Dark Water Dive reviews

Diving into danger

Colorado author Kathy Brandt delivers a lush, atmospheric look at the British Virgin Islands -- both on land and beneath the ocean -- in her second mystery. Dark Water Dive assuredly plunges into a solid tale that's complemented by realistic characters and a plot that maintains its surprises to the end.

Hannah Simpson has just left her job as a homicide detective and team leader of the Denver police scuba team, where most of her dives have been into black, dense water. She's hoping her new job as a detective with a small department in the British Virgin Islands will be less stressful. But as her former partner warns her before she leaves, "ain't no such thing as paradise." The weather is great and Hannah becomes fast friends with local residents. But her fellow detectives' hostility toward an "outsider" and the murder of a tourist make her ex-partner's words prophetic. Brandt, a certified diver and sailing instructor, brings a sense of realism to Dark Water Dive. The scenery is as breathtaking on land as it is underwater, where Hannah goes often to investigate crime scenes. Dark Water Dive epitomizes the exciting, well-crafted beach book. 

--The Sun-Sentinel

Brandt offers a compelling whodunit while crafting character development, scientific knowledge, and psychological insight that transcend the genre.

  --Colorado Springs Gazette

In a chilling climax, Brandt takes the readers on a hair-raising dive that describes the splendor and the danger of the beautiful Caribbean Sea. This deftly plotted page-turner, a follow-up to SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD, is enhanced with a riveting description of the underwater world. A great book - I can’t wait for the next installment!

 --The Best Reviews

Detective Hannah Sampson is back in Dark Water Dive, Kathy Brandt's fast-paced, entertaining sequel to Swimming With The Dead.

-- Islands Magazine

            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…so exciting readers will finish it in one sitting.

--Midwest Book Review

          Land-locked Coloradoans with a yen for yachting will find their hobby in full sail in this novel by Colorado writer Kathy Brandt.

--Rocky Mountain News

For an authentic tropical twist to your mystery reading, try the Underwater Investigation series by Kathy Brandt, a diver with experience. Swimming with the Dead was a smart start and Dark Water Dive proves again that the secrets underwater and on the shore in the British Virgin Islands can be as deadly as the Denver homicide scuba team from which Hannah Sampson retired.  Smart, sure and totally absorbing.

 --Mystery Lovers Newsletter

A terrific underwater investigation series Hannah is a great character. I highly recommend this book and the first one in this series -- SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD.

--I Love a Mystery

This is the second in a series (SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD 10/03) and is a wonderful follow-up. As always, the author’s concern for the natural environment shows through in several scenes, but these scenes are a seamless part of the narrative, and never overpower the story. The author conveys the pace and rhythm of island life with the confidence of someone in the know; and the scenes that take place underwater are incredibly evocative. I’m already looking forward to the next outing with Hannah and company.

-- Romance Reader Connection

Once again, Brandt plunges the reader into the pristine waters of the British Virgin Islands with homicide detective Hannah Sampson. Readers will feel the sun on their backs and the sand between their toes. Brandt weaves the fragility of the Caribbean ecosystem into the plot, providing oceanic depth to this fast-pasted mystery. Anyone who enjoys great writing will devour Dark Water Dive.

--Springs Magazine

The challenges of underwater crime scene investigation are expertly portrayed in this riveting mystery set in the British Virgin Islands.  The feisty but vulnerable Hannah and a well-constructed plot make this a mystery that is sure to please.

--Romantic Times

DARK WATER DIVE is a solid sequel (to SWIMMING WITH THE DEAD) –smooth writing, great island characters, a spunky heroine, and a complex plot.

--Mystery News

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

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