John Dobbyn

This story grabbed me from the start, and I told my friends and family about it before I was done!

Deadly Depths is a new suspense-filled thriller that will take readers across the globe in search of truth and treasure. The engaging protagonist puts his life on the line out of love and loyalty to an older couple when his friend and mentor’s murder is staged to look like a suicide, leaving behind a devastated widow and lots of unanswered questions. He vows to find out who is responsible and show more bring them to justice.

The main character, Matthew Shane, is likable, loyal, and a man of his word. Professor Holmes was a friend, mentor, and second father to him, so he has a deep emotional connection to the man and his widow, Mary. His unique background as a former United States Air Force investigator gives him the skills necessary to pursue the answers he and Mary crave.

Matthew’s search takes him to various interesting destinations, such as the home cities of the professor’s archaeological colleagues, who have dubbed themselves The Monkey’s Paw Society. The author does a fantastic job of giving each location an identifiable sense of place. However, early on in the adventure, New Orleans and Bayou St. Germaine became my favorites. (I swear I could hear the mosquitoes!)

At every turn, sinister sorts step out of the shadows, increasing the ever-present feeling of menace. I was never certain who could be trusted. There are plot twists that completely alter the direction of Matthew’s investigation; still, it all links together. There is even a compelling story within the story that was fascinating all on its own.

With an engaging hero, adventuresome plot, creative settings, little-known histories, and even romance, I recommend DEADLY DEPTHS to readers who enjoy action adventures, thrillers, and suspense.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours. show less

Michael Knight is a successful, young, Boston lawyer, the younger partner in Devlin & Knight. Michael doesn't always play it safe, and that adds to the stress of senior partner Lex Devlin, secretary Julie, and fiancée Terri.

Michael Knight looks like a nice Boston Irish boy, but his mother is Puerto Rican, and he speaks Spanish, enjoys Puerto Rican cuisine, and, most importantly for this story, has two cousins, brothers Victor and Roberto Mendoza, who are now jockeys at Boston's thoroughbred show more racing track, Suffolk Downs.

Michael is at the track, watching a race in which Victor and Roberto are both racing, when something goes horribly wrong. Victor's horse moves sideways into Roberto's, a collision in which Roberto's horse goes down, and Roberto is critically injured. By the next morning, Roberto is dead, and the DA wants to charge Victor with being involved in fixing the race, and with felony murder, for the death of his brother.

Knight starts out looking for his cousin, who has seemingly gone into hiding, and trying to figure out how he could have become involved in a race-fixing scheme, something that would have outraged both brothers. Along the way, he discovers the real scheme is much bigger, much nastier, and much more dangerous. It takes Knight back to his own blessedly brief involvement in a local Puerto Rican gang as a teenager, to his Puerto Rican roots, and into some of the darker corners of Boston's organized crime scene. A form of smuggling he hadn't even known existed play a key role, and the question of who can be trusted and who can't becomes complicated and alarming.

One compelling aspect of this book for me is that the city of Boston really is a character here, and it's the Boston I know. Dobbyn knows the streets, the places, the neighborhoods and cultures. Not every detail is true to Boston today, but the bits that aren't true now were true in the very recent past. Dobbyn is from here, and you can tell.

The bonus extra is that the narrator, Bill Nevitt has his Boston accents (yes, multiple accents, from different neighborhoods, local cultures, and education levels) as close to perfect as I've heard in audiobooks. I suppose it's no surprise for anyone from an area with a distinctive general accent that isn't American standard that performers rarely get it truly right, or to anyone anywhere that local variations obvious to anyone from the area are always glossed over. I have no idea where Nevitt is from, so I'm just going with, this is a serious professional who cares about getting things right. It added to the pleasure of listening to this audiobook.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from the narrator, and am reviewing it voluntarily. show less

Deadly Depths by John F. Dobbyn is a very highly recommended action/adventure thriller.

Matthew Shane is a law professor in Salem, Massachusetts, when his mentor and friend, Archeology Professor Barrington Holmes, is found murdered in his office. His death is made to look like a suicide, but the truth soon becomes clear. Matthew promises his widow to find the truth and the murderer. This requires looking into a group of four other notable archaeologists who along with Holmes, called their show more alliance “The Monkey’s Paw society.” They all had one of five clues that purported to show the way to a valuable historical artifact and it appears someone is targeting the members for death.

While Matthew is currently a law professor, he formerly practiced criminal law and was an Intelligence officer in the Air Force, so he brings some observational skills, insight, and abilities in the search for the professor's killer. I rather loved the fact that he often gave credit to God in the narrative. The direction of the search and the novel changes and goes global part way through the novel, which ups the tension and suspense with several breathe-taking scenes.

Deadly Depths is an action-packed hold-on-to-your-hat thrill ride of a novel. I was engrossed in the action from start to finish. Yes, you most certainly need to suspend your disbelief while reading. I will admit to three moments of dramatic eye rolling, perhaps a few more dramatic sighs, but I wasn't about to set the novel aside. This is the kind of global action/adventure novel meant to provide pure reading pleasure while escaping reality and I was full-in for the armchair adventure. 4.5
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2023/07/deadly-depths.html show less

secret-society, archaeology, action-adventure, treasure, greed, pirates, murder, slavery, Obeah, relics, Aztec, friends, friendship, historical-places-events, historical-research, history-and-culture, tense, suspense, danger, curse, unputdownable, legend, world-travel*****

The archeologists became treasure hunters. Until they became corpses.
Matthew Shane is a law professor in Salem, Massachusetts, a former USAF investigator, and a former practicing attorney. With the discovery that his friend show more and mentor has died in a manner set up to look like a suicide, his widow charges Matt to find out more about the secret society that was most probably behind the event. So he does, indeed travel to The Bayou then Canada, and more, always a step behind more murders and the clue of Obeah magic. The plot is tight and the suspense is ongoing to the end. The characters are so believable and the descriptions right on target. It is very obvious that there has been much research into the history of the practice of Obeah and also of the slave trade and pirates. A riveting tale from a dedicated and imaginative storyteller. I loved it!
I requested and received an EARC from Oceanview Publishing via NetGalley. Thank you! show less