Kara Lynn Conyer First in Trilogy Creates Exciting Beginning!

“We don’t.” Her voice is stiff, suppressing anger. “By the charts, we’re some 100 miles from the Cubbarros. But both global positioning systems put us much closer, somewhere in the middle of the blackout zone.” We’re exactly where the Commission doesn’t want us to be.
"Dirk cuts Candace off in a booming voice before he even enters the salon. “OK. I need everyone to stay inside until we straighten this thing out. The Commission knows why we’re here. It’s not our fault. It’s all good.”
Lacey throws me a look that practically screams, “See, I told you!” I hope he is right. The Commission doesn’t admit to it, but everyone knows they sink any ship that wanders into restricted waters near the Cubbarros Islands. A few years ago, a navy fleet disappeared out here, and the Commission said they had nothing to do with it. Of course, no one believes them. Navy fleets don’t just disappear. The only reason we have permission to be here at all is that Dr. Warren thinks there may be something here to help stop the Fouling.
~~~

Restricted Waters

By Kara Lynn Conyer

This is the first novel in a Trilogy--one I highly recommend for YA to Adults! I loved it for a number of reasons, including that the author spotlights information about a major world issue--oil spills. But, even more important, she very effectively has identified the issue of discrimination, without even using the word... So while this is an important book for those reasons, the major reason to buy it is that it's fun, entertaining, and has much potential for exploring a major world resource, our oceans...

He nearly rips off his shirt and yanks on the fins.
As he pulls his mask down over his eyes,
 I round the stern and swim as fast as I can toward
 the bow. Jake catches up quickly.
So, I suck in a big gulp of air and dive below.
Hand over hand, I pull myself down
 the anchor chain. The bottom looks
 to be about 40 feet below the boat.
In the distance, a drop-off leads into deeper water.
I’m about 20 feet down when Jake catches up.
He grabs my fin to stop me. But then,
he stops and pulls himself down the anchor chain
 to me. He sees it, too. Just past the drop-off
a massive, dark silhouette. It looks like it could be
 the bow of an enormous ship
 reaching straight up out of the deep.
Jake grabs my arm and pulls straight to the surface.
I can’t hold my breath any longer,
so I don’t put up a fight.
“Did you see that?” I say as soon as we break
 the surface. “Shhh, be quiet,” he says.
“Jake, it was huge.” “Alannis, we didn’t
 just see that. I told you,
we’re not supposed to be here.”
~~~
 

Alannis  (which I thought was a cool name, reminiscent of Atlantis) Summers is 16 when she smartly contacts the head of a research expedition into an area around the Cubbarros Islands  in the Caribbean Sea. A crucial key about her being able to go was that she had worked hard, had the appropriate training, certification and dives to be accepted!

She would be assisting Dr. Candace Warren, who was a leading expert on marine invasive species. And, wow, right now an unidentified species was creating a major world-wide problem. Simply referred to as The Fouling, it was a black crust which hardened on surfaces, such as the underside of boats, and literally ate them...  It also consumed oil, petroleum, plastic... you get the idea! 

Ships were being lost, seafood activities had been stopped, restaurants were closing...and people were being killed...

The area around Cubbarros was being explored to see if they could find any sign of the fouling and determine if it was the same that was spreading into the Atlantic Ocean up the U. S. east coast. 

Alannis, was a normal teen who had a tendency to get involved, to seek out adventures, to get answers...and to get herself in trouble. On her first dive, she spots something that looks like a ship and immediately goes to check it out! Jake, the Captain's son follows and manages to get her back on board, rather than do what she wanted to do...go back down! They kept everything a secret so they wouldn't get in trouble...

But it was there, on that first dive that she thought she saw someone, but didn't know that somebody began to follow her...

While the team boat went on to their next location, he started to follow her underwater...

And so routine set in as they explored, looking for the black crust... But somebody was watching everything they did!

The Ocean Security Commission (The Commission) now controlled the Atlantic Ocean. They monitored all shipping. They determined where people could and  could not go. And when the expedition team needed supplies they had to get them from The Commission, by stopping in an area that was guarded at all times...

There, Alannis was taken in for questioning--about her parents, what she was doing on the expedition, how she had gotten permission to be there... 

It seemed to Alannis that too much attention was being paid to her...

But then again, there was a very good reason and The Commission already seemed to know about...the one who followed her underwater...

This is a really exciting water adventure, including diving into caves, into secret waters that were all being carefully controlled... But nobody knew who had created The Commission..or why... Action and suspense and lots of fantasy characters! I'm looking forward to the next story, because The Commission has already debriefed Alannis and "suggested strongly" that she plan on working for them after her high school graduation...Wow! What a ending! And what a hook for the next book!

Don't miss this one... and check out the links to the Trilogy site to learn more about this tale!


GABixlerReviews

Kara Lynn Conyer graduated from Syracuse University with degrees in journalism and anthropology. After many years as a writer and a science diver for an international research center, she has learned a few things about what it's like to be on an expedition in the middle of the ocean. When she's not gathering the facts, she likes to imagine what secrets might lie beneath them. Restricted Waters is her first novel.

You can reach Kara Lynn at the official Restricted Waters trilogy website: restrictedwaters.com or by email at klconyer at gmail dot com