Wow. Even though the mystery is solved for the reader about halfway through, the characters have to find their own way through. Deutermann does a superb job of allowing the characters to discover what we already know. In addition, while the mystery is solved for the reader, the details are not revealed so that there is a continual need to keep turning pages. The underlying issues that Deutermann has with Naval brass are present but are not obtrusive. ( )

This novel takes place in the US Naval Academy, following the death of one of the students after being thrown off the sixth floor of a building. Midshipman First Class Julie Markham is under suspicion of the death. Her father Ev, who teaches history at the Naval Academy is trying to put together a defense for her and figure out who actually killed the student. Meanwhile, security chief Jim Hall is trying to make sure there isn’t a killer on the loose at the Academy. Fighting against this is a group of people hell bent in protecting the institution from scandal, which feels true to life when considering what happened at Penn State.

The writing in this novel felt subpar. Also the story line suffered from a severe lack of believability. It was clear that the author had done his research on the Naval Academy, and that added color to the novel, but the rest of the story was not up to par. Overall, I felt this novel was less than mediocre and I would recommend skipping it.

Carl Alves – author of Blood Street ( )

A big scary psychopath is loose in Annapolis, running the underground tunnels between the U.S. Naval Academy and St. John's College. Audiobook narrator Dick Hill (who also narrates Lee Child's Jack Reacher books) does an excellent job with the male and female voices in this story of a class (1998?) about to graduate into the real Navy after four years of busting their butts at the Academy. St. John's College students don't come off too well here, being shown as a gaggle of Goth girls who lure drunks into alleys to satisfy the psychopath's penchant for violence and then take the psychopath back to their apartment for hot sex. Then again, the Naval Academy has its own definite problems in this book and it doesn't come off all that well either! ( )

I wish there wasn't so much babbling on about the women's legs. That, and... it's not really believable that a 21 year old being investigated in a death would decline a lawyer because she is - I'm not completely sure the author's reasoning here - arrogant?

Oh, and some Goths are way smarter than ex-military special forces and NCIS all together. Yeah, sure...

Pretend I'm an NCIS agent with many years experience and I know that Goths are mugging and assaulting people so, of course, it is logical that I will get drunk, get lured outside by a group of them (well, they *are* big-breasted women after all), and get my head smashed in. What am I? An idiot?

But the worst part is that I was supposed to believe that a military base would hide a murder in the guise of a suicide, (okay, maybe they would) but then I'm supposed to also believe they'll try to cover up the murder of a cop? Nah... never happen. Oh, and the supervillian was so smart and so fast and so strong and so competent... maybe that's why he almost got away with it all. ( )

Pretty good mystery and a VERY interesting read. I learned a lot about life at the U.S. Naval Academy. The storyline all hinges on peculiarities of the life of "the mids," i.e. Corps of Midshipmen at Annapolis. Deutermann creates some interesting and attractive characters and a repulsive/attractive villain.

Recommended. I want to read more by this author. ( )