Through Waters Deep

When I pick up a Sarah Sundin book, I always have trouble deciding how to read it. I mean, I do know how to read, but Sarah's books are so good that I don't know whether to read slowly and savor each scene and each character or to read it fast because I just can't put it down. Generally, I read them rather quickly because I just can't put them down. It's just the way it is.

So, Mary Stirling is living in Boston and working for the Navy Ship Yard where they are building the battle ships and destroyers for the U S Navy prior to World War II. She happens to see Jim Avery, a guy she went to high school with, who is now stationed out of Boston on the destroyer Atwood. When sabotage begins to show up--like gasoline in a champagne bottle for a launching, a bomb in a compartment in the communications room on the Atwood, people framing one another for the sabotage incidents--those things get Mary's "Nancy Drew" interest. Because she can take shorthand dictation at 200 words per minute, she starts keeping notes on conversations and impressions and then turning those notes in to the FBI agents who are investigating the sabotage.

I have to admit I am rather jealous of Mary's shorthand prowess, as I only reached 120 wpm and I rarely use it anymore. But that's a different tale for a different time.

Through Deep Waters is one of those novels that teaches spiritual truths when you really aren't paying attention. When another friend from high school moves in with Mary and her roommate, Mary remembers the crush Jim had on this friend and sacrifices her growing love for Jim so this friend can have her chance at true love with him. Jim is put into a couple of situations where he has to consider the greater good in choosing his actions in the particular situations--in one he chooses many lives over one man's fingers, in another he chooses to rescue several men's lives in spite of direct orders not to.

I had a few surprises in how my expectations were fulfilled or not. Jim's friend Arch is from a rather wealthy family and wants to meet a girl who loves him for himself and not his money. I had a girl from the book picked out for him, but Sarah surprised me. I can't wait for the next book to see how this one works out.

I love Sarah's writings, partially because my father and many of my uncles served during World War II and the part of history they lived is fascinating to me. I love Sarah's writings because she's got a good grasp of the trade--she pulls characters, settings, and plots together in a cohesive reading extravaganza. If I had a bucket list of authors I'd want to meet in person, Sarah would be at the top!

Five Stars, Two Thumbs Up, and a Nancy Drew novel to help you hone your investigative skills.