Calypso Down

January 22, 2024
Lindholm’s high-octane fourth adventure for Chris Black (after Dead Man’s Silence) finds the two-fisted marine biologist hired to consult for a team of divers preparing for an unusual mission off of Key West, Fla. International NGO Science Without Borders is sponsoring the launch of an undersea lab called Calypso I, and Black, an experienced saturation diver, is tasked with helping the scientists who will work there acclimate to extended time underwater. Before long, the benign-seeming assignment takes several perilous turns. First, while opponents of the Calypso project—some of whom distrust the UN’s role in it—are staging a protest at the diving site, a truck rams into the crowd and one of its passengers starts firing indiscriminately. Then an imminent tropical storm further threatens the mission, and when Black finally does make it to Calypso I, he faces a shocking betrayal from somebody on his team. Throughout, Lindholm mixes in scenes focused on the Brotherhood, a mysterious right-wing militia, effectively teasing who and what might be behind the violence plaguing the Calypso project. While the author loses his footing a bit when things get political—a subplot about a senator advocating for the elimination of all national borders strains credibility—he mostly keeps things brisk and exciting. Series fans will be more than satisfied.

January 1, 2024

The fourth Chris Black adventure (following Dead Men's Silence) has the marine biologist hero and his loyal friend Mac Johnson consulting on a short-term saturation dive in the Florida Keys, aboard the undersea laboratory Calypso I. While the mission is about scientific exploration, it has also become the subject of a swirling social media controversy, due to the project's international backing. This controversy has turned the mission into a target. As attacks pile up outside, and sabotage ratchets up inside, Chris and Mac must step up again to save those on the team, both above and below the water. As with Ian Fleming and his spy hero Bond, Lindholm's own career as a marine scientist brings some verisimilitude to the novel, especially the portions about diving and undersea science. One needn't have read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one. VERDICT Fans of James Bond and the MacGyver TV series will adore this fast-paced, undersea thriller featuring a dynamic duo-type relationship.--Laura Hiatt

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