Into the Drowning Deep

 Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant, 562 pages.

Seven years ago, Victoria Stewart's sister sailed off to film a mocumentary about mermaids. She never came back. The only thing that returned from the ship Atargatis was a lot of frightening footage that was widely decried as a hoax, bloody footage that appeared to show the crew being devoured by mermaids. Years later, the original film company is seeking redemption (or at least a boost for their damaged reputation), and Victoria still wants closure, so she signs on with dozens of other scientists to try to get proof of mermaids once and for all. They end up finding much more than proof. 

This was a spooky little book about mermaids. Mira Grant (a penname for Seanan McGuire) does a good job building fear on top of a situation whose outcome was more-or-less obvious from the beginning. This is a bloody book, but it doesn't feel like it is purely relying on gore for it's punch (although there are a couple of images that will stick with me). The large cast is well-developed, which makes it hurt more when many of them meet their inevitable ends. I would recommend it generally, but especially for fans of scientists walking themselves into horror. 

The Sea Lady

The Sea Lady: a Novel / Margaret Drabble, 345 p.

I've enjoyed everything I've read by Margaret Drabble, but this novel felt a little limp to me.  As children, Ailsa and Humphrey play by the sea in the north of England.  They meet as young adults and become deeply connected, only to definitively separate soon after.  Some forty years later they reconnect near the same seaside spot, this time to accept honorary degrees from a nearby university.  As always, Drabble draws interesting characters who are very much products of their acutely analyzed time, and it's always interesting to read about them.  Much of the energy of the novel is directed at the anticipation of Ailsa and Humphrey's reunion rather than their actual interaction, which is perhaps what was missing for me.