Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“Sea Castle” is the fourth book in the Underwater Investigation series by Andrew Mayne, but the first one I have read. It is quite popular and one can see why it is so; it has it all: quirky characters who are endearing, engrossing storytelling and an interesting premise via its underwater probes.

This book has Sloan McPherson floating around with other police departments as her unit is on the verge of being shut down by the higher-ups owing to the highly sensitive investigation they had carried out in the previous book. On a routine visit to a crime scene on the shore of a bay, Sloan’s instincts are awakened to the possibility of something sinister going on around that area. With resistance from the police departments, Sloan teams up with Gwen Wylder, a detective who has been pushed to the fringes of the department owing to her erratic behavior in relation to a case which has her coming up with crazy theories. 

However, certain facts pertaining to the current case makes Sloan suspect Gwen’s theories might be right. Thus begins the crazy back and forth between two eccentric people, that makes for a catchy investigation and an interesting story. 

I absolutely love Mayne’s narrative style. He never meanders away from the story, his dialogue is sharp and witty and most importantly, the story moves very fast. His characters all have well-defined edges. They all seem like lived-in real people rather than imagined ones. They are surely unique and sometimes even weird but not so much that they seem like caricatures.

The story was also very interesting. Certain aspects of it might seem a cliche, but the other unique aspects brought into the story make the story a fresh read. I was pulled into it the instant I started reading it and the pacing of the story never loosened till about 70% of the way into it. However, the last 30% became slightly predictable and so was the identity of the perpetrator, but it didn’t spoil my reading experience.

This book was a joy to read and I couldn’t recommend this book more to my readers.

This book gets 5 out of 5 stars.