo stories.