Despite a few flaws, this well-paced romantic adventure yarn about a lost ship full of gold will please history buffs who like faith fiction. Morrisey (Yucatan Deep
) opens with an intriguing prologue in which a Confederate family attempts to hide a mysterious package deep in the heart of Florida's Twin Springs—with tragic results. One hundred and forty years later, University of Michigan graduate student Jennifer Cassidy ("cute as the proverbial button") is hot on the trail of the secret. Helping her is hunky widower Beck Easton, a seemingly flawless, teetotaling Christian shipwreck diver who has "biceps like firm bread loaves" and is equally at home flying small aircraft or whipping up gourmet spinach pasta. If what they discover pans out, history will be rewritten and both will become rich beyond their wildest dreams. But they have to outwit the bad guys first. Morrisey's knowledge of diving adds colorful and precise details to the underwater scenes, and the plot offers plenty of surprises. However, Morrisey relies on tired novelist tricks (characters described as they look into a mirror) and the occasional humor falls flat, as when Jennifer makes a stab at a pun: "Beck Easton seemed to have new depths at every turn." Although readers may find themselves doubting the choice Beck and Jennifer make at the conclusion, they will still enjoy the journey. (Jan.)
