The Moon Pool

by Max McCoy

“A great book! Compelling stuff.”
—Bob Barth, Sealab aquanaut

THE MOON POOL

"A one-of-a-kind underwater thriller. The sinister
beauty of the underwater world is painted in hues
that only an avid diver and inspired novelist could capture."
—Dr. John Clarke,
Navy experimental dive researcher

Time is running out for Jolene. She's trapped by a madman, held captive, naked, waiting only for her worst nightmares to become reality. Her captor will keep her alive for twenty-eight days, hidden in an underwater city 400 feet below the surface. Then she will die horribly—like the others....

Jolene's only hope is Richard Dahlgren, a private underwater crime scene investigator. He has until the next full moon before Jolene becomes just another hideous trophy in the killer's surreal underwater lair. But Dahlgren has never handled a case where the victim is still alive. And the killer has never allowed a victim to escape.

Max McCoy is an award-winning novelist, investigative journalist and an Advanced Open Water scuba diver. With The Moon Pool he has combined all three talents to create a thrilling novel that will carry readers to an underwater world of beauty, wonder . . . and breathtaking suspense.

Genres: Mystery

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 1, 2004

About the author

Max McCoy is an award-winning journalist and author. He’s won awards for his reporting on unsolved murders, serial killers, and hate groups. In addition to his daily newspaper work, Max has written for publications as diverse as American Photographer, True West, and The New Territory. He’s the author of four original Indiana Jones adventures for Lucasfilm/Bantam and the novelization of the epic TNT miniseries, Into the West. His novels, including Damnation Road, have won three Spur awards from the Western Writers of America. His novels, Hellfire Canyon and Of Grave Concern, have also been named Kansas Notable Books by the state library. He's a tenured professor of journalism at Emporia State University, in east central Kansas, where he specializes in investigative reporting and nonfiction narrative. He's also director of the university’s Center for Great Plains Studies. His most recent book is Elevations: A Personal Exploration of the Arkansas River, from the University Press of Kansas.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading Max's books over the last couple of years and I've really, really come to enjoy his writing style - he obviously does a lot of research to make his stories authentic. They are as much a learning experience as they are entertainment. 'The Moon Pool' is a great example - if you are like me and don't know the first thing about being under water, AND like a good crime novel, give this book a try, you won't be disappointed.

Max's forte seems to be westerns (which are excellent as well) but I imagine he could write in any genre. I wonder if I could convince him to give science fiction a try . . .

[Chelsey Carron · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place near my hometown. It’s an interesting take but they don’t quite hit the nail on the head. Overall, a cool book and a neat story. Very wordy, doesn’t speak about women in the best way throughout the book.

[Amy Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good, exciting book. The characters were well-done. I really enjoyed, especially, that it was set in my home town on Bonne Terre, MO. The author seemed to do a good job with the details, but Heritage Hall looks nothing like Shakespeare's boyhood home at Stratford-upon-Avon. But that's extremely minor. The main issue I had with the book was the end. I won't spoil it, but this serious crime thriller took an odd supernatural turn that just completely turned me off toward it. The conclusion made no sense. But overall, it was a good story.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually not that bad of a book. The diving is science is stretched, but actually pretty sound. Seeing the cave diving world exposed like this is pretty cool. As a DMO at NEDU I really enjoyed the last chapter, if only life was that exciting. I even got through the first 2/3 of this book during a long OSF-dive.

[Terry Roemer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome.

[Kit★]

This was given to me along with some other books. Looks interesting, so I'll add it to the TBR.