Black Coral

In Thriller Award–finalist Mayne’s exciting sequel to 2020’s The Girl Beneath the Sea, Det. Sloan McPherson, a diver for the Florida Underwater Investigation Unit, joins a team looking into a series of burglaries in which navigational equipment worth millions of dollars has been stolen from yachts in the Miami area. Meanwhile, the unit is called to retrieve a body trapped in a car that nose-dived into a pond. In the course of her dive, Sloan discovers a van containing four bodies. Her search into the identity of the victims leads to a serial killer who has been on the rampage for more than a decade. Soon, though, Sloan’s team is sidelined by political squabbles with other units, she’s temporarily suspended, and she must engage in a dangerous undercover assignment. Mayne’s portrayal of the Everglades ecosystem and its inhabitants serves as a fascinating backdrop for the detective work. Readers will hope the spunky Sloan returns soon. Agent: Erica Silverman, Trident Media Group. (Feb.)