There’s an old adage that’s served countless authors: write what you know. When it comes to the key ingredients of Florida-themed fiction (murder, intrigue, and the high seas), author Len Vincenti has a wealth of first-hand knowledge. With TONGUE OF THE OCEAN, Vincenti leans heavily on his decades of experience as a trial lawyer and his lifelong love of sailing. The novel centers on Nick Sanchez, a well-to-do lawyer based in Tampa Bay. While Sanchez caters to the personal-injury clientele, his first love is sailing, something that he does at every opportunity. Thanks to his successful track record, Sanchez is living the proverbial dream. That is until a chance encounter with a shady acquaintance named Sledge Maston tosses a massive complication into his idyllic life. Worried that his boss (Bunky) has gotten into the insurance fraud game, Sanchez’s suspicions are all but confirmed when his questions eventually lead to his termination. To make matters worse, his only corroborating witness (Sledge) has just gone missing. Never one to let sleeping dogs lie, Sanchez enlists his girlfriend (Joulie Crane) to help investigate his former employer. Unfortunately, the deeper they dig, the more danger they find.
With TONGUE OF THE OCEAN, Vincenti avoids many of the major pitfalls that typically plague debut authors. This is primarily due to his flawed but likable protagonist. Rather than cast a seasoned veteran as his lead, Vincenti wisely opts for the ‘origin-story’ template. Yes, Sanchez was a good lawyer, but his overconfidence leads to a handful of costly mistakes. Sanchez quickly learns that the streets and the courtroom have very different rules, leading to some impressive growth for the would-be detective. Thankfully, Vincenti gives his hero a pair of resourceful co-stars (Joulie and a fellow sailor, Nate) to show him the ropes. Additionally, TONGUE OF THE OCEAN is well-paced, and the plot unfolds in a methodical manner befitting a procedural. This is where Vincenti’s expertise comes into play, as the mystery surrounding the insurance scheme and the scenes at sea exude authenticity.
Still, for all of its strengths, TONGUE OF THE OCEAN suffers from an abundance of grammatical and typographical errors. This, combined with Vincenti’s uneven writing, makes for an occasionally jarring read, especially when navigating the action-packed moments during the novel’s finale. Additionally, Sanchez is the only character to receive any tangible development, an unfortunate (but understandable) result of the novel’s first-person POV. Fortunately, none of the above issues are deal-breakers. In fact, there’s little here that a solid edit wouldn’t correct, and given that this is Vincenti’s first foray into the literary world, a little overwriting is to be expected. As a point of entry for an ongoing saga, TONGUE OF THE OCEAN is a measured success.
Formatting issues notwithstanding, Len Vincenti’s TONGUE OF THE OCEAN is a promising debut that sets the table for a compelling Florida-themed fiction series.
~James Weiskittel for IndieReader