Andrew Mayne is the master of stories centered around underwater diving. In Dark Dive he focuses on the police/archeological dive team of Sloan McPherson and Scott Hughes. Having read Black Coral, Underwater Investigation Unit #2 I thought that would bring me current with this book which is installment #5. While Dark Dive may be read as a stand-alone I would have been better served if I had read #3 and #4. There were many references to these previous installments that were important to understand the current dynamic.

Dark Dive strings together a bunch of interesting characters, who dive some very interesting and creepy places - sinkholes that have filled with water becoming caves that may be thousands of years old. Scary places with spaces that are more closed in, everything feels darker and more dangerous, completely antithetical to what we think of when we refer to Sunny Florida.

Mayne goes into elaborate detail about the many dive sites geography, topography and does an excellent job of creating a mood that creeped me out completely. Trudging through high grass, swamp, muck and yuck to get to these inland dive sites where panthers, bears, pythons, anacondas, alligators and worse hide and wait - the stuff of nightmares. McPherson no longer goes into the water to study Florida’s prehistory, she now dives “to recover bodies or look for traces of the most evil acts humans commit.” The stage is set, a diver known for his planning and caution, liked and respected among the dive community, goes missing. His disappearance is compounded by his misappropriated identity.

Dark Dive is a suspense driven murder mystery which includes just enough technical cave diving information. I had no problem understanding the mechanics of each dive. While it took just a bit to relate to the prologue when I made the connection it was brilliant and the extra history provided was a huge plus. Mayne has written a really good book combining so many interesting elements and subjects and leaving just the smallest doubt which is never a bad thing.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for a copy.

Book Five and of course it being an Underwater Investigation, I grabbed it. Usually, this unit is all about evidence retrieval but in this case a seasoned diver has gone missing. Then boy does it get complicated! Well-developed characters, atmospheric (are you kidding?!) and recommended.

Dark Drive is the Amazon Editors’ pick for Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. The CE and I’ve read other books by this author, the last being Night Owl, a techno-thriller. Always intelligent, bright, and informative, I tend more toward the underwater storylines. Definitely for the reader who enjoys action adventure. 4.5 stars

I cannot believe that this is the first of Andrew Mayne's books I've read! Especially since Dark Dive is the fifth in the Underwater Investigation series. I loved this, it was was gripping right from page one and I found myself glued to the story of Sloan and her team as the story and investigations progressed.

The only thing that left me slightly wanting was the ending, after such a climactic build throughout the first three quarters of the novel, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be going back to read the first four.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

Thank you NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Andrew Mayne for a copy of this ARC in return for an honest opinion.

The Underwater Investigation Unit is one of my favorite series. Every single book in the series has been an edge-of-your-seat mystery that’s impossible to put down. Dark Dive is the 5th in the series and it did not disappoint. .

Sloan, Hughes, and Solar are back in business now that the UIU is back together after a brief disbandment. When Sloan finds out a close friend of the family, Fred Stafford, has disappeared, she starts along a long path that reveals buried secrets that are decades old. She begins to realize that all is not as it seemed.

I couldn’t put this book down. It was very suspenseful and full of action. It left me wanting more. I recommend this whole series for anyone who likes suspense. 5/5 stars.

After slogging my way through Andrew Mayne's last novel, Night Owl, which felt more like it was made via AI than a real person (Mayne works a day job in AI), I was cautiously optimistic about this one. In the past, I approached this series with great reverence. I loved the setting and the characters. But I was concerned that this book would feel more like Night Owl than previous installments. To my great pleasure, it was not the case. Even more so, it's one of the better installments in the series. The mystery was great. The set pieces were thrilling. The only thing I'm really concerned about now is that Mayne has plans to wrap up the series. The main characters shows signs of slowing down, and I'm a bit worried that there's only a few more installments left in the series (I refuse to believe this is the last based on the rushed ending). I would like to see more from UIU. Much more. (Trasker, not so much.) Keep writing the series with heart, Andrew. Please. We're begging you.

I love this series! In this installment, an experienced diver and friend of Sloan McPherson, has gone missing. The search for Fred Stafford brings the Florida Underwater Investigation Unit to several strange locations . . . including a secret storage shed, remote marshy areas, and into murky waters filled with underwater predators, each holding mysteries of their own. Digging deep for clues along the way unearths more than one past long forgotten. This was a fun read.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Dark Dive for my unbiased evaluation.  4 stars

This is the fifth book in this series, and I have yet to read the first four books in it. I know this sounds strange. And when I requested it I knew it was the fifth, I wasn’t mistaken or confused. I have no excuses, but in my defense, I can say that I have the other books on my shelves and that I love this author, and since I have no willpower when we are talking about books… well, you can guess how it went. And it does not help that lately, I am in dire need of some good thrillers. And Mayne has yet to let me down!
So, I requested the fifth book, I got approved (and they were so quick! Frankly, I thought that I would have had the time to read at least the first book before getting an answer, but I am not complaining!), and I devoured it! Now I know that I will start this series ASAP. (And sure, I haven’t finished the other ones but… who cares?? I’ll go there! Sooner or later…).

This book was so hard to put down! It sucked me in and it didn’t let me go till I reached the end. It was so damn good! And there are a lot of good things, too! It was thrilling, it was captivating, it was fast-paced, it was all I was looking for, and more. It was pure bliss. And it took me some time with my thoughts to see that this book wasn’t as perfect as I thought it was. I mean, I loved the book while I was reading it, and I love the book now, it is just so good! But there is a mystery without a solution here, and it was quite a big one too, but in the heat of the moment, I forgot all about it! It’s just later that, with some space between us, I remembered that there was another mystery and that I wanted the answers to that one, too! And this is why, in the end, my rating is 4 stars and not 5. Because I am so in love with this book that I would have given it 5 stars right away! But since I need those answers, and because it is strange that a thriller full of mystery will leave a (big) one without answers (but maybe we will get the answers in the next book? I can’t say, but gosh, I really hope so!). Anyway, I’ll try to say something more about it, let’s see…

We start with a missing person, he is one of the best divers in the region. He is called upon by the military and the police forces to help, he is well known around, I think he is famous too, and he is a friend of Sloan, our MC. And up to this point, things are quite straightforward. I mean, they start to search for him, and they discover that things aren’t really as clear-cut as they thought in the beginning and that it may be something illegal going on. As I said, it’s pretty standard in the beginning. And yet, the author managed to grip your attention, I was glued to the pages, fascinated by the setting, since diving is pretty interesting, also dangerous, a lot! I won’t dive for the life of me, I am not so adventurous, but it is nice to read about it, and to read about people who know what they are doing! I am always fascinated by competence, and I loved this part. I have to confess that I was pretty happy with the things like they were because it is not only the investigative part that made a good thriller but other elements too, like the pace (it was perfect!), the characters (great!), the setting (quite fascinating), and all of those combine together into the making of something new and unique if you do your job right. And Mayne did his job right.
But for him, it’s also pretty standard to go over the top, so to speak. Its books, at least the ones I read so far (I think this one is the 5th one I read by him) have some extras to them, they are always chocking full of twists, or happenings, or whatever, they all tend to be over the top. And this one does not make an exception.
And so the story starts to get more complicated as things do not add up, and new mysteries are added to the main one.
Honestly, I think that this can make the biggest “make it or break it” for you, if this kind of thing usually doesn’t work for you, you’ll hate Mayne’s books, while if you are okay with that (and maybe with a bit of suspension of disbelief) you will love them! I am not the biggest fan of having too much going on (I just decided to drop two series because the author in the late books was constantly trying to outdo herself, and the books were just too much for my tastes, for example), and I can honestly say that, more often than not, these books are too much. But I love them, and I love them for this part too. I love that you can’t put the book down, I love that there is always something else going on, or something else to dig up (both metaphorically and literally!) and I love the adrenaline.

It was hard to put down, so so hard! And the merit is not only of the writing, which is smooth and direct, or the pace, which is fast and constantly moving forward, but also of the characters. I really loved Sloan and Scott, and I have to mention Solar and Gwen. The first is the best boss ever, especially in thriller books, and Gwen is just amazing. I loved Sloan and Scott’s relationship. They are friends who really know and trust each other, and it is beautifully depicted (also, this is one of the main push to go back and read the previous books, because I am dying to see more of their interaction, I want to see how this beautiful friendship developed!). Also, we have a ton of uber-competent characters. I am not only talking about the MCs, who are indeed competent (and also quite original, their background is always fascinating and pretty unique, with some interesting mix in there. I think that getting to know the MCs is, alone, a great reason to read this author’s books!), but also the other experts that are called on the scene, or the police or whatever, we have a lot of competent and smart people between the pages of his books (because this is, again, a general feature in Mayne’s works), and I always love to see them around.

And last but not least, with this constant mix of fascinating setting, unique and intriguing characters, and over the top plot, we start small, with a sort of pretty classical setting/story and we get to some parts with a really high emotional impact, and I don’t know if I was more taken aback (in the best possible way) by the mystery of it, the twists in the plot, or the emotional punch in the gut, that I didn’t see coming but that it’s there waiting for you. It is a short book, and it is a fast reading but it packs a lot. And I loved every second I spent with it!

Score: 7/10

Encouraged by carol.’s review I decided to revisit Mayne’s Florida swamps and estuaries full of alligators and conniving criminals. An admission, first: I do not follow the series with anything close to attention, or devotion, but the two books that I have read are engrossing and well written enough to give me exactly what I expect – fun, lightweight entertainment. So, after reading book no. 2 I decided to jump straight to book no. 5, without any notable adverse effects. Sure, the situation for the cast had changed, but because Dark Dive is the book when everything comes back to normal after various politically motivated shenanigans, the dissociation was barely there. Most of the stuff that had happened in between was explained when needed (which didn’t happen often, just enough for me to pick up the bones of previous events), and the characters’ growth seems to be happening mostly in this book, anyway, since this is where they come back to what they know.

Dark Dive bears the marks of an author finding his groove and willing to flex his writing muscles a bit, choosing a riskier path here and there – as a result, it gets more interesting, if also a bit more uneven. Starting with a crime scene from thousands of years ago it drags the reader right into the middle of Florida’s dangerous Everglades – setting up the scene for the modern crime, or a chain of crimes, swiftly following that original source. What isn’t there? Sinkholes, mummies, alligators, mid-century child abuse and murder, stolen identity… Mayne really pulled out all the stops with Dark Dive, and the action is almost constant, and the intrigue byzantine. I was glad to see some growth to the character of Sloan, who slowly realizes she’s not immortal after all, nor as independently self-sufficient as she thought. The relationships building up through the series are as important as the case of the book, if not, at least on an emotional level, more. And while the growth happens almost in footnotes, in a few sentences peppered judiciously throughout the novel, it is consistent and highly efficient – and that’s what it’s all about, after all. Also, alligators are back and diving in Florida consistently seems like something I love to read about but would never like to try :).

All in all, a very pleasant popcorn read, admirably fulfilling its role of a diverting entertainment, with only a few weaker elements: the NetGalley version that I got was not well edited, with plenty of repetitions looking like the author knew what he wanted to convey but not the exact wording: there were a good few paragraphs where next sentence was an almost exact copy of a previous one, with a word changed here and there for a different emphasis. While I enjoy getting a peek at an author’s behind the scenes craft polishing, this is not a how-to book, but a novel. I do hope this issue gets resolved in the actual publication. The other bit of criticism I cannot not offer is the ending, which was abrupt and felt unfinished. There were plenty of loose ends in this installment, and surprising ones at that – not just odd bits dangling here and there, but elements fro the main plot arc regarding the central case, the resolution of which should have been easy enough with the buildup accumulated throughout the novel. This seems either like oversight or an intentional hook for the next novel in the series – but I am not intrigued enough to check.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

Another great one from Andrew Mayne! I have not been disappointed by any of his work. Highly recommend!!

Fantastic book. There is just something about this series that pulls me in. I love the diving aspect to these books and find that adds a good bit of tension to the story. The cast of characters is also really well done. I’m also impressed with the fact that a male author can write a female character so well.

Sloan McPherson returns, along with her partner, Scott Hughes, in the 5th book of the Underwater Investigations series to investigate the disappearance of an old family friend. The story is nicely paced, the mystery interesting and incorporates not only Sloan's skills as a diver but also her studies in archeology. I really enjoy Andrew Mayne's books and would highly recommend the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy.

I love Andrew Mayne's series about Sloan and the Underwater Investigation Unit. This book wasn't as fast paced as other, even though the team is searching for a missing person, diver and possible smuggler, but I quite enjoyed it. This book had Sloan pondering more about what she is doing and more about the archaeology! I loved it and can't wait to see where Mayne takes the series, please write more!

I really enjoyed this one. I do have to say I really like the narrator on the audiobook though, so I'd probably recommend that format more. This is the 5th in the Underwater Investigation Unit. It can be read as a standalone though. While they don't give a huge overview of past books, it's been awhile since I've read each book in the series and couldn't exactly remember what happened in previous books and I didn't feel lost or confused. I really like this series. It's so different than other police procedurals you read. There's so much more about diving in all of the books and I have absolutely no interest in diving in the real world but it is rather fascinating subject matter. But, let's talk about this book. This was more personal than previous books with the case she was investigating being someone she actually knows. I think it went at just the right pace for most of the book. The thriller part really increased at the end. My only complaint was how fast everything wrapped up. It felt like we'd barely heard who the killer was and then the book was over. I am curious if the series will continue or if Sloane is getting out of the business after all that talk in the book. Still this is a quick interesting read and I would recommend it.

Don't miss the latest in this crime thriller series.

Are you a fan of crime thrillers and mysteries but looking for a unique approach? Look no further, as the members of the Underwater Investigation Unit in Florida are investigating unusual cases below the surface. Their specialty is diving for exploration, body retrieval, crime scene analysis, and other bad stuff that can be discovered in the depths. From canal to ocean to sinkholes in the marshland, the squad is on the job.

In this 5th installment, Sloan McPherson and her partner, Scott Hughes, are searching for a friend of hers, another diver, who has gone missing. Fred Stafford was apparently checking out isolated ponds or sinkholes, but his truck and some gear is found with no sign of him. When they start checking into what he might have been doing before he vanished, they find something really odd in a secret storage shed. Seems he's gotten himself mixed up in something quite unexpected.

I enjoyed this one as Sloan actually gets to use some of her archeology background knowledge. As always, the details of the dive experiences are interesting, and the reader feels as if alongside them. Although not a diver myself, I find the descriptions of the hows and whys quite absorbing. There was an instance where a line of the plot simply went nowhere, but other than that, this was a solid c narrative that kept me engrossed. I'll continue on in this series and do think it should be read in order. I like the characters and the changes they go through in their work and personal lives.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

I have a theory (of course I do). By book five in a mystery series, we know it is going to be, well, A Series, meaning the author has developed a brand, certain genre conventions will be adhered to and, most importantly, the author has practiced enough to be decent at what they are doing. But here’s the hypothesis part: the author finally has enough publishing security to start to challenge themselves and the readers to break from earlier patterns. I present as evidence: Matthew Scudder book 5 and 6, (Eight Million Ways to Die and When the Sacred Ginmill Closes), two of my favorites; Elvis Cole 4 and 6 (Free Fall and Sunset Express); Charlie Parker 4 and 6 (The White Road and The Unquiet). Possibly I could go on, but this is about Mayne and how Dark Dive, book five in Payne’s Underwater Investigation series, dares to diverge from its predecessors and becomes an even more interesting book.

The series is about a statewide Underwater Investigations Unit which ostensibly is brought in when there are cases that involve diving, particularly evidence retrieval. It is a small unit, comprised of a charismatic, politically-savy head, George; our narrator, archeologist in-training, Sloan; the addition of the ex-Navy and tech-geek, Hughes, introduced in book 2; and the more recent ex-PD and data miner, Gwen, from book 4. (If you are getting the feeling you should read the series in order, that is quite possibly true. It depends on your tolerance for continuity). Prior to this, the Unit had seen some rocky political ground and temporary disbandment, but all is copacetic now. As a reader, I found this a huge relief; while intrusive agency politics may be a draw for some, I find them about as enjoyable as kingdom politics in fantasy series, which is to say, hardly at all. It is enjoyable to witness the team each perform their roles in competent ways and try to solve the puzzles they are presented with.

And what a puzzle! The soon-to-be ex-girlfriend claims a well-known but eccentric diver has gone missing and his new diving buddies are clueless and strangely unconcerned. As Sloan starts asking questions, she discovers she hardly knew the man. The case gets more complex in diverging but extremely interesting ways and I was on board for it, if a little confused once or twice. But here’s the thing–I want to re-read it because of it. It is one of those mysteries where the complexity invites one to think and reconsider, much like re-watching a magic trick. “Wait, show me again,” is, in my estimation, a good response to have in both scenarios.

Writing continues to improve. Sloan’s main focus in the case and she doesn’t spend a ton of time in the emotional back-and-forth of family dynamics, one of the areas where I have historically felt characterization was more weak. The endless glades of southern Florida really come alive, as do the deep sinkholes, and I felt myself in that muggy, grassy plain listening to insects buzz. Yep, definitely want to re-read it again (but honestly, not revisit the Glades again).

My deepest hesitation is the ending, which felt a little like it jumped the shark. Well, whatever; got to give the genre what it expects, I suppose, but that was what left me with the most questions the next day. Aside from that, it would have been an easy five stars. I definitely recommend for people that want an engaging mystery.

many thanks to Netgalley for the advanced e-copy for review. all opinions are you know, like, my own, man

It was great to have more Sloan action!! I love the team that's being built and Gwen is a great addition!! I love that we are back to more diving. This series is such a fun, unique mashup of my diving and detective novel hobbies. I do feel like the boys home and Stafford's true identity was left hanging open. I don't know if that was intentional for the next book or if it was just forgotten. I can't wait for the next in the series.

I feel like this series keeps improving. The team is formed again start with one case and then get dragged into another. It brings in a bit of the more historical aspects of Florida which is quite interesting. Sloane continues to do crazy things but she is contemplating what life would be without doing them. Hughes uses technology to help with their searches.

Overall an easy and fun read that i finished in a day.

Given a copy by NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

When a friend of the family disappears, Sloan and the rest of the Underwater Investigation Unit are on the case. And when their search leads them to a group of divers and underwater caves and potentially stolen artifacts, things take a turn.

The UIU team has grown by one since the last book, and I like how they all work together, and glad that some of the politics that have been present and distracting the team in previous installations were absent here, allowing the team to focus on their job.

An adventurous plot including underwater archaeology, artificial intelligence and immersive descriptions of the Floridian waterways filled with always-lurking alligators create gripping tension and terror in equal measure. I love the underwater archaeology aspect of this plot, and with Sloan working on her thesis and considering the next chapter of her life, I really hope Mayne explores this more in the future. This is my favorite installation in what has easily become one of my favorite series, and I impatiently look forward to the next installation.

Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley kindly provided me a ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

"Dark Dive," the latest installment in Andrew Mayne's Underwater Investigation Unit series, is a thrilling dive into the depths of suspense. As a Floridian, I appreciated the vivid portrayal of the state's unique underwater landscapes. The increased focus on diving in this book pleased me, addressing my previous concern from the last installment. While the storyline kept me engaged, the ending felt somewhat rushed, leaving me wanting more closure. Interestingly, a Google search revealed Mayne's connection to an AI company and his acknowledgment of ChatGPT for research, sparking speculation about AI's possible role in the writing process. Regardless, I extend my gratitude to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to delve into this captivating underwater mystery.