Allyn, Doug – BLACK WATER

[LJ Roberts]

BLACK WATER (Suspense-Michigan-Cont) – G+ Allyn,
Doug – 2^nd in series
Thomas Dunne Books, 1996- Hardcover

Mitch Mitchell's restaurant needs serious repair and obtaining a loan is doubtful. She accepts a dive job checking out a car which has gown into the lake, but the car is empty. When she decides to help the brother of the missing driver, it puts her in water deeper than the lake in which she dives.

I discovered Allyn last year from his excellent book "The Burning of Rachael Hayes," and promptly ordered his backlist. Allyn is a wonderful writer who knows how to create interesting characters you'd like to know, a sense of place you'd like to visit, dialogue you can hear and a plot in which you become involved. I particularly appreciate that he doesn't fall into the stereotypical small-town police chief, and included a well-done twist at the end. I will admit that this book was not quite as good as "Icewater Mansions," the first in the Mitch Mitchell series, but that's being really picky.