Black Coral by Andrew Mayne – Review

Published: February 16, 2021

Publisher: Thomas & Mercer

Series: Underwater Investigation Unit #2

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Pages: 317 (Kindle)

My Rating: 4.25/5.00

Synopsis:
For a police diver in Florida, solving a cold-case mystery brings a serial killer out of hiding…

Sloan McPherson and the Underwater Investigation Unit have discovered a van at the bottom of a murky Florida pond. Sealed inside the watery tomb are the bodies of four teenagers who disappeared thirty years ago after leaving a rock concert. To authorities, it looks like a tragic accident. To Sloan, it looks like murder. Every piece of evidence is starting to connect to a string of cold case vanishings throughout Florida. Clue by clue, Sloan navigates the warm, dark waters where natural predators feed, knowing that the most dangerous one is still above the surface—nesting and dormant.

But when a fresh young kill is found in the Everglades, Sloan fears that her investigation has reawakened a monster. How can she catch someone who’s a genius at hiding in plain sight? By acting as prey. The dangerous gambit is working—only too well. She’s being lured into a deception of the madman’s own design. Has Sloan set a trap for a serial killer? Or has he set one for her?

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Sloan McPherson returns as part of the newly formed Underwater Investigation Unit and when she discovers a van full of missing teenagers from the 80’s, the case is on. Things are competitive between the UIU and other law enforcement departments who argue that the UIU is redundant and should be absorbed, so proving the usefulness of being a separate entity is top priority. That is, top priority just behind tracking down thieves who are breaking into multi-million dollar yachts and stealing equipment. Sloan however is less interested in hunting down thieves than she is in investigating a cold case that is beginning to look more and more like the work of a serial killer. I was impressed that the author managed to weave two separate mysteries into one book so deftly, though the yacht thieves are definitely a minor plot thread in comparison.

Sloan is an admirably tenacious lead character, though at times her determination was strongly in the realm of insanity. I’m thinking of one specific scene where she faces down with a giant alligator lovingly nicknamed Big Bill, which had me white-knuckling the steering wheel as I drove! When she gets her teeth into a case, she certainly doesn’t let go come hell or high water. There were some truly incredible moments during the hunt for this prolific serial killer even aside from the alligator encounter and Andrew Mayne does a great job incorporating the natural elements of South Florida into the story. 

Andrew Mayne always delivers an action-packed and engaging mystery. He’s definitely one of those authors where I’ll probably read every single new book he releases because I have yet to read one I don’t like. The quality is consistent across all of the series and somehow there’s never middle-book syndrome. I enjoyed Black Coral even more than I did The Girl Beneath the Sea. The cold case/serial killer element was done really well and seeing Sloan persevere against the doubt surrounding her theories was quite satisfying. The synopsis for the next book sounds like Mayne has upped the ante even more than I could have anticipated! I hope to pick that up in the near future – perhaps right before the fourth book is released next year.