Deep End by Geoffrey Norman

Morgan Hunt #3

by Geoffrey Norman

Morgan Hunt is back. Set in the Florida panhandle, Geoffrey Norman's third mystery in the series is an action-packed thriller complete with deep-sea diving, a sunken treasure, and crooked, even murderous bankers and lawyers. When convicted-murderer-turned-detective Morgan Hunt is asked by his buddy ex-Navy SEAL Phil Garvey to help him with a deep-sea diving class, little does Hunt know that they will both be drawn into a web of deceit and violence. On that fateful Saturday morning, an irate client threatens to sue Garvey. Hunt offers the services of renowned lawyer Nat Semmes, his friend and sometimes employer. Garvey is cleared, but when he generously offers to repay Hunt for his help, and shows him a silver billet, booty from a long-sunk Spanish galleon, Hunt becomes suspicious. When Garvey mysteriously disappears, Hunt begins an investigation of his own that leads him to a crashed plane at the bottom of the sea and a gray metal box that someone is willing to kill for. The Florida panhandle is dangerous territory. This is the land of black water and Spanish oaks, guns and knives and people who know how to use them. It is also a place where artifice is exposed under the glare of the sun. Friendships are committed, sex is earthy, and eating and drinking are relished with gusto. This is a book of razor-sharp prose, full of the humorous, snappy dialogue that has become the author's trademark. Norman's writing matches the characters and the It's masculine, rugged, and straight forward.

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Geoffrey Norman is an American writer and editor based in Vermont.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#3 in the Morgan Hunt series. This entry is #3 of 4 in a short gem of a series featuring another in the pantheon of Florida protagonists - think Travis McGee, Thorn, Doc Ford, Zach Chasteen, etc..

Morgan Hunt is a Viet Nam vet rescued from a prison sentence by the intersession of attorney Nat Semmes, for whom he now works as intermittent investigator. Morgan Hunt's diver friend Phil Garvey has problems including a harassing lawsuit from a lawyer and harassment by the Coast Guard. Hunt finds the Coast Guard activity was prompted by a false tip from the lawyer and solves the problem; but Garvey has medical bills for his son and gets into a sunken treasure scam with dangerous partners.

[Ned Frederick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written in the mid-90's. It's interesting how dated it felt Lo these 20 years hence. Pacing was a step too slow, dialog a bit off, and the bad guys were just not bad enough. Still I was motivated enough to hang in there to the end to see how it would end, and I learned some things about deep diving and the Florida panhandle along the way. This is just the kind of book that could salvage a rainy day in a remote lake cabin.