I have a not-so-secret love for campy horror movies featuring unimaginable creatures like mermaids and Bigfoot that goes back to a childhood enthrallment with the unexplainable. My fascination with made-for-TV sci-fi movies makes INTO THE DROWNING DEEP my absolutely perfect weekend book. It’s creepy, thrilling, and will make you want to stay away from the sea at all costs.

Victoria Stewart (Tory to her friends) is taking the summer off from the Marine Biology Department to work whale boat tours instead of finishing her dissertation. While a lot of people, especially her colleagues and ex-boyfriend, think she’s crazy, she’s happy with the decision. When the tour job comes to an abrupt end, another opportunity --- a much more interesting one on both a professional and personal level --- appears. Tory is offered a place on a research vessel that will be traveling to the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the ocean known to science, to research an unknown species that many believe to be mermaids. For Tory, this trip represents a chance to finish her research and possibly go above, and far beyond, the boundaries of her so-far limited work. It’s also an opportunity to find out what happened to her sister, who was lost on a similar voyage --- a voyage that ended in death for every member of the crew.

"It’s fun, heart-pounding in places, and a great book for when you want to tune out the world for a bit, get lost in a story and be fascinated by the unexplainable."

With a ship full of researchers, two hunters seeking the prey of a lifetime, and a crew to document the trip for both entertainment and scientific purposes, they set off. Once the ship arrives at the Challenger Deep, the first part of the mission is carried out and doesn’t go as planned. With one person now dead, the voyage is starting to feel eerily similar to the earlier excursion that saw the loss of all life on board. As for the research, well, they may have found what they came looking for after all. They also may have confirmed that the creatures they discovered are not quite as shy and docile as the stories told about them.

Tory, though she agreed to the voyage because of her research, is really on the trip to find out what happened to her sister, and now that she knows, all she wants to do is leave. Her worst nightmare --- everyone’s worst nightmare --- has come true and is now actively hunting the passengers on the ship. With a risky idea, Tory and her fellow crew mates embark on a plan to get the ship moving before they’re all condemned to the deep. But the creatures swarming under the ship may have other ideas.

Author Mira Grant has a style that makes a novel about the unbelievable seem believable. Yes, INTO THE DROWNING DEEP is about legends and myths, but she moves the story so fast that you just want to keep turning the pages to find out what’s going to crawl up the side of the ship. It’s fun, heart-pounding in places, and a great book for when you want to tune out the world for a bit, get lost in a story and be fascinated by the unexplainable.