Through Waters Deep
by Sarah Sundin
Waves of Freedom series, Book #1
Published by Revell
384 Pages
Target Audience: Adults
Genres: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
About this book:
"War is coming. Can love carry them through the rough waters that lie ahead?
It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Handsome and outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. On shore, Jim encounters Mary Stirling, a childhood friend who is now an astute and beautiful Boston Navy Yard secretary.
When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is discovered, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges--and dangers--await them."
It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Handsome and outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. On shore, Jim encounters Mary Stirling, a childhood friend who is now an astute and beautiful Boston Navy Yard secretary.
When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is discovered, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges--and dangers--await them."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The story begins in March 1941 at the Boston Navy yard, where Mary Stirling, a secretary at the navy yard, is making sure that everything is ready for a ship-launching ceremony. While checking things, she notices that the bottle of champagne she had decorated the day before appears to have been tampered with. When she mentions this to her boss, he doesn't think anything is amiss. However, when the bottle is smashed in the christening of the ship, it is discovered that someone sabotaged the bottle and refilled it with gasoline so that things would catch on fire at the ceremony. The question is, who did it?
While at the ceremony, Mary runs into Jim Avery, a guy she knows from high school. Jim is now a naval officer and has just been assigned to a ship in Boston. Being new in town, Jim and his navy friend Arch have been wanting someone to show them around Boston and Mary ends up being the perfect person to do it. While out on their excursions together, a friendship develops between Mary and Jim.
While a lot of suspicion is going around about who might be a sabotager and as the tension between the men working at the navy yard grows, Mary decides to work on the mystery herself and uses her skills as a secretary to record everything that's going on at the navy yard. As more sabotage is discovered, both Mary and Jim find themselves in dangerous situations. Can they figure out who the sabotager is?
Through Waters Deep is the first full length novel I've read by author Sarah Sundin and I thought it was a great historical fiction novel. The author's writing and the details included in the story made me feel like I was in the time period. This story takes place before the United States officially entered World War II and throughout the story we see how much tension there was between the isolationists and the interventionists and how arguments and fights broke out between them. Through Jim's side of the story we also see the danger that the navy ships faced when they went out to sea, never knowing if they would be attacked by German vessels.
I thought the characters were well done. The main characters, Mary and Jim, were likable and realistic. They both have fears that they struggle with that they must trust in God to help them overcome.
The mystery aspect of the novel was wonderfully done. It kept me guessing about who the sabotager was until the end.
I did appreciate how the romance between the characters started out as a friendship before turning to romance instead of being an insta-love type of romance. I do, however, think there was a bit to much detail and focus on the physical appearance of the characters.
Overall, as someone who loves to read books based around the World War II time period, I really enjoyed this novel. The action and mystery had me enthralled in the story until the end. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the Waves of Freedom series when it is released next year.
*I received this book for free from Revell in exchange for my honest review.
While at the ceremony, Mary runs into Jim Avery, a guy she knows from high school. Jim is now a naval officer and has just been assigned to a ship in Boston. Being new in town, Jim and his navy friend Arch have been wanting someone to show them around Boston and Mary ends up being the perfect person to do it. While out on their excursions together, a friendship develops between Mary and Jim.
While a lot of suspicion is going around about who might be a sabotager and as the tension between the men working at the navy yard grows, Mary decides to work on the mystery herself and uses her skills as a secretary to record everything that's going on at the navy yard. As more sabotage is discovered, both Mary and Jim find themselves in dangerous situations. Can they figure out who the sabotager is?
Through Waters Deep is the first full length novel I've read by author Sarah Sundin and I thought it was a great historical fiction novel. The author's writing and the details included in the story made me feel like I was in the time period. This story takes place before the United States officially entered World War II and throughout the story we see how much tension there was between the isolationists and the interventionists and how arguments and fights broke out between them. Through Jim's side of the story we also see the danger that the navy ships faced when they went out to sea, never knowing if they would be attacked by German vessels.
I thought the characters were well done. The main characters, Mary and Jim, were likable and realistic. They both have fears that they struggle with that they must trust in God to help them overcome.
The mystery aspect of the novel was wonderfully done. It kept me guessing about who the sabotager was until the end.
I did appreciate how the romance between the characters started out as a friendship before turning to romance instead of being an insta-love type of romance. I do, however, think there was a bit to much detail and focus on the physical appearance of the characters.
Overall, as someone who loves to read books based around the World War II time period, I really enjoyed this novel. The action and mystery had me enthralled in the story until the end. I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the Waves of Freedom series when it is released next year.
*I received this book for free from Revell in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks for the lovely review, Alisha - and for taking a chance on a new author! I'm glad you enjoyed Jim & Mary's story!
ReplyDelete