Between The Lines

 Author: Shaun Morey

 Performed by Luke Daniels

 Released: November 2012 by Brilliance Audio

 Category: Crime/Thriller

The Wahoo Rhapsody is a fishing charter boat which sails of the coast of Mexico and Southern California and has been bought by Atticus Fish for his good friend, Captain Winston. Fish was an eminent lawyer who won the highest lawsuit ever…against God! He ‘disappeared’ down to Southern California to escape the religious fanatics who were out to kill him and is now an expatriate, mega rich and taking life easy on his own island running a Cantina….or so he thinks.

The boat is being used to smuggle drugs, inside the tuna no less, without the knowledge of the captain. The first mate, appropriately named Weevil, decides to snag some of the booty for himself and starts a whole chain of events that unfold at a cracking pace.

So, we have a drug lord and his henchmen, a shady lawyer, an arsonist, lots about fishing and an intriguing plot. Action and adventure abound with some loud out loud moments due in no small part to the ‘voice’ given to Weevil. It’s a crazy and quirky ride.

There’s lots more chaos and confusion down in Baja after an architect, Duncan Rigby or Digby as he likes to be called, finds Jesuit treasure which had been buried by priests centuries ago.

It doesn’t take long before word of the treasure is everywhere and there are more treasure hunters than you can shake a stick at.  Atticus, along with his best friend Skegs and his ex sister-in-law Toozie, who a private investigator, are caught up in kidnapping and murder.

The plot moves along at full tilt and is action packed.  Some new characters are introduced and some old ones reappear, they’re all entertaining and colourful with boatloads of attitude.

Several rare pearls, one huge and strangely shaped are found by an old fisherman who can’t believe his luck. He’s caught in a tsunami before he can get home and loses the pearls.

Cue the bad guys..three ‘fighters’ appear and cause trouble.  Atticus subdues them with the help of a centuries old cactus they were trying to beat to a pulp.  The second encounter sees them in a shark cage being dunked in the sea. They team up with an opportunistic thief and take drastic revenge on Atticus for their humiliation.

Meanwhile the pearls have been found by a couple on holiday who enlist Atticus’ help to have them appraised.  Atticus remembers about the old oyster beds and the legend that surrounds them and determines to stop the pearls being harvested and protect the area.

So starts another madcap and thrilling adventure with everyone chasing each other and the pearls and when Skegs is taken hostage by a dive shop owner trying to get in on the action Toozie hot-foots it down to Baja.

Performance

Luke Daniels lets loose with an impressive array of voices and brings the characters and story vividly to life. Amazing performance.

Thoughts

I enjoyed these engaging stories very much, the writing, the characters, the humour and the craziness. Also the beautifully vivid descriptions of the area and the wildlife.  Very easy to be drawn in and invest in the characters and the place.

The books could be read/listened to as stand alones but it’s much more fun (for me anyway) to follow the story from the beginning.

There was talk at the beginning of the story about Atticus’ daughter but this snippet wasn’t developed and Atticus and Toozie still haven’t got it together so maybe…..another book? I hope so.