Frank H. (perryfran) reviewed on 5/26/2022 + 1188 more book reviews

Before The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park, etc., Michael Crichton wrote several novels using various pseudonyms. Most of these were thriller novels for the paperback market. GRAVE DESCEND is his tenth published novel, and the seventh using the pseudonym, John Lange. It was originally published in 1970, and later released in 2006 as part of the Hard Case Crime series. Crichton did an overall revision of the text for this release.

The protagonist of the novel is James McGregor, a diver working out of Jamaica who is used to exploring sunken ships. One night, he is called by an insurance adjuster named Arthur Wayne to dive to a sunken yacht named the Grave Descend to see if it can be raised and salvaged. The yacht mysteriously sunk after an explosion off the Jamaican coast. But is this what really happened? After talking to Wayne, the ship's captain, and a beautiful survivor, McGregor feels that there is more to the story based on some conflicting statements by the witnesses. He gets drawn into the mystery which is really not what was originally reported.

This novel reminded me somewhat of Peter Benchley's novels such as JAWS and THE DEEP. With McGregor diving to the wreck amidst hammerhead sharks and moray eels, he faces many hazards but why? I thought the story kind of devolved in the second half of the novel into a convoluted thriller involving the mafia and missing treasure. This was definitely not up to Crichton's best work but it was sorta fun for what it is.

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