The Devlin Quick Mysteries - Book Three, Secrets from the Deep

Not gonna lie here - this third Devlin Quick book was not up to par with the last book. Which is a shame, as I've come to like the character and her supporting cast.  After a disappointing first book, but a much better second book, I was really looking forward to this one. Sadly, author Linda Fairstein couldn't match the success of the last one...

Secrets from the Deep refers to a gold doubloon that Devlin, her best friend Booker, and his little cousin, Zee, find while vacationing at Martha's Vineyard. The plot itself is not too bad - where did the doubloon come from, is it real, who owns it, and what will certain unscrupulous people do in order to get their hands on such a valuable coin? Some definite plot-points for a great mystery!  I just wish Fairstein hadn't used the first two-thirds of the book to simply spend time having the kids recite historical, geographical, and marine facts - there were parts where I was beginning to feel as if I were reading an encyclopedia and not a mystery.

Secrets from the Deep opens with Devlin and Booker on vacation at Martha's Vineyard. Devlin is attempting to secure some water and sand that might hold some fish scales to use for her school project that is coming due. But when they come across a gold doubloon that they soon discover is the real thing, Devlin begins to suspect there is more to the doubloon than meets the eye.  And while it takes some time (meaning a LOT of chapters) before the mystery really gets going, the kids do meet some rather shady and mysterious characters who could potentially be suspects in the mystery of who is trying to get that doubloon!

There's Artie Constant, the old lighthouse keeper - he has a very insistent interest in that doubloon. There's also Cole Bagby, the father of a boy that has been bullying Zee - he claims to be a coin collector who shows an unusually keen interest in the doubloon. And there's Jenny Thaw, the descendant of the infamous Thaw family who are believed to have harbored pirates back in the day - she has some secrets that could hold the clue to the truth about the doubloon.

So, as you can see, there were some definitely interesting choices for villains.  And the final third of the book, where Devlin and Booker head off to a coin convention and ultimately come face-to-face with the villains who are after that doubloon, finally hits the mark for a good, fast-paced mystery that engages the reader and keeps the pages turning. It's just a shame that it took so long in the story to get to that point.

Not sure what to think of this series after this book.  It has its good points, and I do like the character (and the fact that her mother is the police chief); but the writing and pacing just isn't really strong enough to really keep my attention.  Don't see that there is any fourth book listed yet, so perhaps this is the last book in the series - which, if that were the case, I would not be overly disappointed.  If a fourth book does materialize, however, I just don't know whether I would get it or not (of course, saying that, the completist in me says I have to have it to ensure I have the whole series).

Only time will tell....

RATING:  5 bottles of red nail polish out of 10 for keeping the "female sleuth" genre going for the younger generations.