Jessie Madison has been given another chance at her dream job with the FBI, and she is quickly whisked away to an Island off Sicily.
Can you imagine taking a job, that you really don't know much about? Well, Jessie is doing that, she is a "need to know", also a newbie, and a quick replacement for an injured diver.
As this story unfolded, you quickly don't know whom to trust, there seems to be two sides to each of the individuals she is now working with.
The more we get into the story, I had an idea whom was causing the problems, but then I was led another way. Then there were more serious injuries, so whom was it?
What a job the author did of keeping me guessing, and it is almost to the end we find out, or do we?
I'll be looking for more reads by Terry Shames!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Severn House, and was not required to give a positive review.

Deep Dive is a gripping underwater thriller full of suspense, danger, and mystery. Jessie Madison, a former FBI trainee, is thrown into a high-stakes dive mission off the coast of Sicily, where a WWII wreck and a team full of secrets raise the tension with every chapter. The vivid Mediterranean setting, fast-paced plot, and strong, smart lead made this an engaging and immersive read from start to finish. I loved the mix of action, character depth, and intrigue.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC early!

Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller is the second book in the series that began a little more than a year ago with the release of Perilous Waters. While it is always better to read any series in order, in this case, most of the events depicted in that book are covered here, so beginning here would work well. This read is also a far better book.

As the book begins, Jessie Madison is at home in her new apartment far from the Bahamas. She is living on the reward money she got after those events. She is, for now, putting off looking for a job as the one job she wanted, being a member of an FBI Dive Team, is still closed to her. She plans on working on the case that the Newport News cops could never solve—the murder of her father twelve years ago.

She is reviewing the case materials she has one evening when two men in suits show up at her door. They tell her she is wanted for a briefing. John Farrell at Quantico, her former trainer in the FBI program and the man who booted her out, wants to see her in person and as soon as possible. Instead of calling her, he sent the agents and a helicopter and has told the agents nothing beyond the fact that the matter is urgent.

She packs a bag and takes the flight as she knows that whatever he wants could be a way to get back into the program. She soon learns that he reached out because somebody above him wants her for an emergency open position with a USERT (Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team) operating overseas. Contacting her was not his idea, but he did what he was told. A diver on the team was severely injured a few days ago and Jessie Madison would be sent in as his replacement if she agrees.

While he doesn’t answer her questions, or tell her much at all about the mission, he does make it clear that this might be a way for her to get back into the training program once the mission is completed. A door that was welded shut before has now cracked open just a hair. So, it was never really in doubt that she was going to take the assignment.

Soon she is with the team in Tyrrhenian Sea near the main small island of Lipari located off the northern coast of Sicily. A World War II plane has been found deep underwater and in a precarious position. It appears that the long dead pilot of the plane was wearing a United States uniform at the time of the crash. The plane may have also contained something so important that the government sent FBI divers to the wreckage on a mission clouded in secrecy. Why they are tasked with recovering an unknown object that may or may not be onboard is just one of many questions that are to be answered in Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller by Terry Shames.

While I personally much prefer the Samuel Craddock Mystery series, Deep Dive is an enjoyable book. Much is going on personally and professionally for nearly everyone in the read and the characters very much come alive for the reader. Then there are the overseas elements, the aspects of the dangerous dives, and stream of nefarious people with their own agendas.

The result is a complicated and fast moving read as things escalate in unpredictable ways. Deep Dive: A Jessie Madison Thriller by Terry Shames is a good book and a pleasant way to spend your time, on or off the beach.




My reading copy came from the publisher, Severn House, through NetGalley, with no expectation of a review.


Kevin R. Tipple © 2025

Terry Shames delivers another masterclass in small-town crime fiction with Deep Dive. From the very first page, the atmosphere is thick with tension, secrets, and the kind of slow-burn suspense that only a seasoned storyteller can pull off.

The plot is tightly woven, full of emotional depth and unexpected turns, and it tackles issues that feel both timely and personal without ever losing the classic whodunit thread. Shames has a unique gift for capturing the nuance of rural communities - their warmth, their darkness, and the unspoken rules that bind everything together.

Deep Dive doesn't just entertain - it immerses. It's the kind of novel you think about long after finishing the last page, not just for the twists, but for the truths it reveals. A standout entry in an already stellar series.

Deep Dive by Terry Shames

Thank you Netgalley and Severn House for my eARC!

Jessie Madison is a deep-sea diver, who was recently discharged from the FBI academy for being impulsive and reckless. She travels to The Bahamas to get away from her life and her problems, only to find herself in a dangerous situation. Her quick thinking and heroic acts in a tough situation allow her the opportunity of a lifetime: a chance to redeem herself with the FBI.

Jessie is asked to join an FBI USERT dive team on a top-secret mission off the coast of Italy. Her joining the team is of the utmost importance and she must leave immediately. Jessie joins seven elite divers trying to recover information from a World War II plane stranded at more than 100ft deep in the sea. As soon as Jessie meets everyone, she senses a lot of tension between them because the mission is not going smoothly. Jessie is perceptive and can tell each one of the team members is hiding something and she is determined to find out what is going on.

Shames sets the scene perfectly on the stunning Aeolian Islands allowing suspense and tension to build with each chapter. This story made me crave getting my dive license despite the dangerous situations the divers endured. I recommend this book if you love the water and shocking twists that will keep you engaged until the very last page!

My favorite genre of book – an ocean-based thriller! Jessie Madison, a former FBI trainee, gets the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to redeem herself in the eyes of the FBI and qualify for a position on an FBI USERT dive team. Tasked with joining a team in the Mediterranean on a top-secret dive mission, Jessie is a great protagonist, and I can only hope for more books featuring this badass diver! I received an ARC from NetGalley, and the opinions expressed are my own.

Exciting!

Loved this book, loved the detail of the dives, the scenery and life under the waves. The mystery kept me hooked and I didn’t want to put it down. The only downside was the end for me, it felt incomplete.

Deep Dive is the second adventure with Jessie Madison, a woman who was forced out from the FBI academy and went to the Bahamas to teach diving. After those thrilling events in the last book she gets an offer to join the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team. The mission is to salvage something from a downed German plane in the ocean outside of Sicily. But not all is what it seems. I found the book well written and like the first one I liked the characters. I have followed Terry Shames for a number of years now and I love her Samuel Craddock stories. This new series is nothing like that but it's still good. I can really recommend this series and the second book hits the shelves on July 1st 2025. Go get it. I must thank Netgalley and Severn House for letting me read this advance copy.

Jessie Madison joins an FBI dive mission in the Mediterranean, where she encounters deadly threats and dangerous secrets. After a spine chilling summer in The Bahamas, Jessie Madison jumps at the chance to join the FBI Underwater Search and Evidence Response Team. Seven elite divers are trying to reach a World War II plane stranded at the bottom of the sea, close to the stunning Aeolian Islands north of Sicily. But the mission isn’t going to plan . . . Great read! I definitely enjoyed reading this book! It had great suspense, murder, mystery, fantastic characters, intriguing, action, a great who done it and some shocking moments! The storyline was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Thriller with suspense and a wonderful plot. I love the concept of an underwater investigation team & this story did not disappoint. The characters are well developed and lead you into a tantalizing adventure to discover a stranded WW2 plane while all kinds of obstacles and trap get in the way. Highly recommend!