Sea Storm: Under Water Investigation Unit, Book 3

Thriller Award finalist Mayne’s pulse-pounding third Underwater Investigation Unit thriller (after 2020’s The Girl Beneath the Sea) opens with police diver Sloan McPherson and her partner, Scott Hughes, speeding in their rescue boat toward a cruise ship in distress off the Florida coast. The ship is listing, smoke is coming out of the portholes, and there’s an explosion on the bridge. Once aboard, Sloan and Scott help get passengers and crew to safety. Early speculation is a terrorist attack, but no one claims credit. When the FBI takes over, the UIU is pushed aside, but Sloan and Scott continue to look into a local ecoterrorist. Nothing, however, adds up: evidence is contradictory, suspects go missing then turn up dead, and purported thieves repeatedly try to board the stranded ship. As the UIU tries to determine why, powerful foes target the group, putting its future in doubt. The fast-paced plot is filled to the brim with fascinating characters, and the locale is exceptional—both above and below the waterline. One doesn’t have to be a nautical adventure fan to enjoy this nail-biter. Agent: Erica Silverman, Trident Literary. (Mar.)