The Girl Beneath the Sea: A Thriller

Written by Andrew Mayne

Narrated by Susannah Jones

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

For a Florida police diver, danger rises to the surface in an adventurous thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Naturalist.

Coming from scandalous Florida treasure hunters and drug smugglers, Sloan McPherson is forging her own path, for herself and for her daughter, out from under her family’s shadow. An auxiliary officer for Lauderdale Shores PD, she’s the go-to diver for evidence recovery. Then Sloan finds a fresh kill floating in a canal—a woman whose murky history collides with Sloan’s. Their troubling ties are making Sloan less a potential witness than a suspect. And her colleagues aren’t the only ones following every move she makes. So is the killer.

Stalked by an assassin, pitted against a ruthless cartel searching for a lost fortune, and under watch within her ranks, Sloan has only one ally: the legendary DEA agent who put Sloan’s uncle behind bars. He knows just how deep corruption runs—and the kind of danger Sloan is in. To stay alive, Sloan must stay one step ahead of her enemies—both known and unknown—and a growing conspiracy designed to pull her under.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: May 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781799754794

Andrew Mayne

Andrew Mayne started his first illusion tour while he was a teenager and was soon headlining in resorts and casinos around the world. He’s worked behind the scenes creatively for David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and David Blaine. With the support of talk show host and amateur magician Johnny Carson, Andrew started a program to use magic to teach critical thinking skills in public schools for the James Randi Educational Foundation. Andrew’s “Wizard School” segments, teaching magic and science to children, aired nationwide on public television. He also starred in the reality show Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne.

Reviews for The Girl Beneath the Sea

[wiserwisegirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast Paced and Well Crafted

Looking for a thriller? If you stop here you will enjoy the read. Shark Week writer and one of Uk's best selling authors employs an easy going humorous style as you learn about florida's natural world and underworld. Topics like sex and torture are not dwelled on, so the murders in this thriller have classic minimalistic reporter like descriptions. Modern family dynamics and strong woman perspectives are employed with only one slow moving section 3/4 way through. I enjoyed the twists and turns with protagonist thoughts explaining enough to keep you from getting lost. Ending is not cliche, or final. Book two is coming.

[cassprout · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good read but his The Naturalist series is much better.

[cathyskye · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was introduced to Andrew Mayne's writing by his first Dr. Theo Cray mystery, The Naturalist, and when I learned that this mystery was the first in a new series about a woman police diver, I knew I had to give it a try. At the end of The Girl Beneath the Sea, I had mixed emotions... but I'm game to read the next book in the series (Black Coral, released in February 2021). Mayne certainly knows how to tell a riveting story, even though the plot seems to be a bit far-fetched at times, and he also knows how to create a main character with a distinctive voice. The youngest child and only girl of the McPherson family, Sloan is a self-professed "alpha wolf," and it's true that her brothers do not make appearances in this book. Her shady family background in treasure hunting and drug smuggling has made her believe that she's always got to prove herself to everyone, and it's this that I had the most problems with. As an alpha wolf, she thinks nothing of putting herself in extremely dangerous situations with no backup, and I found her occasional TSTL (Too Stupid To Live) moments exasperating, especially since she's a single mother. If the story hadn't been so compelling, I would have stopped reading for this reason alone. I can't stand women who are TSTL. However, as I said, Mayne knows how to tell a compelling story, and there are two things I really liked about The Girl Beneath the Sea: (1) teaming Sloan with DEA agent George Solar, a man she hates for putting her beloved uncle behind bars, and (2) the underwater scenes. Mayne is a diver himself, and he brings the underwater sequences to life. There's a lot of fascinating information about diving and the underwater world to be learned here, and he really had me squirming whenever Sloan was diving in those murky Florida canals. (I love the water, but I want to be able to see what's in the water with me if you know what I mean.) Teaming Sloan with George Solar puts a cap on those hare-brained solo stunts of hers and makes her grow up emotionally. Even though the plot seemed a bit unbelievable from time to time, and even though I wanted to shake some sense into Sloan whenever she decided to dive in and save the day all by her lonesome, I do want to read the next book in the series. If Sloan continues her ill-advised ways in the second book, that's when I'll call it quits.

[al9g · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

She's not wanted for murder. Yet. But the coincidence of a dead body dumped by drug gangs on the exact site where Sloan McPherson is diving for artifcats staggers the imagination. After losing her part time gig as a cop and coming under investigation by the DEA, the state police, the local police and several other federal agencies, Sloan decides she needs to solve the mystery to restore her reputation. But her only apparent ally is the retired cop who put her uncle in jail for drug smuugling. Can she trust him? And what choice does she have with government agencies, corrupt government agents, and drug lords all trying to kill her? Mayne weaves a compelling tale of intrigue and adventure couple with good characterizations that invite the reader into deeper participation in the story. There aren't a lot of plot twists, but enough to keep you reading. The book is a quick read and sets up some likely sequels. This is my 3rd or 4th of his books, and I enjoy reading them, he writes smoothly and tells stories in a way that keeps the pages turning until you are suddenly done. This is another good one.

[jamespurcell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another Mayne series of to a good start. Lively characters, enough bad guys for a whole series, and a very sprightly plot. The heroine does it all and has an excellent if weirdly dysfunctional supporting cast. Looking forward to the next installment.

[harryo19 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

An entertaining page-turner. What I don't understand why the author made the protaganist female: not believable as a woman at all.

[edwardsgt · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fast-paced thriller set in Florida around an underwater investigator, Sloan McPherson, who works for the local police and unwittingly becomes embroiled in major drug running and corruption, whilst undertaking some recreational diving.