Merfolk

Bates’s breezy fourth World’s Scariest Legends novel (after The Man from Taured) sends a wealthy British scientist hunting merfolk off the coast of Sri Lanka. Martin Murdoch, the “MerDoc,” believes that prehuman semiaquatic apes who thrived along the ocean shore evolved into merfolk. But after he appears in a documentary on this theory that turns out to be a hoax, he retreats from the public eye, waiting for some real proof. He finds it in a video of oceanographer Elsa Montero dissecting a great white shark and retrieving a humanoid skull from its stomach, a DNA test of which reveals “mitochondrial DNA with mutations unknown in any human, primate, or known animal.” Tracking the shark’s swimming patterns leads Marty to the underwater caves of Demon Island, and he convinces Elsa; his girlfriend, Radhika Fernandez; his sonar technician, Pip Jobert; and reporter Jacqueline DeSilva to accompany him to investigate. But Marty never considers that the merfolk don’t want to be found. Bates supplies just enough scientific background on the evolution of marine animals to justify Martin’s zeal, but the plot tends to glide along the surface of a fascinating concept without ever diving in deep. Still, the fun expedition, eccentric characters, and B-movie style monster action make for a light, enjoyable outing. (Self-published)