Deep Water Death

Luanne Fogarty Mysteries #2

by Glynn Marsh Alam

Luanne Fogarty, adjunct scuba diver and reluctant linguistics professor, resurfaces in Glynn Marsh Alam’s second mystery, DEEP WATER DEATH, set in the swamps outside Tallahassee. Stumbling upon two midwives, Luanne finds herself awash in watery peril and old secrets. And where is the baby…?

Genres: Mystery

220 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Glynn Marsh Alam is a native Floridian. Born in Tallahassee, she is familiar with the live oak forests and cypress swamps of the area. She also knows the sink holes and reptilia that abound there. She often swims in the cold, clear springs above the openings to fathomless caves. These are the settings for her Luanne Fogarty mystery series and for her literary novel, River Whispers.
After graduating from Florida State University, Glynn worked as a decoder/translator for the National Security Agency in D.C., then moved to Los Angeles where she taught writing and literature and earned an MA in linguistics. After many years of traveling back to Florida twice a year, she has now moved there and writes full time.

Reviews

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

#2 in the Luanne Fogarty series. The swamps and waterways of northern Florida provide an environment that is unusual and compelling. Author Alam's protagonist, a college linguistics instructor, would rather be a diver for the local police force and she has arranged for a leave to work with her former lover mapping the areas underwater caves. With this background she gets involved in a plot involving unlicensed midwives ministering to swamp dwellers and a moneyed lawyer plotting to despoil the swamp waterfront through development. A recommended read and will be enjoyed by readers of John D. MacDonald and Carl Hiaasen.

Luanne Fogarty series - Luanne Forgarty lives on the edge of Lake Palmetto and the swamp around it. She is a diver working for the local police. Both her current love, and former love work for them as well. One morning she hears a woman’s screams mixing in with the critter noise and upon investigating she finds 2 midwives attending a woman on a bloody bed who had just given birth. One if the women is holding a bundle which is the just delivered baby while the other gathers up pans and bloody rags. As she was calling an ambulance, the two midwives and the bundle one is holding disappear into the swamp. The new mother is transported and subsequently dies. This begins a tale which leads to illegal midwifery, selling babies, murder, and a plot to reap big money for the sale of swamp land to developers. The terrain is almost a character as it figures so prominently in the story.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Luanne Fogarty lives in the swamp. It's her chosen home; she maps the freshwater springs of northern Florida as a scuba diver and teaches linguistics part-time. She also finds herself in the middle of mysteries, and in this case, she stumbles upon a woman, Theresa Grassfield, giving birth in a small cabin in the woods, aided by two midwives, Josie and Sadie Wilburn. However, Theresa's baby is missing and with the aid of swamp native Pasquin, Detective Tony Amado, and her lover Vernon, Luanne aims to find the missing baby and discover the secret behind the Wilburn sisters' livelihood.

The characters in this story are very well fleshed out. Luanne is by turns pragmatic and romantic; Tony Amado is taciturn and gruff, until he crosses paths with investigator Patricia Eichols. The villains aren't boogeymen or stylized serial killers; they're simply human beings who've chosen a wrong path to follow. The plot starts off quickly and the pace never lets up. The author describes the swampy marshlands of northern Florida to the point that you can almost hear frogs croaking.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Luanne stumbles on a home birth, but when the midwives leave with the baby, she has to find out what happened. Again, a strong mystery and great characters held together by fantastic writing.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read from Alam and I recommend the series. She provides a great feel for Florida and her characters are very individual. Plus her writing is extremely descriptive.