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- If you're not reading Evan's work, check him out! I'm a big fan" - Ryan Steck author of "Fields of Fire" and The Real Book Spy.- Graver delivers the right blend of suspense and intrigue - OnlineBookClub.org

A former Navy bomb tech... A ruthless gang of pirates... A terrifying menace to the United States…

When reports of piracy plaguing the Gulf of Mexico draws the attention of former Navy bomb disposal tech Ryan Weller, his mission becomes track down the perpetrators and bring them to justice. Teaming up with a tenacious and beautiful insurance investigator, Ryan embarks on a relentless pursuit that takes them from the shores of Texas to the sun-drenched paradise of Key West. As they dive deeper, they uncover a network of sunken sailboats concealing a sinister secret.However, the waters grow darker as their investigation leads them into the heart of Mexico, where the Aztlán Cartel looms large. Its leader, Arturo Guerrero, driven by an insatiable hunger for power, sets his sights on a grandiose plan—to wage war with the United States and reclaim the Desert Southwest. Now, Ryan finds himself in the crosshairs of an unforgiving enemy, facing an impossible task of stopping Guerrero and preventing an international catastrophe.As the danger escalates, Ryan must navigate a treacherous web of deception, and with the full might of the Aztlán Cartel closing in, he must summon every ounce of his training, ingenuity, and unwavering determination to thwart Guerrero's sinister ambitions. Can Ryan rise above the murky depths and save the day, or will Guerrero plunge the region into chaos?Dark Water is the first book in the fast-paced Ryan Weller series in which Evan Graver delivers a masterfully crafted maritime thriller ripped from today's headlines. Prepare to be submerged in a heart-stopping tale of suspense, where the fate of nations hangs in the balance.

Interview with the AuthorQ - So, what makes the Ryan Weller Thriller Series special?A – When I pick up a book, I like to read fast-paced action and adventure or a great thriller. So, I wanted my series to reflect some of my author heroes such as Brad Thor, Mark Greaney, and Clive Cussler. Books featuring a kick butt protagonist who also deals with normal things in his life are the ones I resonate with the most, and how I try to write my characters.My books reflect things I like to do – scuba diving, sailing, shooting guns, traveling, and anything else I might be interested in at the moment I’m writing a book, which to me, keeps them interesting and relevant and often show up in my writing.Q – How did you get started writing?A – I’d read a bunch of stuff from self-published authors and thought, I can do that. I’d always wanted to write a book and at the time, I was checking things off a bucket list after being paralyzed from the waist down following a motorcycle accident. Dark Water came together out of a series of short stories I’d written over the years combined with looking at political tensions around the world. Since I released Dark Water in 2017, I’ve revised the book several times to make it a better. Forgive me if it’s not perfect as I was just starting out, but my writing has improved drastically over the course of the series thanks to guys like my editor Pete at Novel Approach Manuscript, and advice from Ryan Steck, author of Fields of Fire, and curator at The Real Book Spy.

326 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 18, 2018

679 people are currently reading
245 people want to read

About the author

Evan Graver

37 books25 followers
I'm center-brained and I get bored easily. I worked a lot of jobs in construction, as a security guard, a motorcycle tech (I'm a certified for Honda and Yamaha), as a car technician, a property manager, and in the scuba industry. My favorite job was being an aviation electronics technician (AT) in the US Navy. (I guess my new favorite is writing). After a motorcycle accident left me paralyzed, the Navy said, "You're out of here," and medically retired me.
I moved back to Ohio, got married, had a son, and completed a bachelors in business management. I was always tired of the cold and the snow. It doesn't make it easy to get around when you're in a wheelchair. After years of trying to convince the wife to sell the house and travel, we bought a twenty-five foot toy hauler. I voided the warranty the day we brought it home by taking out one of the bunks and making and installing custom cabinets. Then we spent several winters traveling the Southwest, and eventually sold the house. We lived in the trailer full time for about two years and saw most of the US, except Kansas and Nebraska and New England. We'll get there.
Along the way, I tried my hand at a lot of action sports; skiing, skydiving, bungee jumping, motorcycle racing, ATV riding, and scuba diving. I love to dive, so much that we ended up settling in Hollywood, Florida. I try to dive at least once a week and I'm working on my technical diving certifications. I want to go to three hundred feet.

You can stay in touch with me at evan@evangraver.com, check out www.evangraver.com, or on Facebook, Evan Graver Author.

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5 stars
412 (45%)
4 stars
331 (36%)
3 stars
122 (13%)
2 stars
25 (2%)
1 star
16 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
Profile Image for Lisa Malmquist.
771 reviews23 followers
July 15, 2021
Ryan Weller is working for his father's construction company. But he misses the more exciting life of being an Explosives technician in the military.
An old friend from the military, offers him a job coming to work for Dark Water research, a commercial diving and salvage company.
He is appointed a liaison with Homeland Security.
His first job is to fins out who is stealing sailboats in the Gulf of Mexico.
Behind the thefts is a plot to create a war with the US. Cartels, hitmen, drugs, arms etc. This is more like it!
Ryan is in his element. But the enemy is vicious and cruel as well as nuts. Can Ryan figure it out before another target is hit in the US? Excellent thriller!
Profile Image for Bonni.
119 reviews2 followers
May 10, 2021
At first, I thought the derogatory language towards foreigners and women was just a plot device, but it continues throughout the book without a redeeming purpose. Also, the characters continue to go places and do things, but their various adventures are disjointed and unconnected to the plot -- if there is a plot. Got a third of the way through the book and then quit.
Author 3 books
April 28, 2023
The hero is monochromatic. He wants the same things that high school boys want: beer, cigarettes, guns and girls. The villains can't shoot straight. In the last fifty pages, the hero kills off an army of bad guys while enduring a steady hail of bullets. The deal is, the title we tells us this is book #1 so the hero can't die. It's just silly.
Profile Image for Judith Baxter.
198 reviews19 followers
January 17, 2019
Another writer new to me, but what a great storyteller he is.

We are introduced to DWR, Dark Water Research following the death of Greg Olsen's parents in a terrorist attack. Greg is left to manage the multi-million dollar business and he feels overwhelmed. He calls upon his grandfather Clifford Olsen for help. Clifford had established the company originally before handing over to his son.

DWR has been given an operation by Homeland Security for whom they have done work in the past. There has been a rash of sailboat thefts in the Gulf of Mexico and HS suspects that the boats are being used to smuggle weapons or drugs into the country and also suspect that the boat owners are being killed.

Now Greg wants a particular persons' help. He sends his grandfather to bring Ryan Weller, an ex-Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technician with whom Greg has worked in the past. 

So begins a series of encounters with a Mexican Drug Cartel.  On the way, Ryan encounters a crooked professor and ISIS bad guys, meets a  beautiful insurance investigator, has a close encounter with a shark, a close encounter with the pirates bent on killing him and the insurance investigator, and he also meets a couple of good guys who soon become friends.

This is a well-written, well-researched book. The characters are totally believable and one is left wanting to know where they go from here. 

I recommend this book. It's No 1 in a series of three. I'm off to read the next two.

Note - I was given a copy of the book in my role of proofreader/copy editor, by the author.  I enjoyed the book in its manuscript form and I loved it when I read the printed copy. Again, the printed copy was given to me by the author.
534 reviews2 followers
January 23, 2020
Dark Water is the first book in the Ryan Weller action/adventure series set in today’s world. Ryan is a former navy chief who worked in SEAL teams as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal expert. He now works in private business for his former SEAL team leader at Dark Water Research, which is located in Texas. Dark Water Research will enter into contract work for the Department of Homeland Security. In this case, it is to investigate piracy in the Gulf of Mexico. The piracy involves boarding private vessels in the Gulf to steal the vessel and if practicable, to hold the boat’s owners for ransom. This pirate group is also running guns into America as part of a Mexican Drug Cartel operation. The book dragged a bit during the first third as it explains the background of characters and situations that bring us to the current investigation. Once the action starts, it provides plenty of suspense and tight spots for Ryan to navigate. The only drawback to the action scenes involves too many James Bond type escapes. That is, Ryan is caught dead to rights and could easily be killed, but the killer wants his death to be slow and or the killer needs time to explain his entire criminal operation before he disposes of Ryan. This gives Ryan time to devise an escape. Overall the characters are well drawn and the plot well developed and intriguing.
372 reviews3 followers
February 2, 2021
Satisfying read (3.5 stars, rounded-up), with more novels to come

This was my first Evan Graver novel, and it grabbed me within the first couple of pages: main characters with military backgrounds and experience atypical of the usual SEAL and Delta and HRT backgrounds. Plus, the Dark Water organization has itself a nifty niche area in the battle against enemies foreign and domestic.
Later, the underwater scenes had the kind of real feeling that only firsthand experience can give.
There is also a point that might not bother a lot of thriller readers, but there were no typos, grammar glitches, or inexplicable plot fails.
There was a lot of gunfire and things blew up, but the main characters were not Stallone or Schwarzenegger (or Bond or Bourne ) clones who managed to emerge from a combat scene with only a few scrapes on one or both brawny arms. They get dinged up pretty good along the way, and come off as human beings with good training and a will to win against serious odds.
My only quibble is that the main character sets off to hunt down pirates, and then bag the main bad guy, with too little preparation of gear and planning. This does allow the pace to accelerate impressively when things go “pear shaped”, but just felt incongruous.
This one was good enough that I immediately downloaded Dark Horse and Dark Ship, looking forward to more of Ryan Weller.
Profile Image for Judith  Wong.
142 reviews1 follower
December 12, 2019
Riveting story about an ex -Navy Seal who is recruited by a company which runs Black Ops for the DHS.

Ryan Weller is recruited by his old buddy Greg , the head of the Dark Water Salvage Co., which runs Black Ops for the DHS as well as other legitimate functions in the Caribbean Sea. Ryan is asked to investigate the theft of sailboats off the Yucatan peninsula which are then used to smuggle weapons into the United States. As the investigation develops, Ryan meets with Emily Hunt, who works for one of the insurance companies covering some of these stolen boats. Ryan leads the crew he establishes all over the seas starting in Wilmington around the Keys all the way into Mexico. He and his right hand man, Mango, fight side by side to take down the mastermind behind the hijacking of the boats and the ultimate purpose of reclaiming of Atzlan from the United States. Fast paced, with twists and turns everywhere, for sure a must read!
Author 1 book69 followers
January 23, 2021
A story of Mexican terrorists who enlist the help of ISIS. What a plot. Ryan Weller, an explosives expert is recruited for an anti-terrorist organization, Dark Water Salvage Co. He teams up with Emily Hunt who works for one of the insurance companies covering some of these stolen boats. Weller's first mission puts him on the trail of deadly outlaws in the Florida Key. Scuba diving for clues among the shipwrecks, he discovers a sinister connection with Mexican arms smugglers. The merciless bandits' guns for his blood. A threat to the entire U.S. lurks beneath the surface. A good read with lots of action.
Profile Image for Sam.
257 reviews5 followers
March 7, 2021
Evan Graver is a new writer to me based on his first book, he appears to be a great storyteller. The lead character is Ryan Weller, a former Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal expert who worked with the Seal Teams. This first book, Dark Water, is an action/adventure novel set in current time.

In this book, we are introduced to Dark Water Research, DWR, following a terrorist attack to the Governor’s Mansion in Austin, Texas. Both of Greg Olsen's parents and the founders of DWR were killed in the terrorist attack.

Overall, the book is very interesting and easy to read. I look forward to reading the next book in this series.
Profile Image for Jean.
404 reviews
May 10, 2021
Yes I know. No government would ever give a civilian company carte Blanche in life and death national security issues. I mean these guys are given the ok for anything they want including SEALS, SHIPS, killing the head bad guy any and everything their hearts desire. As if that would be allowed. I mean if a regular fly by nite company is give the ok to go around shooting and torturing people without DHS even being notified I’m not sure I want to trust anyone! Where’s the real agents that do this stuff?
1 review
October 19, 2024
Dark water book 1 of Ryan Weller Series

Entertaining escapism. The plot is predictable at times with repeated scenes at some points, but enough suspense to make you want to see how it ends. Don't know if I'll read all 15 books, but I will read the 2nd book for sure, although I'll need to interspace with other reads.
If someone is looking for a light, but entertaining book, this is it.
3,198 reviews26 followers
March 10, 2019
An EG. Mystery Thriller About Priates in the Carribbean.

EG. has. penned a Mystery About Sailing and Pitates. The main character, RW, is an ex home disposal person and has partnered with another Florida Keys man to attempt to find out what happened to a close friend and his lady. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
Profile Image for Jeffrey T Harris.
1 review
July 27, 2019
Action packed Thriller

Evan Graver has some serious writing skills. Dark Water is an action packed thriller that goes at full speed once the character development is complete. The attention to detail throughout the book was excellent. The bits of humor tossed in here and there are well placed. Looking forward to reading the next installment of this series.
72 reviews
November 28, 2021
By any means necessary

This was a fast moving story like the dark waters and strong waves that were traversed to bring the bad men to a violent death. Ryan's tenacity to bring Guerrero to His death by any means necessary made this a thrilling and intense ride. Join the ride, cruise into the fascinating story.
35 reviews1 follower
March 14, 2019
Dark Water

I love this genre. Action ,good story beautiful women. Boats guns terrorists did I mention action? I just bought book 2. I guess I'll be up all night reading . Again! I love when the hero wins. Give these a shot.
218 reviews
July 29, 2019
Good story believable plot

Character descriptions and detailed scenes make this effort nearly non fiction. Never a dull moment as the covert team accomplished their mission. Very well written.......
439 reviews5 followers
October 30, 2019
Great Read

I enjoyed the plot and am grateful to all those that served and are serving. I also believe what happened in series could in fact happen in real life. Great story. Read on.
31 reviews
April 12, 2020
Easy read

Very good, well developed story line. Some of the actions and relationships defied logic, but that is sometimes what a thriller is all about. Hero is bigger than life. Nice, quick easy read.
543 reviews2 followers
August 24, 2020
A very interesting and entertaining first novel

Ryan Weller is an interesting character from Seals background that gets an opportunity to work with an old ship mate to do good things for his country
233 reviews3 followers
September 1, 2020
Good

A book full of suspense. The author did a great job of developing the characters. There was never a dull moment and each scene flowed seamlessly from the previous. I would have never guessed that this was his first book. Anxious to read his next book.
192 reviews2 followers
February 3, 2021
Awesome

First time reading this author and was really glad I did. The story was on point the thrills and action spot on, the characters could use a little more rounding out but otherwise I really liked it. Good fast read.
Profile Image for Michael.
376 reviews6 followers
February 4, 2021
Edge of the Seat Thriller

Excellent edge of the seat thriller starring Ryan Weller. Thete were sevetal twists and turns and the introduction of an interesting cast of characters. Ready for the next book.
83 reviews1 follower
February 7, 2021
Dark Water is non-stop action

Quite a story filled with action, humor, and a mixed bag of personalities. I felt like I was right there with Ryan and Mango. Looking forward to more of the same.
580 reviews4 followers
February 15, 2021
I liked the amount of action and technology used. I thought that realistically, the bad guys would have smoked the good guys during the action many times. The good guys definitely have more lives than cats in this story. Still, it was an interesting read.
15 reviews
January 14, 2023
Love the action.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading the series. A lot of death involved which wasn’t really mentioned but I guess if we read for escapism then that’s the way it is. Good book!
Profile Image for Greg D.
886 reviews22 followers
September 23, 2024
This read like a bad B-movie. Hardly any dialog. Shallow characters. Poorly written. Everybody smokes cigarettes. A bit of a right-wing bent to it with a dig against those liberals and of course Muslims are bad. I read about 1/3 of the book and I couldn't bring myself to finish it.
92 reviews
April 29, 2025
Vic review

Great story. Enjoyed the characters
. Intense thriller, I couldn't put the book down. I would recommend this book for those readers who like to read military action thrillers.
Profile Image for Karen Kearns.
346 reviews2 followers
March 7, 2019
Edge of your seat thriller

Evan Garver has written a truly heart pounding thriller. It was very hard to put this book down, even for my weekly Ladies Only Poker group.
Profile Image for Connie Hamby.
1,008 reviews9 followers
June 17, 2019
A great book to read

I really enjoyed reading this book I couldn't put it down Ryan Welled is one of my favorite people now can't wait till the next one thank you Evan Graver
465 reviews3 followers
December 1, 2019
Super story

A great book and a fast read i was impressed with the way the story went and th e characters all filled the book with action and intrigue....
Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews

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