Beneath the Surface by Lynn H Blackburn – Likeable Characters and Interesting Scenario Make for A Good Read

I love mysteries and suspense novels and that’s what drew me to read Lynn H Blackburn’s newest book Beneath the Surface, the first book in the Dive Team Investigations series. 

The story begins with homicide investigators, Ryan Parker and Gabe Chavez, training for underwater crime scene investigations when they discover a body.  What started out an exercise has now developed into a murder investigation.  To help with the logistics, Ryan reaches out to a neighbor and old friend, Leigh Weston, to see if the police can use her dock for a few days. 

Soon, Leigh has some troubles of her own when she’s driving from home from work and her brakes give out.  Was it mechanical failure or something more nefarious?  Ryan and Gabe’s case load just got busier as they take a closer look in to Leigh’s accident.

What I liked best about this book are the very likable characters.  They are people I would like to know, I cared about them and about what happened to them.  It’s made all the more interesting as the mystery unfolds with new developments in both cases and unexpected twists.  I found the underwater crime scene investigation fascinating and enjoyed trying to figure out “who done it.”

Something the character Ryan said in the first chapter, “No one deserves to die forgotten.”, drew me in and I knew I would like this story.

I appreciated how Lynn wove the Christian faith into the lives of some of the characters and I hope that aspect of the story continues to be developed in the next book in this series.  Lynn’s knows how to tell a good story without resorting to filthy language or sexually explicit scenes.

There were times that the story seems to drag a bit as the story unfolded.  But it didn’t bother me too much because I liked the characters and interesting storyline. 

Lynn Blackburn is an author who is new to me and she’s going on my list of authors whose work I want to read.  I look forward to reading her earlier and future novels, especially book two of this series.

I would like to thank Revell Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Lynn H Blackburn’s new novel Beneath the Surface in exchange for an honest review.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.