In a world where sea dragons terrorize dolphins, you enter the reef at your own risk.
Marine biologist Eva Paz is on the verge of revolutionizing linguistics by cracking the dolphin communication code. Then police call her away to investigate a dead fisherman. It’s her mother’s boyfriend, but Eva is running out of time to complete her dolphin whistle library by the deadline, putting her grant at risk. Without funding, her dolphins will soon be turned loose in the deadly Caribbean.
A cartel leader makes Eva an offer she can’t refuse. He’ll fund her dolphin research if she’ll help him capture the sea dragon. His aid comes with a catch, and he doesn’t count the cost.
Then geneticist Thomas Sternberg arrives on sabbatical to lead a dive school. He wants to help Eva, but they share a tragic past. While on his watch as a Navy Seal, Eva’s brother was killed, and her dolphin was wounded.
Eva doesn’t trust Thomas, but can she set that aside to work with him to stop the sea dragon and save her dolphins?
Read Killing Dragons to join Eva and her dolphins on their adventures today!
In a world where sea dragons terrorize dolphins, you enter the reef at your own risk.
Marine biologist Eva Paz is on the verge of revolutionizing linguistics by cracking the dolphin communication code. Then police call her away to investigate a dead fisherman. It’s her mother’s boyfriend, but Eva is running out of time to complete her dolphin whistle library by the deadline, putting her grant at risk. Without funding, her dolphins will soon be turned loose in the deadly Caribbean.
A cartel leader makes Eva an offer she can’t refuse. He’ll fund her dolphin research if she’ll help him capture the sea dragon. His aid comes with a catch, and he doesn’t count the cost.
Then geneticist Thomas Sternberg arrives on sabbatical to lead a dive school. He wants to help Eva, but they share a tragic past. While on his watch as a Navy Seal, Eva’s brother was killed, and her dolphin was wounded.
Eva doesn’t trust Thomas, but can she set that aside to work with him to stop the sea dragon and save her dolphins?
Read Killing Dragons to join Eva and her dolphins on their adventures today!
Thursday, February 11, 7:02 A.M. CST
Coxen Hole
Roatan, Honduras
Every moment counts, and I’m running out of time.
Eva woke up late, the hazy sunlight streaming through her window. It had stormed the night before, and she hadn’t slept well. She’d have to hurry to get to work with her dolphins. The deadline for her grant approached, and she still needed more data.
Rising, she put on shorts and a T-shirt over a bikini, strapped on her Tevas, and grabbed her backpack, which held her waterproof laptop. Then she headed for the kitchen, where a water bottle and sack lunch—PBJ, her favorite—waited on the counter.
Her mother sat at the table enjoying a relaxed breakfast of beans, cheese, and eggs. Sitting beside her, Soledad engrossed herself in her life science textbook. The girl wanted to be a pediatrician one day. Luis Junior sat with them, stacking Legos and chattering away, with an empty plate pushed to the side. The boy stayed with them when his widowed father, who was Eva’s mother’s estable, left on fishing trips.
Luis Junior looked up at Eva’s mother with a smile. “Mina, papi is going to teach me to fish soon.” Both children called Romina by the nickname Mina.
Eva looked at her watch. “Is Luis not back yet for Junior?”
Eva’s mother shook her head. “No, but I’m trying not to worry. Hopefully, he got a good catch to take to market. But you concern me, hija. You need a nutritious breakfast. It’ll help you focus on your work.”
Eva’s cat, Angel, weaved between her legs, begging for attention. “I don’t have time, mamá.”
“You wouldn’t make your dolphins work before feeding them breakfast, would you?” Her mother sighed and shook her head. “Well, don’t be late for dinner. You need some proper food. Luis promised us a big fish. Oh, and you need to call Miguel back. He keeps leaving messages. He says he hasn’t seen you in a week. You work too much, hija.”
Eva merely waved and took off; she didn’t have time right now to discuss her commitment issues or her grant deadline with her mother.
She rode her Vespa on the busy two lane to RIMS—the Roatan Institute for Marine Sciences. The air, thick with post-storm humidity, had her sweating by the time she arrived. Rascal the cattle dog greeted her, and both she and the dog jumped into the boat taxi with Gilberto, the head dolphin trainer, who shuttled them to Bailey’s Key, a tiny island just offshore from the main island of Roatan. Lined with palm trees and surrounded by a series of walkways and docks, the dolphin enclosures were located there. There were two enclosures, which were actually several acres of ocean partitioned off, one for Eva’s research dolphins and the other for the educational encounter dolphins.
Eva stepped off onto the dock with Rascal at her heels. Axel and Jose—her intern and her assistant, respectively—were already there, with all the research gear set up. Jose, an organization whiz, always connected everything properly, but Eva ran her hands over the maze of wires, checking the connections to be sure, and Axel was a sound genius, but that didn’t stop Eva from running her own sound test.
Now ready to start a data run, she opened the Delphi Imago program—software she had developed herself, to process, store, and play back dolphin communication—on her laptop, a rugged waterproof Panasonic Toughbook. Then she handed her laptop to Jose, tossed her shorts and T-shirt onto a beach boulder to stay warm, and grabbed the red ball she would put in the dolphin view-box.
Today I’m going to make a breakthrough, she told herself.
Though Killing Dragons starts off slow, the interesting research on dolphin communication hooked me immediately. The topic felt well researched, though I know almost nothing about dolphins and dolphin communication. Eva may have described her research in technical terms but the author is able to explain what's going on through visual details in a way that anyone could understand and enjoy. The chapters from the POV of the dolphin Taffy only add to the fascination of the technology and Eva's research. I really enjoyed Clark's imaginative and rich landscape of Roatan and the surrounding water life. Reading about the diving experience will make you want to try it for yourself, especially where there aren't any sea monsters involved!
When the plot picks up speed, I had a hard time putting the book down. There were quite a few layers to the core conflict as well as some juicy subplots and hints that will be answered in book two of the series.
Each of the characters has their own rich backstory, even the dolphins have distinct personalities. The one character who isn't in the story as much is Julian and I can't wait to get more of his story and see more of his personality.
I didn't care for the flashbacks that Thomas experiences. Though there is a tie-in for the flashbacks between Thomas, Eva, and another character, I didn't feel like the payoff was worth it and this subplot thread could have been edited out.
The ending was nicely paced and quite satisfying, while still leaving some small subplot loose ends open for the second book in this series to answer.
All the interactions between Eva and Ignacio and Eva and the guy she dates had me on edge. The way that these entitled men treated her made me grind my teeth and I couldn't wait for her to speak up. Eva is anything but a doormat and keeps getting put in the middle of sticky situations. She has to keep on her toes and carefully work herself out of these oftentimes dangerous and life-threatening circumstances. Eva is not a passive character, though sometimes her charge-ahead attitude puts her into even more dangerous situations!
If you are a fan of the Jurassic Park books by Michael Crichton and enjoy eco-fiction and/or thrillers, you will get a kick out of this novel about dolphins, fish farms, and a dangerous sea dragon.