Zoe seeks underwater adventure. The local police seek a mermaid informant. Can she help without risking her family’s safety?Zoe wasn’t looking for trouble. As the middle daughter in a family of three mermaid sisters, she never gets the attention she deserves. She spends her days frolicking with sea creatures by the sunken battleship that sits at the edge of Sirenia, and her nights being lectured … Sirenia, and her nights being lectured about danger. But when she finds a diver trapped in the kelp by the wreckage, she overcomes her shock to free him. The problem? The only available tool to cut him loose is in the body that on the ocean floor beside him.
Zoe learns the diver is a detective tasked with solving the dead man’s murder. Being in the unique position of finding evidence underwater, Zoe volunteers to help . . . until she finds a clue that links the victim to her older sister. Now the only way to ensure the safety of her sister—and protect the mermaid colony she always dreamed of leaving behind—is to discover the dead man’s identity herself. Zoe is used to being invisible around the other mermaids, but will digging for clues in the ocean floor lead to her watery grave?
Tails from the Deep is the charming first cozy mystery in the Mermaid Sisters trilogy. If you like fun reads, unusual settings, and unique characters, you’ll love Diane Vallere’s Mermaid Sisters Mysteries.
Buy Tails from the Deep to escape into Mermaid adventure today!
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Zoe is the middle of three sisters, the daughters of Mother, the leader of the merfolk settlement Sirenia somewhere under the sea. Unlike her other sisters, Zoe loves to explore. One of her favorite places is a shipwreck beyond the edges of her merfolk village. She sneaks out there quite frequently, so when things seem off one day, she is quick to notice. When she returns the next day, she finds a human diver trapped on the bottom next to a dead body. She frees the diver, but her actions lead to questions that might impact her settlement. Can she figure out who to trust and what is really going on?
Mermaid mysteries are definitely something different, but I couldn’t resist when Diane announced she was going to write these. After all, I love the water, so the idea of living under the sea, at least for a few pages, was too irresistible. I’m glad I did because I enjoyed this story. This reads very much like a cozy murder mystery with plenty of twists and turns. The end was a little abrupt, but that’s a minor issue. As we read, we also get a feel for mermaid culture, which was a delight. Many of the slight twists on our world and expectations made me smile. It was definitely well thought out. We also get to know Zoe very well over the course of the story since is many ways these stories are coming of age stories in addition to mysteries. Since it is a 100 page novella, there isn’t tons of character development for the rest of the characters, but they still come across as real. The other two stories focus on Zoe’s sisters, and I can’t wait to see how they are developed and how that fits with Zoe’s take on her sisters. If you are looking for a slight fantasy edge to your cozy, I definitely recommend this novella for something different.
NOTE: This story, along with the stories of Zoe’s sisters, are included in the Mermaid Mysteries anthology. Buy them individually or as a set, but there is no need to buy both.
“Tales from the Deep” by Diane Vallere is the first book in the “Mermaid Mystery” series. Zoe, Kyra, and Ava are three mermaid sisters from Sirenia, one of many mermaid colonies across the ocean run by strong female Mer-Mothers. Mermaids are the royalty of the ocean, peaceful, beautiful, elegant, and intuitive. This is Zoe’s coming of age story, “I want my own role,” and the story continues in her first person narrative.
Zoe is well read, “I’d read about it in books from the Library Under the Sea.” She also expounds her life philosophy; “There are times when we need to accept our actions and stand behind them, whether they were condoned or not.” She talks directly to readers, discussing what she thinks about things, “The human world was very inconvenient;” describing what she does, “You already know what I did. I swam closer;” sharing what she sees, “I peeked over the side of the shipwreck. I spied a diver.” However, she saw much more than just a diver, “blood came from the body lying on the ocean floor next to the diver’s foot.”
In her search for answers, she meets Seth, a police diver, and together they seek information about the death. The more Zoe searches for answers, the more questions she has, including concerns about Seth’s involvement in the mystery.
Capitalism is alive and well on the ocean floor. Mad Midge runs the local emporium. “She was financially secure. Anything else she sold was extra, though that didn’t stop her from stocking unusual items to attract people to her stand at the weekly market.”
“Tales from the Deep” is an altogether fun book to read. It has all the usual components of cozy mystery, a dead body, police, clues, ill-gotten gain, revenge, and greed, but all under water. “‘That’s the thing about dark waters,’ he said. ‘You can’t tell what’s lurking in them.’“ The action is understated, but readers of crime fiction will enjoy reading it and taking a break from headache- inducing stress of other books. It is interesting, fun, and still suspenseful. It might be a fun kids’ movie musical, except the underlying crime and murder do not really encourage protagonists and mermaids to break out in song. Of course, my opinion might have been influenced by the three-year old twins who were watching “The Little Mermaid” DVD while I read the book, but it’s all good.
Diane Vallere’s books always provide out of this world adventures. This time we are taken under the sea to explore the lives of Zoe the mermaid and her family. Zoe is an entertaining main character and the story keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is easy to feel a connection with the characters and there is so much potential for Zoe and her future adventures!
It was fun taking a dive into Diane Vallere new Mermaid Mystery series. I’ve never read a book with mermaids before. I love the author and thought it looked cute. It was refreshing to have a different setting. Can’t wait to read about the other two sisters.
As soon as I heard the author was planning a mermaid cozy mystery series I knew I had to read it. It just sounded to unique and fun. And that’s exactly what this book was; a lot of fun. The mix between mystery elements and mermaid parts was well done and it gave an unique twist to the mystery or an extra dimension to the mermaid story depending on how you look at it. I enjoyed learning about the mermaid world and having a bit of mystery as well.
The mystery wasn’t as strong as in many cozies. Tails of the Deep is a pretty short read and the mystery gets resolved rather quickly. There aren’t many suspects or twists and I wasn’t surprised at the murderer. The resolution did feel rather sudden and a bit rushed and there wasn’t much of a wrap up where things were put in it’s place and explained. I was left with some questions and would’ve liked to see a bit more about how this got resolved and how everyone reacted to what happened. I liked seeing how Zoe got involved in this mystery and how she had this taste for adventure.
So while you might not want to read this one for the mystery, I would recommend it if you’re looking for a fun read. I enjoyed the underwater world Diane Vallere created in this book and following Zoe’s adventures. It was fun to see how different these three sisters are and I am looking forward to the stories of the other two sisters. I think I also enjoyed this extra as I was looking for a fun light hearted book and that’s exactly what this one was.
Zoe is the middle sister, she doesn’t have special privileges like her older sister or is the baby of the family like her younger sister. She longs for adventure, even tough that’s not the mermaid way. It was fun to see her explore a sunken skip and stumble upon a murder and how determine she is to figure out what happened. While she doesn’t hesitate to put herself in danger, she did some smart things as well and was pretty protective of her sisters.
The author did a great job showing what life underneath the ocean was like. The author gave a good feel for what their society and community was like and I liked how the mermaids could communicate by song and how the songs were part of the story. There also is a bit of how society views mermaids and how Zoe didn’t follow that image. I liked the idea of a treaty between humans and mermaids that protected the mermaids and it made a lot of sense. Then again there were also some parts that confused me a bit like how they can read underwater or how not everything floated away. But nevertheless the world had a lot of flavor and I could image what everything looked like even though I had some questions remaining. I also liked some of the unique touches like how they talked to all the sea creatures and the market.
To summarize: This is a fun mermaid themed read with a light mystery. This book was just a lot of fun to read. It is pretty short and the mystery feels a bit quick. The mystery wasn’t as complicated as in most cozies, but it did add an extra theme/ focus to the book. The resolution to the mystery felt a bit rushed though and I remained with some questions. I enjoyed getting a feel for how these mermaids lived underwater, their community and society and their rules. While some things didn’t quite make sense and I have some questions left, overall it was great to get a feel for this underwater society. There were some nice unique touches. I would recommend this is you’re looking for a fun mermaid read with a mystery as well.
Tails from the Deep by Diane Vallere is book one in her humorous Mermaid Mystery series. In Sirenia, a mermaid colony in unchartered water, live three sisters. As the middle daughter, Zoe believes she never gets the attention or responsibility she deserves. Zoe is inquisitive, spending her days exploring the waters of their colony, even going toward the forbidden edge of Sirenia. Her nights are another story as that’s when she is lectured about the dangers around them. Zoe loved exploring a sunken battleship near the edge of the colony with the other sea creatures. Imagine her surprise when she discovers a diver trapped in the kelp near the ship and a dead body, below him with a knife sticking out. Zoe is determined to save the stranger, and not just from the kelp. This journey takes Zoe in many directions as she finds clues linking her older sister to the body, possible exposure to humans which could be the death of her, and possible criminal behavior by some sea creatures.
Ms. Vallere wrote a wonderful story that should definitely not be missed, was riveting and kept my attention to the very end. This story was filled with wonderful dialogue, lots of clues – even some red herrings, an imaginative view of ocean life, and endearing characters. I was kept on my toes while reading this story and guessing wrong as to who was actually the killer; boy was I surprised when I found out. I highly recommend Tails from the Deep to other readers and am anxious for the next book in this series.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
This is a family-friendly mermaid tale that can be read in a day which is nothing like Hans Christian Anderson. I read an Advance Reader Copy and this voluntary review is my own opinion.
Tails from the Deep is an exciting first installment in Vallere’s new mermaid cozy mystery series. Zoe is the middle daughter of three mermaid sisters, and she likes to explore and isn’t afraid of danger. When on a visit to a shipwreck that she likes to explore, Zoe comes across a dead body and an injured investigator. In order to protect her people, Zoe decides that she must solve this murder mystery herself before it endangers the entire mermaid community.
I have to admit to not being sure what to expect from a mermaid cozy, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked jumping right into this new adventure. Vallere does a great job with her world-building creating a unique setting and some great new characters. Zoe is well developed and proves to be a great character to set up this new and unique series. The book’s mystery is well done, and it does a great job at keeping you guessing until the end. If you are looking for a fun yet unusual mystery, then this book is for you. Tails from the Deep proved to be a great read, and I look forward to reading the next adventure in this series.
Received a copy of Tails from the Deep from the author in exchange for my honest review.
I love how author Diane Vallere writes stories that are unique and interesting. The characters were fascinating, and I like the interaction between the mermaids/mermen and the humans. The story was intriguing, and I never saw the plot twist coming. This is a great start to a new series.
Tails from the Deep is a delightful trip to the undersea world of Mermaids. As expected of this author, the writing is top-notch, the plot is tight and multi-layered, and the characters are well drawn and believable. I received this book free and chose to make a voluntary, unbiased review.