Ricky Yamamoto is a scuba diver and professional guide for hire, currently working in a scuba shop in exotic Palau, an island on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean. (She’s also, in case the name creates any gender confusion, a woman.) Ricky’s idyllic life is capsized by an act of violence that puts her on a collision course with the Yakuza, the FBI, and the Palauan government itself.
FLOTSAM, a mystery-thriller–the first in a planned series–by debut author Tracy Grogan, impresses with a wealth of detail. Any doubt as to whether Grogan is familiar with his subject matter is quickly dispelled by a flood of vivid, meticulously cataloged descriptions: the sensory impressions of diving, being enveloped in “a riot of bubbles” and “womb-like bliss;” the minutiae of maintaining and assembling complex diving gear. Vast swaths of the novel would make captivating narration for a diving documentary. This abundance of specifics immediately establishes the story’s believability, and Grogan’s adroit portrayals of the technical complexities of scuba diving make this world intelligible even to total newcomers. As for Palau, Grogan renders his colorful setting with the thoroughness of someone intimately familiar with the island and its inhabitants.
At the same time, FLOTSAM succumbs to a common pitfall of stories grounded in the author’s expertise on a subject. While the novel provides a fascinating survey of the intricacies of scuba diving, as well as a sumptuous travelogue, it too often substitutes verisimilitude for storytelling. At times, the glut of detail threatens to drown out the story and characters, becoming bogged down in minute-by-minute narration and superfluous explanations. FLOTSAM frequently reads less like a novel and more like a lightly fictionalized Outside magazine feature.
Brogan has put a great deal of work into building the world of FLOTSAM and its lively cast of characters–most notably Ricky, her charming partner-in-crime Justin Barton, and her eccentric father Sumo. However, the novel is less successful at breathing life into them. Ricky, in particular, is an appealing amalgam of sardonic wit and daredevil confidence, but too often comes across as little more than a list of character traits–often literally, when the story abruptly pauses for lengthy, recurring passages of backstory or physical description.
While there is much to recommend FLOTSAM beyond its alluring setting, including an intriguing mystery that will draw in any reader interested in political and ecological issues, the story is too encumbered by leaden characterizations and often indistinguishable dialogue to take wing as a truly propulsive thriller.
~Edward Sung for IndieReader