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Out Of Her Depth
No fear was her new motto. But she never expected to be targeted for murder.
Indiana housewife Wynne Seally is determined to put her life back together after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Traveling alone to Aruba and learning to scuba dive seem like big steps in that direction.
However, Wynne plunges in over her head when an underwater discovery turns out to be a clue in a high-profile murder case. With the help of handsome insurance investigator Ronan Gale, she soon finds herself embroiled in unraveling clues that could set an accused man free . . . or get her killed.
Brenda Hiatt is the author of sixteen novels to date. In addition to writing, Brenda is passionate about embracing life to the fullest including scuba diving (she has over 70 dives to her credit), Taekwondo (where she recently achieved her 2nd degree black belt), hiking, traveling, and pursuing new experiences and skills. For the past dozen years, Brenda has also collected data on writers' earnings, which she shares at her website, http: //brendahiatt.com . You can find Brenda on Facebook at http: //www.facebook.com/BrendaHiatt and on Twitter @Brenda_Hiatt
Indiana housewife Wynne Seally is determined to put her life back together after her husband leaves her for a younger woman. Traveling alone to Aruba and learning to scuba dive seem like big steps in that direction.
However, Wynne plunges in over her head when an underwater discovery turns out to be a clue in a high-profile murder case. With the help of handsome insurance investigator Ronan Gale, she soon finds herself embroiled in unraveling clues that could set an accused man free . . . or get her killed.
Brenda Hiatt is the author of sixteen novels to date. In addition to writing, Brenda is passionate about embracing life to the fullest including scuba diving (she has over 70 dives to her credit), Taekwondo (where she recently achieved her 2nd degree black belt), hiking, traveling, and pursuing new experiences and skills. For the past dozen years, Brenda has also collected data on writers' earnings, which she shares at her website, http: //brendahiatt.com . You can find Brenda on Facebook at http: //www.facebook.com/BrendaHiatt and on Twitter @Brenda_Hiatt
216 pages, Paperback
First published February 27, 2013
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47 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 18, 2018
Wynne ends up on holiday alone in Aruba after divorcing her cheating husband and forgetting to cancel the trip. She's determined to try new things and live up to the t-shirt slogan 'No Fear' so she takes scuba diving lessons. While learning to dive she finds an engagement ring which turns out to be an important clue in a recent murder investigation.
The narrator's voice is well suited to the main character but she also does a good job of the many other characters and accents in the book.
The narrator's voice is well suited to the main character but she also does a good job of the many other characters and accents in the book.
March 4, 2018
This is my review of the audio version as posted on Audible:
When you are 46, freshly divorced, and go alone to Aruba for what was supposed to have been your wedding anniversary treat, you don't expect a lot of fun, you don't really look for a new love interest and you definitely don't expect to find yourself in the middle of a huge crime investigation...:) But that's exactly what happens to Wynne when she decides to take scuba diving classes and finds a pricy ring at the bottom of the sea...
This is the starting point of a fantastically crazy, fast-paced, intriguing murder mystery written by Brenda Hiatt. I knew Ms Hiatt as the author of very well written Regency romances (which I loved, by the way) so it was fun to discover that she's equally good at creating an engaging and funny criminal plot, with hillarious characters (like Wynne's mother), likeable characters (like Wynne herself), sexy characters (like Ronan) and - of course - cunning and vicious characters (like... no, no, no, no spoilers here:)). The plot has everything: room/house burglaries, threatening phone calls, mysterious notices, FBI agents, murder attempts, a rollercoaster-type of ending... and decriptions of scuba diving as the proverbial frosting on the cake:) I don't know anything about it but I already feel like I'm ready to start learning right here right now - the pictures of it are so vivid in the book they instantly make you want to join Wynne under water:)
Ms Hazen's interpretation only adds to the already great quality of the experience. It's almost perfect, with the right pace, wonderful voicing of individual characters and good acting skills.
So, if you feel like listening to a catchy mystery - grab "Out of Her Depth" and have great fun:)
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
When you are 46, freshly divorced, and go alone to Aruba for what was supposed to have been your wedding anniversary treat, you don't expect a lot of fun, you don't really look for a new love interest and you definitely don't expect to find yourself in the middle of a huge crime investigation...:) But that's exactly what happens to Wynne when she decides to take scuba diving classes and finds a pricy ring at the bottom of the sea...
This is the starting point of a fantastically crazy, fast-paced, intriguing murder mystery written by Brenda Hiatt. I knew Ms Hiatt as the author of very well written Regency romances (which I loved, by the way) so it was fun to discover that she's equally good at creating an engaging and funny criminal plot, with hillarious characters (like Wynne's mother), likeable characters (like Wynne herself), sexy characters (like Ronan) and - of course - cunning and vicious characters (like... no, no, no, no spoilers here:)). The plot has everything: room/house burglaries, threatening phone calls, mysterious notices, FBI agents, murder attempts, a rollercoaster-type of ending... and decriptions of scuba diving as the proverbial frosting on the cake:) I don't know anything about it but I already feel like I'm ready to start learning right here right now - the pictures of it are so vivid in the book they instantly make you want to join Wynne under water:)
Ms Hazen's interpretation only adds to the already great quality of the experience. It's almost perfect, with the right pace, wonderful voicing of individual characters and good acting skills.
So, if you feel like listening to a catchy mystery - grab "Out of Her Depth" and have great fun:)
DISCLAIMER: I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
May 18, 2024
OUT OF HER DEPTH by Brenda Hiatt
A midlife crisis turns into the adventure of a lifetime—but will she survive it?
OUT OF HER DEPTH's character Wynne Seally reminds me of Jessica Fletcher from the beloved series “Murder She Wrote” except Wynne plunges in over her head when an underwater discovery turns out to be a clue in a high-profile murder case. Her list of suspects grow as she unravels clues that could free an accused man or get her killed. Woo! I love it! Great job done, Brenda Hiatt!
A midlife crisis turns into the adventure of a lifetime—but will she survive it?
OUT OF HER DEPTH's character Wynne Seally reminds me of Jessica Fletcher from the beloved series “Murder She Wrote” except Wynne plunges in over her head when an underwater discovery turns out to be a clue in a high-profile murder case. Her list of suspects grow as she unravels clues that could free an accused man or get her killed. Woo! I love it! Great job done, Brenda Hiatt!
February 11, 2018
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the narrator and found it very entertaining. Newly divorced, Wynne heads off for the holiday she booked for her 25th wedding anniversary that's not going to happen. She decides to take diving lessons, and it changes her life. This is a fast paced and suspenseful tale with interesting characters. Every time I thought I had it figured out, the facts changed. The ending made me smile.
June 13, 2018
Out of Her Depth was a great read by Brenda Hiatt. After Wynne Seally's divorce, she decides to still go on her anniversary vacation to Aruba alone. She wants to live with no fear but doesn't expect that her vacation may end up making her a murder suspect. I loved reading this book.
July 14, 2024
Great fun read that kept me wanting more with every page. Fun to see the growth of Wynne and her transformation throughout her experiences in Aruba. Fun summer read!
Read
April 23, 2025I really enjoyed this book, as I've enjoyed all of Brenda Hiatt's book. I got the updated version, so it was relatable. it was so much fun!
March 12, 2013
Out of Her Depth is exciting adventure, mystery. Did not want to put it down. It makes me want to learn to dive and go exploring.
Wynne is likable,brave and trying to be fearless. I feel like I really connected to Wynne. Wynne booked a trip to Aruba for her 25th
anniversery months ago. That same day she found her husband in a affair. It was already paid in full and she could not get her money back she decided to go by herself.
Wynne has two grown daughters. She stopped going to church because of her husband is a leader and she feels like everyone is judging her for the divorce when it was her husband chooseing a younger woman to have an affair with. Even her mother wants to see her back with her husband.
Wynne decides to go ahead and learn to scuba dive as she already signed up and read the book. Wynne really likes diving. On her first day actually diving in the ocean she finds a diamond ring that is big and expensive. She is excited to find it. She shows everybody in the boat when they are done. Someone points out that their is a engraving inside the ring.
That evening she went to a jewelery store and asked them if anyone reported it lost. Is their anyway to trace owner of the ring since it was one of theirs. When she gets back to her room at her hotel her room has been broken into. It is a nice hotel they move her to a different and bigger room.
The next day she goes to her diving class again they are going on dives to different spots. Everyone knows her room was broken into.
Wynne forgot to take the ring out of her pocket. She decided that that she would put the ring in the big hotel safe when she got back too the hotel.
She had a message at her hotel from the jewelry store that they found the owner, would she come back to store at 9:00 pm. She was wondering why that late and specific time. She decides to go way earlier and finds out who was owner for sure.
Ronan was helping with the dive. He is around her age and was flirting with her. Ronan worked with insurances agency and found out that the woman who's ring it was murdered in Florida. Her husband Stefan Melampus a refuted mobster was facing a trial for killing his wife. Ronan tells her not to trust the cops because a lot of them want him to be found guilty.
Wynne does not know who to trust. The hotel big safe was broken into the second night. She had forgotten to put the ring in the safe.
The FBI sends two agents down,the mobster sent a representive down and a lawyer. All three groups want the ring. Even their is someone that attacked Ronan and her threatened her want the ring.
Wynne likes Ronan and trusts him a little, as she figures out who to trust with the ring. Is Melanie alive or is the woman her sister Michelle?
Lots of diving that sounds exciting to learn and see everything,lots action,lots of suspects, drama and even some romance. It is also a clean book. I would read Brenda Hiatt books after reading this one.
I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it when I was done by Netgalley.
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (February 27, 2013) 226 pages ASIN: B00BM89WK8
Wynne is likable,brave and trying to be fearless. I feel like I really connected to Wynne. Wynne booked a trip to Aruba for her 25th
anniversery months ago. That same day she found her husband in a affair. It was already paid in full and she could not get her money back she decided to go by herself.
Wynne has two grown daughters. She stopped going to church because of her husband is a leader and she feels like everyone is judging her for the divorce when it was her husband chooseing a younger woman to have an affair with. Even her mother wants to see her back with her husband.
Wynne decides to go ahead and learn to scuba dive as she already signed up and read the book. Wynne really likes diving. On her first day actually diving in the ocean she finds a diamond ring that is big and expensive. She is excited to find it. She shows everybody in the boat when they are done. Someone points out that their is a engraving inside the ring.
That evening she went to a jewelery store and asked them if anyone reported it lost. Is their anyway to trace owner of the ring since it was one of theirs. When she gets back to her room at her hotel her room has been broken into. It is a nice hotel they move her to a different and bigger room.
The next day she goes to her diving class again they are going on dives to different spots. Everyone knows her room was broken into.
Wynne forgot to take the ring out of her pocket. She decided that that she would put the ring in the big hotel safe when she got back too the hotel.
She had a message at her hotel from the jewelry store that they found the owner, would she come back to store at 9:00 pm. She was wondering why that late and specific time. She decides to go way earlier and finds out who was owner for sure.
Ronan was helping with the dive. He is around her age and was flirting with her. Ronan worked with insurances agency and found out that the woman who's ring it was murdered in Florida. Her husband Stefan Melampus a refuted mobster was facing a trial for killing his wife. Ronan tells her not to trust the cops because a lot of them want him to be found guilty.
Wynne does not know who to trust. The hotel big safe was broken into the second night. She had forgotten to put the ring in the safe.
The FBI sends two agents down,the mobster sent a representive down and a lawyer. All three groups want the ring. Even their is someone that attacked Ronan and her threatened her want the ring.
Wynne likes Ronan and trusts him a little, as she figures out who to trust with the ring. Is Melanie alive or is the woman her sister Michelle?
Lots of diving that sounds exciting to learn and see everything,lots action,lots of suspects, drama and even some romance. It is also a clean book. I would read Brenda Hiatt books after reading this one.
I was given this ebook to read and asked to give honest review of it when I was done by Netgalley.
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books (February 27, 2013) 226 pages ASIN: B00BM89WK8
April 2, 2013
Newly divorced Wynne Seally heads off to Aruba on vacation, taking advantage of the already paid-for trip she booked for her wedding anniversary, the day she discovered her husband was involved with another woman. "No Fear" is her new motto, and she embraces it by going ahead with the scuba lessons she had planned to take with her husband.
But on her first real dive, exploring a sunken ship that's a popular tourist attraction, she finds an expensive wedding ring and braves a moray eel to pick it up. It's engraved with two names and a date, and it's a Cartier piece.
The island's Cartier shop recognizes it and says they'll have the owner contact her. Fellow diver Ronan Gale tells her the names suggest it may be connected to a major murder case.
And then someone ransacks Wynne's hotel room. There's an attempt to lure her to a meeting out of the public eye. She gets a phone call from a famous gangster.
Suddenly her commitment to "No Fear" is being tested in alarming ways.
Wynne is a really likable character, a woman gradually realizing her own strength and independence now that she's broken free of her husband of twenty-five years. Her basic decency shines through without any false, goody-two-shoes notes. Her relationships with her grown daughters, who need their own little push toward independence, and with her mother, who thinks independence isn't nearly as good as reconciling with that cheating but prosperous husband, feel very real.
It's not a perfect book. The mystery is fairly well done, but about halfway through I asked a question that seemed obvious to me, but clearly wasn't to the characters, and my suspicious later proved correct. It is nevertheless a fun and satisfying story of a woman coming into her own, and reaching out for new adventure and new romance after a painful divorce.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
But on her first real dive, exploring a sunken ship that's a popular tourist attraction, she finds an expensive wedding ring and braves a moray eel to pick it up. It's engraved with two names and a date, and it's a Cartier piece.
The island's Cartier shop recognizes it and says they'll have the owner contact her. Fellow diver Ronan Gale tells her the names suggest it may be connected to a major murder case.
And then someone ransacks Wynne's hotel room. There's an attempt to lure her to a meeting out of the public eye. She gets a phone call from a famous gangster.
Suddenly her commitment to "No Fear" is being tested in alarming ways.
Wynne is a really likable character, a woman gradually realizing her own strength and independence now that she's broken free of her husband of twenty-five years. Her basic decency shines through without any false, goody-two-shoes notes. Her relationships with her grown daughters, who need their own little push toward independence, and with her mother, who thinks independence isn't nearly as good as reconciling with that cheating but prosperous husband, feel very real.
It's not a perfect book. The mystery is fairly well done, but about halfway through I asked a question that seemed obvious to me, but clearly wasn't to the characters, and my suspicious later proved correct. It is nevertheless a fun and satisfying story of a woman coming into her own, and reaching out for new adventure and new romance after a painful divorce.
Recommended.
I received a free electronic galley from the publisher via NetGalley.
June 20, 2014
When I got to record OUT HER DEPTH all I could say was, 'It's about time!' The heroine is a wonderful straightforward mature woman, going through mature adult trials. 'Wynne from Indiana'. Being from the Midwest myself I could really identify with her struggle to find herself after years of marriage and regain a connection to her own thoughts and dreams free of the trappings of her husband. Wynne has a great relationship with her kids and you begin to really fear for her and for her family and pull for their success as she susses out the clues and foibles of a murder mystery during her scuba vacation in Aruba. Look out when the ex resurfaces. Author Brenda Hiatt is well known in the romance genre. This was I believe her first foray into the land of mystery and thriller and I think she did a superb job.
February 9, 2017
This was an okay mystery. Nothing spectacular, but it keeps you interested and is fun to read.
May 29, 2013
Unfortunately, Out of Her Depth lacks depth. The premise is great- scuba diving vacation in Aruba for a divorced after twenty five years finds ring linked to possible murder while said divorcee diver finds her independence. The author seemingly assumes the reader needs everything explained resulting in a plodding narrative that never really builds any momentum.
Received from Publisher via Net Galley.
Received from Publisher via Net Galley.
December 1, 2013
I am enjoying this book. Keeps me wanting to continue on and read faster, faster. SMILES! Brenda Hiatt is the wife of one of our attorneys at the law firm I work at. I look forward to reading her other creations as well.
December 16, 2015
Well written with a fascinating heroine. Brenda Hiatt consistently writes engaging plots and well-developed characters. This novel encourages its female audience to never be afraid to try something new, whether it be romance or adventure.
ARC provided by NetGalley
ARC provided by NetGalley
July 8, 2015
Good beach reading while on vacation.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews