The Deep End

by Bill Larkin

As a reluctant favor to his cousin, Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy “Schmitty” Schmidt attends a snazzy fundraiser at an exclusive waterfront home on Lido Isle in Newport Beach. But it’s not what he bargained for when he finds a drowning man in the pool and has to jump into action. It turns out that there’s a killer on the loose at the party and Schmitty goes on a personal mission to figure out who it is before he disappears.



“If you are looking for a great, quick read, and enjoy captivating mysteries, this is the one for you.” – 5 Stars, Kathy, Goodreads

“A page turner...hope there will be more by Mr. Larkin in the future!” – 5 Stars, Cathy G, Goodreads

“I love this authors style.” – 4 Stars, lexie, LibraryThing

“Bill Larkin has again managed to develop a plot, characters and setting into a fantastic read. His writing is tight and well-constructed, which makes for a very interesting short story.” – 5 Stars, KMT, LibraryThing

“Give it a read. It won't take that long, but you will be amazed at what is accomplished in this short story.” – 4 Stars, Glenn D, LibraryThing

22 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 26, 2014

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy “Schmitty” Schmidt attends a snazzy fundraiser at an exclusive waterfront, he gets more than he bargained for. During the event, he discovers a body in the estate’s pool, and Schmitty begins a search for the killer, who, he figures, is among the invited guests. How he manages to uncover the murder and his plot makes for an interesting story. Despite the brevity of the work, Bill Larkin has again managed to develop a plot, characters and setting into a fantastic read. His writing is tight and well-constructed, which makes for a very interesting short story. In a short period of time, he manages to transport the reader to the scent and to become one with Schmitty as Schmitty examines the clues, plots his methods to entrap the killer and does so. Bill Larkin definitely knows how to write and to write sort stories. His style and execution of the stories automatically pull the reader in from the get-go. I will definitely be reading more of his work in the future. If you are looking for a great, quick read, and enjoy captivating mysteries, this is the one for you. I received this from Library Thing to read and review.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bill Larkin has created another wonderful short story. His character development of Schmitty, a dedicated Harbor Patrol member of the Orange County Sherriff’s department, presents a likable young man willing to go to a swanky party his cousin invited him to. He is not planning to enjoy himself but meets Monique, goes for a walk and observes a murder as it is taking place. In a few pages Mr. Larkin has made me want to know more about Schmitty, his family, his work and whether or not he and Monique will get together in the future. A page turner…hope there will be more by Mr. Larkin in the future!

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is hard to say anything without revealing any of the plot, so i'll just speak in generalities. The good guys are good and that shows in the writing and the author has made the bad guys deliciously evil. If I had one complaint, it would be that it was to short. I love this authors style.

[Brian Bigelow · Rating 3 out of 5]

It started out reasonably with the fund raiser and of course led to the body in the pool. For me, the writing style didn't really grab my attention.