Secrets of the Deep â Official Book Description
A lost U-boat. A forbidden secret. A deadly race beneath the Aegean.
When Greek diver Yiannis Leonidis uncovers a long-lost German U-boat off the coast of Crete, he expects historyâ
not a mystery sealed in steel. Inside the wreck lies a wooden Nazi chest bearing an eagle and a forbidden insignia⌠and something inside is still dangerous.
Before Yiannis can report the discovery, powerful forces begin to close in. Governments, mercenaries, and a silent enemy who waited decades for this moment all converge on the Aegean.
A thriller that blends WWII secrets, modern geopolitics, and the haunting darkness of the deep.
Secrets of the Deep â Official Book Description
A lost U-boat. A forbidden secret. A deadly race beneath the Aegean.
When Greek diver Yiannis Leonidis uncovers a long-lost German U-boat off the coast of Crete, he expects historyâ
not a mystery sealed in steel. Inside the wreck lies a wooden Nazi chest bearing an eagle and a forbidden insignia⌠and something inside is still dangerous.
Before Yiannis can report the discovery, powerful forces begin to close in. Governments, mercenaries, and a silent enemy who waited decades for this moment all converge on the Aegean.
A thriller that blends WWII secrets, modern geopolitics, and the haunting darkness of the deep.
Chapter 1 â The Stillness Before the Wind
Toulon Harbor did not wakeâit brooded.
The morning light clung low over the water, turning the surface into tarnished steel. Dockworkers moved in near silence, as if someone had issued a command no one dared to ignore. Boots scraped. Ropes strained. The U-527 sat moored at the pier like a creature that had learned to wait.
Captain Erich Wälner stood apart from the others, coat collar turned against the sea wind. He held the telegram loosely in his right hand. Not gripping itâsimply bearing it.
He didnât need to read it again.
Dresden. Firestorms. Your wife and daughter unaccounted for.
No signature. No condolences.
War didnât offer apologies.
At his side stood Franz Keller, chief engineer, a man whose shoulders had long ago accepted burdens that should have broken them.
âErich,â he said quietly, âwe can delay departureââ
Wälner shook his head, a small, precise movement.
âNo. The order stands. The sea wonât wait for grief.â
Franz didnât argue. Some men prayed. Some men cursed. Wälner sailed.
Footsteps sounded behind themâclean, measured, lacking the irregular rhythm of men who have worked the sea.
SS ObersturmfĂźhrer Hans Richter approached, uniform immaculate, expression carved in iron.
âCaptain,â Richter said, without warmth. âThe cargo is secured and verified. We sail immediately.â
Wälner didnât look at him.
âWe sail when I say we sail.â
Richterâs jaw tightened. The harbor, the sea, the cold airâall felt the tension between them.
âThis mission,â Richter replied, âis a matter of Reich priority.â
Wälner turned his eyes to him now. Calm. Controlled. Alive in a way that suggested still water over deep current.
âAnd I am the one who takes this boat beneath the waves.â
A pause.
âYou may rank above me on land. But here⌠you are a passenger.â
A single breath passed. Richter said nothing.
The crew heard every word.
And knew their captain had just drawn a line in saltwater and iron.
Wälner stepped toward the submarineâs open hatch.
The metal rung ladder disappeared into shadowâthe threshold between air and pressure, life and the unknown.
He paused only once, fingertips resting against the cold steel of the hull.
No prayer.
No hesitation.
Just acceptance.
âCast off,â he said.
And the U-527 slid away from the pier, swallowed by the grey sea.
Markos and Jem, two divers on what appears to be a research or recovery vessel, unexpectedly find a long-lost WWII German U-boat, one that seems to have been hidden for 80 years and guarded from discovery by the sea itself. Inside is the captain and its original crew; time seems to have stopped for them, waiting to hand off the responsibility theyâve so faithfully executed all this time.
In Secrets of the Deep by James Churchill, the sea is a timeless, all-powerful, and sentient entity, protective and in charge of what occurs in the plot. It guides and informs the actions of the two main characters, Dr. Markos Leonides and his diving partner, Jem Taner, from the moment Markos makes his initial dive in the Aegean, where U-527 waits. In the story, the sea recognizes Markos as the one to decide what must be done: safeguard a secret older than mankindâs written history, or release it into the world, altering everything known about life.
We know little about the main characters prior to the dive; theyâve obviously worked together in the past, as they have an ongoing disagreement about something that happened on a previous dive and seem to have developed camaraderie. Jem is Turkish, but we donât even know Markosâs full name or that he has earned the prefix of Dr. until much later in the story. His identity is initially confusing because his name is presented using a non-English alphabet. But we do know that they are both affected, changed by their experiences underwater, and they believe this to be true, especially for Markos, who is the one most connected to the consciousness of the sea.
The sea compels them and their vessel into an area of water believed to be unlucky or cursed, and definitely to be avoided by those who spend their lives on the water, where they learn the extent of what theyâve been tasked with. The authorâs descriptions of the underwater sequences are vivid, evocative, and so eerie that I got goosebumps.
While we donât have a wooden Nazi chest as teased in the blurb, there are shadowy, suspicious outsiders waiting for Markos and Jem when they return to land. They decide to trust the first one to approach them at their hotel room, an Israeli woman claiming to represent UNESCO, who convinces them that the two men they suspect of watching them have bad intentions. However, they soon return to the safety of the sea for the rest of the story.
So, while this wasnât the story I expected, I did enjoy it. Rather than an Indiana Jones-like âbeat the Nazisâ plot, it was much more surreal and original with horror vibes. The main characters remain relative strangers to the reader throughout the book, with their actions alone shaping their development, and I was somewhat okay with that. What they are confronting remains as much a mystery as well, and this aspect of not knowing may perhaps reflect the true nature of the charactersâ own understanding. However, the landside agents seem to know what theyâre seeking. I felt off-balance and in the dark through most of the story, and I thought this was how the characters probably felt, too. Iâd absolutely read more by this author and, in particular, about these two characters.
I recommend SECRETS OF THE DEEP to readers of underwater adventure and horror stories involving the sea.