Indie spotlight review: Shark Eater by K.D. McNiven

If I were forced to describe this book in one word, it would be "Nice". Nice people doing nice things in a nice way, all told in a voice like that of a kindly grandmother telling her grandchildren a story. The small stakes make this a refreshing read, as you are allowed a reprieve from international incidents and global catastrophe that so often show up in adventure thrillers. 

The action is extremely well thought out and precise, even if, as a reader, I never felt the characters were really in danger of being killed. In fact, the only principal character death happens off-screen and in a remote way. Far from hurting the narrative, it allowed other characters to have to wrestle with the feelings left in the wake of tragedy, though it would have been nice to explore those feelings just a tiny bit longer. Everyone in this book was so friendly and expressive toward one another it was almost too nice, and the dialogue suffered from “Nobody talks like that” syndrome. But, the book clipped along so smartly, with TONS of good action sequences. It was a total shame to have to step away from this world and it's characters. I would definitely recommend this to younger readers who could possibly get bored by the heavy amounts of research and talking heads present in other books of this genre. Also, younger female readers will have plenty here to look up to in the form of the several wonderful lady adventurers Ms. McNiven populates her story with. It’s got a lightning quick pace, an intimate setting, lots of fun maritime stuff, and a lack of the more smarmy or unsavory bits that make it into some of these adventure books. Great fun.

-Z.S. Reynolds

Note: Shark Eater the sequel to The Monkey Idol also by K. D. McNiven. It is followed by The Bermuda Conspiracy and Sheba's Treasure. She is also the author of the prehistoric thriller Bone Quarry and the crime thriller Blood Alley.

You can follow K. D. McNiven on Twitter at: @kady54033

Here is K. D.'s Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/K-D-McNiven/e/B07F3XQ7NV?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1601494569&sr=8-1