There is a particular quality to Deborah Coates writing that immerses me in her characters. The spare, concise narrative is so clearly seen through Hallie's eyes, so simply stated with her voice, that even though I have little in common with this self-contained character I come away feeling like I know her on a meaningful level. This connection with Hallie becomes all the more important, too, as her world writhes and changes around her.
Ghosts, magic, and monsters all permeate this story, sometimes to a ridiculous degree for a supposedly "closed world". Hallie and her companions brush past the issue ofconcealing supernatural events from unsuspecting "civilians", and addressing characters' doubts (or lack there of) is definitely not central to this story. DEEP DOWN explores the origins of Hallie's powers as well as the rippling repercussions of past events, but all in the common-sense day to day style that makes Hallie feel so real. Fans of Charlaine Harris will definitely enjoy how Coates mixes the esoteric and everyday. DEEP DOWN prompted me to induct Hallie into my personal Sisterhood of Practical Badasses (of which Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly are founding members), as Hallie grocery shops with a harbinger of death riding shotgun and barters grazing rights for interviews with the dead.
Full review to follow.
Sexual Content: Kissing, references to sex.