HELL OR HIGH WATER is book one in a new series, The
Deep
Six, by Julie Ann Walker. This series follows six ex
SEALS
who left the military last year. While on a botched
mission in Syria, they promised a dying teammate that they
would quit the military when their terms were up and start
making real lives for themselves. They remain banded
together working in marine salvage under their prior
lieutenant, and now ship captain, Leo "The Lion" Anderson.
Leo's father had the dream to find lost Spanish treasure
from the sunken galleon La Santa Christina, and now Leo is
pursuing that dream in his dad's footsteps.
Then in walks Central Intelligence Agency operative Olivia
Mortier, who worked with Leo in Syria a year ago. They
flirted for months and shared one smoking kiss overseas,
but when the mission fell apart, the two went their
separate ways without consummating their "interest". Now
Olivia and her boss need to recover chemical weapons
stolen
by al-Qaeda faction flunkies then dropped on the bottom of
the ocean by the fleeing terrorists, and Leo is the right
man in the right place that the government can tap to make
things happen. Olivia and Leo must work together closely
to thwart the terrorist plot, and that closeness makes
their attraction flare out of control. The lust between
Leo and Olivia is off-the-charts steamy, and adds a lovely
fillip to the story.
HELL OR HIGH WATER is the usual wild and over-the-top
military
action/suspense romance with all kinds of events that
strain the bounds of credulity. While I can willingly
suspend my disbelief to a fairly extended point to enjoy
this kind of action-packed book, there are far too many
unbelievable things in this book which pulled me out of
the
moment repeatedly. Procedural issues, safety and security
goofs, medical things. I found myself rolling my eyes a
number of times, unfortunately. Additionally, while I
like
the characters of Leo and Olivia, I do NOT like their
constant inner monologues. What makes these even worse
for
me is the constant injections (in italics) of silly slang
or pithy curses in those inner musings. There are too
many
run-on sentences in the book for my taste. I don't know
if
these are meant to provide a sense of heightened or rapid
action, but they merely make me grind my teeth.
Walker's books have been a mixed bag for me. Some of her
books in the Black Knights series have been
absolute hits
with me, but HELL OR HIGH WATER is a miss in my opinion.
There is the obligatory introduction of not only one but
two future love interests in this book, setting up the
next
in the series. I do plan on picking up the next in the
series, but it will take some work to redeem The Deep
Six
series for me.
In a world on the brink
Six men. One sunken Spanish galleon. Millions in gold and
silver coins lying on the ocean floor. And a past that
refuses to let the guys of Deep Six Salvage forget the
Navy
SEAL motto: the only easy day was yesterday...
There's more than one kind of treasure
The nation's security has always been CIA agent Olivia
Mortier's top priority. But a mission-gone-wrong has
begun
to make her wonder if there's more to life than risking
hers.
And more than one secret at the bottom of the sea
Only two things could make Leo Anderson abandon his hunt
for the legendary lost ship, La Santa Christina, and
return
to the world of weapons and warfare he swore to leave
behind: a capsule of enriched uranium, lost on the ocean
floor, and a plea for assistance from the one woman he
can't seem to forget...
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