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Drawing inspiration from a chilling, real-life enigma of an airline crash in the Gulf of Mexico, this thriller plunges deep into the heart of the southern U.S.
What dark secrets did the passenger on the ill-fated flight harbor, and what unspeakable terror was he transporting?
Dive into a tale where every twist beckons a haunting question, pulling you deeper into the mystery.
What dark secrets did the passenger on the ill-fated flight harbor, and what unspeakable terror was he transporting?
Dive into a tale where every twist beckons a haunting question, pulling you deeper into the mystery.
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Published June 30, 2025
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September 20, 2025I know nothing about the author, and I knew nothing about the book when I purchased it.
The book is written in an absurdly, unbelievable, amateur-ish way. The sentences read like grade school primers from the 1960s. Words are repeated, actions are repeated, names are constantly repeated. Most of the book is literally just people moving from one place to another and re-introducing themselves. It's almost impossible to read. This could have been a so-so novella if all the needless repetition was taken out.
My basis for picking this book up was 'Gulf of Mexico' and 'mysterious plane crash'. The descriptions of the Gulf are non existent. It never felt like a real place. No sights, smells, sounds, or atmosphere were created. Could have been on Lake Erie instead of the Gulf of Mexico. As for the plane crash, this plot point was not explored at all. The mystery wasn't a mystery, it was a few repetitive conversations along the way about wreckage pulled up. The backcover blurb was misleading, to put it mildly.
I can't get over the stilted, dated, unnatural dialogue. It sounded like characters from 1950's giant monster movies. All the exclamation points and italics didn't help. I get that all the characters can't be young and erudite, but here's cheeky dialogue from a dude professor on page 100, "Well then, Nan, I guess I'll have to slip a big log into your fire to get it roaring again." On page 180 this inane dialogue, "Yeah! Breakfast. And Nancy's treating! I'll be ready in a flash."
On page 180 there's a reference to 'hip facial hair' and 'nightlife emporiums' when talking about spring break clubbers on the beach. This is a contemporary story with smart phones, but it reads like 1950s pastiche.
For some reason, the author is absolutely obsessed with characters eating. Breakfast, lunches, dinners/suppers. Nothing happens except for people talking endlessly in circles and racing to the saloon on the ship, or racing to the diner, or racing to the microwave to nuke muffins for breakfast. The characters raced everywhere and accomplished so little.
The main characters, Nancy Greener and Professor Laird Boudreaux, are the thinnest I've read in a long time. The extent of Laird being from New Orleans is just him dropping some g's at the end of words. His science is flimsy, his participation is forgettable. Laird could have been replaced with a lamp. Nancy, who allegedly works for NOAA, is a complete airhead. I think the first and only example of intelligence and expertise is around page 133, when she talks about the Loop current. Other then that, she's overly concerned about will Laird marry her, fixing her hair, eating, and endless dithering.
Secondary characters were much worse. After painfully and needlessly hammering in the point that Nancy is the only woman on the ship, another woman arrives and Nancy is stupidly fixated on being her friend. Not that the other woman lasted long in the book, or had a definable personality. The FBI agent was bland, did not know what he was doing, never took control of the situation, never took any initiative. Nancy's work partner, Trent, was a no one. Mike White, the ship's cook was constantly cooking food that was never described. Wait, once Laird had a second helping of a casserole that might have had tuna in it. It was also eye-rollingly bad that everyone Nancy encountered was enamoured with her and thought she was a big, invaluable help to the growing situation in the Gulf of Mexico. The anonymous 'crowd' on the ship just 'marched', 'bellowed', 'raced', 'stared' like a big school of nameless, brainless fish. Author also has an annoying recurring ploy of saying there's really important information to share - I'll tell you about it tomorrow! Seriously, author?
HOWEVER
I think the author has a decent shot with another book, if they choose to write more (I have no idea, I haven't looked). The author seems to really enjoy the areas he wrote about (Gulf of Mexico, Panama Beach City), even if he didn't bother to describe them well. Although official characters are bumbling, awkward buffoons, the author didn't shy away from invoking characters from academia, the FBI, NOAA, NSTB, police stations, etc. Author made big bold character inclusion choices that could be handled better in the future. Also, the author's information (though scarce) about planes, boats, climate, and marine science could be broadened and make a more compelling, immersive book. If the author'd picked a genre (science fiction, mystery, thriller, whatever) and leaned into it hard, it would be more cohesive. Obviously, if the author was to read more, maybe sign up for writing classes, have more first draft readers, their work would be more successful. And finally, I'm impressed that the author could sit down and pound out 314 pages of this drivel. That's a lot of commitment and dedication, and I applaud that. Most folks never finish writing a draft.
Not adding a star rating because I'd just feel like an asshole then.
The book is written in an absurdly, unbelievable, amateur-ish way. The sentences read like grade school primers from the 1960s. Words are repeated, actions are repeated, names are constantly repeated. Most of the book is literally just people moving from one place to another and re-introducing themselves. It's almost impossible to read. This could have been a so-so novella if all the needless repetition was taken out.
My basis for picking this book up was 'Gulf of Mexico' and 'mysterious plane crash'. The descriptions of the Gulf are non existent. It never felt like a real place. No sights, smells, sounds, or atmosphere were created. Could have been on Lake Erie instead of the Gulf of Mexico. As for the plane crash, this plot point was not explored at all. The mystery wasn't a mystery, it was a few repetitive conversations along the way about wreckage pulled up. The backcover blurb was misleading, to put it mildly.
I can't get over the stilted, dated, unnatural dialogue. It sounded like characters from 1950's giant monster movies. All the exclamation points and italics didn't help. I get that all the characters can't be young and erudite, but here's cheeky dialogue from a dude professor on page 100, "Well then, Nan, I guess I'll have to slip a big log into your fire to get it roaring again." On page 180 this inane dialogue, "Yeah! Breakfast. And Nancy's treating! I'll be ready in a flash."
On page 180 there's a reference to 'hip facial hair' and 'nightlife emporiums' when talking about spring break clubbers on the beach. This is a contemporary story with smart phones, but it reads like 1950s pastiche.
For some reason, the author is absolutely obsessed with characters eating. Breakfast, lunches, dinners/suppers. Nothing happens except for people talking endlessly in circles and racing to the saloon on the ship, or racing to the diner, or racing to the microwave to nuke muffins for breakfast. The characters raced everywhere and accomplished so little.
The main characters, Nancy Greener and Professor Laird Boudreaux, are the thinnest I've read in a long time. The extent of Laird being from New Orleans is just him dropping some g's at the end of words. His science is flimsy, his participation is forgettable. Laird could have been replaced with a lamp. Nancy, who allegedly works for NOAA, is a complete airhead. I think the first and only example of intelligence and expertise is around page 133, when she talks about the Loop current. Other then that, she's overly concerned about will Laird marry her, fixing her hair, eating, and endless dithering.
Secondary characters were much worse. After painfully and needlessly hammering in the point that Nancy is the only woman on the ship, another woman arrives and Nancy is stupidly fixated on being her friend. Not that the other woman lasted long in the book, or had a definable personality. The FBI agent was bland, did not know what he was doing, never took control of the situation, never took any initiative. Nancy's work partner, Trent, was a no one. Mike White, the ship's cook was constantly cooking food that was never described. Wait, once Laird had a second helping of a casserole that might have had tuna in it. It was also eye-rollingly bad that everyone Nancy encountered was enamoured with her and thought she was a big, invaluable help to the growing situation in the Gulf of Mexico. The anonymous 'crowd' on the ship just 'marched', 'bellowed', 'raced', 'stared' like a big school of nameless, brainless fish. Author also has an annoying recurring ploy of saying there's really important information to share - I'll tell you about it tomorrow! Seriously, author?
HOWEVER
I think the author has a decent shot with another book, if they choose to write more (I have no idea, I haven't looked). The author seems to really enjoy the areas he wrote about (Gulf of Mexico, Panama Beach City), even if he didn't bother to describe them well. Although official characters are bumbling, awkward buffoons, the author didn't shy away from invoking characters from academia, the FBI, NOAA, NSTB, police stations, etc. Author made big bold character inclusion choices that could be handled better in the future. Also, the author's information (though scarce) about planes, boats, climate, and marine science could be broadened and make a more compelling, immersive book. If the author'd picked a genre (science fiction, mystery, thriller, whatever) and leaned into it hard, it would be more cohesive. Obviously, if the author was to read more, maybe sign up for writing classes, have more first draft readers, their work would be more successful. And finally, I'm impressed that the author could sit down and pound out 314 pages of this drivel. That's a lot of commitment and dedication, and I applaud that. Most folks never finish writing a draft.
Not adding a star rating because I'd just feel like an asshole then.
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