Book Review: Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater (RM Outdoor Adventures Mysteries #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great setting, mostly strong main character, story once it got going

Cons: Mandy's attitude at times, slow start, jargon

The Bottom Line: 

White water rafting

As a background for mystery

Some flaws, still fun book

Danger Around the River Bend

I love the water, so it's natural that I would love the rafting trips I've been on.  (Okay, so I've only done class III rapids.  I think I'd freak out at class IV or V, but I still want to try at some point.)  Anyway, the first time I heard about the new RM Outdoor Adventures Mystery series, I knew I had to give at least the first book a try.  Deadly Currents centers around white water rafting.  What could be more interesting?

Mandy Tanner has turned in her river guiding paddle for a job as a river ranger in her native Salida, Colorado.  That's why she is on hand when a raft goes over a dangerous rapids sideways, tipping out all the people on board.  Mandy rushes in to save two of the passengers, only to have one of them die on her when she gets him back to shore.

The dead man is Tom King, a rich developer.  The trip was with the rafting company that Mandy's uncle owns, and Tom's widow is intent on suing Mandy's uncle, a prospect that would destroy his business.

Then comes word that Tom might have been murdered.  Now Mandy is determined to find the killer and clear her uncle's reputation once and for all.  But can she find the killer?

It's obvious that author Beth Groundwater knows the community of river rafting.  In fact, I think this is a case where she knows it too well.  The book started out slowly with some scenes that advanced the story marginally if at all.  I was enjoying it, but I was ready for the plot to start moving forward.

Fortunately, things did pick up when Mandy really started to focus on the case.  I was confused about the killer until the end, and the climax was great.

Mandy was an interesting mix for me.  She goes through a lot in this book, and I could really empathize with her.  Most of the time, I liked her.  But when it came to her boyfriend and brother, I felt she wasn't being fair to them.  She'd fly off the handle without really hearing them out.  To be fair, I could easily see her side of things, and she was under a lot of emotional strain.  But maybe it's because I'm a guy, but I didn't think their behavior was bad enough to warrant her reaction.  Fortunately, these relationships were worked out by the end of the book, and I think all the characters grew from it.

I am definitely not part of the rafting community, and the jargon used in the book definitely made that apparent.  Some of the terms were defined in the text, but I wish there were a glossary to help me out with a few of the others.  Still, I was able to guess what the term meant most of the time, and this was my only complaint with the writing.  Usually, I was sucked into the story and didn't want to put the book down.

Despite this list of complaints, my issues with the book really were minor.  I enjoyed Deadly Currents enough to book a return trip with RM Outdoor Adventures no matter what sport they are currently featuring.