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My introduction to the fiction of Seanan McGuire--who publishes science fiction thrillers as "Mira Grant"--is Into the Drowning Deep and this is a relentlessly exciting nautical ride that learns from the best and worst the genre has to offer, as if McGuire flipped between TNT, Discovery Channel and SyFy Network and taking notes for a month, designed the best mermaid attack novel of all time. Her take is an R-rated one with credible science, gutsy female characters, gore, sharp dialogue and some wit. Always in the market for all of the above, customer satisfaction went through the roof for me.

The story begins in 2015 with Victoria "Tory" Stewart saying goodbye to her sister Anne, an on-camera correspondent setting sail on the SS Atargatis to the Mariana Trench, where the all-schlock Imagine Entertainment Network is searching for mermaids. Anne tells her sister, entering UC Santa Cruz in the fall to study marine biology, that nobody expects to find a mermaid, but she hopes the program will be good exposure. Contact with Atargatis is lost for six weeks before the U.S. Navy discovers it adrift. Leaked video footage appears to show the crew being torn apart by creatures with human torsos, eel-like tails and needle teeth. The bodies of the crew are never recovered.

In 2022, marine biologist Tory Stewart works in Monterey on whale-watching tours while writing her dissertation. Global climate change has altered the migration patterns of large sea mammals, among other things. The Imagine Network has been acquitted of wrongful death of the Atargatis crew, while the court of public opinion concludes that the leaked footage was a hoax. Tory and her lab partner Luis Martines study deepwater sonar scans of the Mariana Trench to hunt for acoustic anomalies. Meanwhile, biologist Dr. Jillian Toth, whose research in “sirentology�� was used to justify the Atargatis expedition, takes to the lecture circuit to warn that mermaids exist. She's visited by her ex-husband Theodore Blackwell, the #2 executive of the Imagine Network, who's launching an expedition to the Mariana Trench.

"Officially, Imagine's position remains the same as always--for now. But you're not blind, you're not stupid, and you're the one who told them what they were looking for. You knew those things were real the second you saw the recording. Even if Imagine had wanted to make up a monster story to cover for the loss of a very real group of people, they wouldn't have been able to do such a good job in such a short amount of time. CGI ages poorly. That technology, too, has marched on. If there was something in those tapes for the world to discredit, it would have happened already. The fact that it hasn't should be proof enough of what happened on the Atargatis, no matter what Imagine says to the media. It wasn't a stunt, it wasn't a mistake, and there's been no cover-up. The world just doesn't like the answers we've been able to provide."

"So why is Imagine going out there again?"

"Because we want closure," Blackwell squared his shoulders, a small, almost unconscious gesture that most people would have taken for formality.

Jillian frowned. "Is your back bothering you?"

"My back's always bothering me, Jillian."

"Dr. Toth."

"Dr. Toth, then. Yes. My back is bothering me. Nerve damage doesn't go away simply because one takes a desk job. I need your answer. Will you sail with the Melusine, and help Imagine provide answer to people who've been waiting for the last seven years?"

"The Melusine." Jillian snorted. "That's a little on the nose, don't you think?"

"If we're successful, there will be a documentary. My employers are very good at managing the details."

"That's true." She sobered. "I'll need a copy of the contract. I'm willing to sign an NDA, but I need time to review both the NDA and the contract with my lawyer."

While Dr. Toth is haunted by survivor's guilt and Mr. Blackwell is plagued by chronic nerve pain that medical innovation can only partially treat, Tory also joins the expedition with baggage, seeking closure in the death of her sister. Her acoustic research with Luis, which Blackwell reveals has been clandestinely funded by Imagine all along, has picked up the sound of the Atargatis engines deep in the Mariana Trench, as if something down there is mimicking the sound of the fated vessel seven years after it was attacked. Tory and Luis arrive in San Diego to set sail on the Melusine, a floating science city of four hundred that has its share of characters:

-- Olivia Sanderson, the new face of Imagine Network. Tech geek plagued by social anxiety and self-image issues, she inexplicably crushes on Tory, the last crew member who wants to get to know her. Speaks Klingon and Quenya (Elvish from Tolkien).

-- Ray Marino, Olivia's loyal cameraman, a former MMA-fighter with knees surgically repaired by medical innovation. A big guy who helps Olivia from feeling overwhelmed in crowds.

-- Jacques and Michi Abney. Big game hunters. Husband-wife. He is French-Canadian, she is Japanese-Australian. Want the first verified kill of a mermaid. Shunned by the scientists, initially.

-- Jason Rothman. Plankton expert. Tory's ex-boyfriend. Identified by Olivia as a "science hipster" who ridiculed mermaids until they were proven to exist and saw a career opportunity.

-- Hallie Wilson. Acoustician and sign language expert. She also serves as ASL translator for ...

-- Holly and Heather Wilson. Deaf twins, Hallie's youngster sisters, redheads. Holly is an organic chemist. Heather is a submersible operator whose dream is to personally explore the Challenger Deep.

-- Dr. Daniel Lennox. Cetologist. Heavily tattooed, looks like a nightclub bouncer. Ultimately aligns with Mr. Blackwell and Hallie Wilson in a secret think tank to communicate with a captive.

-- Twitter, Cecil and Kearney. Dolphins who Mr. Blackwell has promised freedom in exchange for their work as scouts. Unknown to humans, dolphins have known for centuries what lurks in the Mariana Trench.

-- Gregory Richardson and Daryl Cliff. Electrical engineers. Busy trying to repair the numerous glitches the Melusine set sail with, like security shutters that won't shut. Daryl is upset about something and goes to tell the captain about it.

"Sir, there's something in the water." Some of the strain had vanished, replaced by relief. By telling the captain--by telling the person in charge--the young man had rendered this someone else's problem. "Gregory's still there, but he agreed I should come and tell you." That was only half a lie. Gregory knew he was coming to see the captain. He hadn't endorsed it, exactly, but he knew, and that made it true enough to say.

Captain Peterman went cold. Being the first to say the word mermaid would be to lose. He would not lose. Voice level, he said, "Something in the water? Son, I don't know if you're aware, but we're in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There's lots of somethings in the water. This is their home. As far as they're concerned, we're 'something in the water,' and they're probably pretty keen on us moving along."

"It's not like that," said Daryl. He stood his ground, even though every instinct he'd developed in three years as an independent maritime engineer told him to back down. It was never good to argue with the captain over anything but the safety of the ship--in part because an engineer who argued over little things was less likely to be listened to about the big ones. There might come a time when the survival of this vessel and her crew depended on the captain listening when he spoke. If he couldn't guarantee that, he might as well turn in his resignation now.

But the glitter in the water had been wrong. Something about it turned his stomach in a way he didn't have words for, had never needed to articulate before; something about it had seemed so inimical that he didn't want to remember what it looked like. When he tried, his mind shied away, presenting him with images of sunlight on the surface, of Gregory frowning at his idle fancies. How could light be threatening? It didn't make sense. It was just light, after all. It was just light.

Into the Drowning Deep is one of those novels that feels as if the author had monitored my book reviews and offers a surprise, just for me. "So, you enjoy science fiction thrillers? High concept, hard science, like Michael Crichton, except, compelling characters. Nobody named 'Norman Johnson' acting out a plot. Got it. You like women in your fiction? Strong, practical women? You'll have it. Scientists will actually follow the scientific method. Yep. Thrills. How about someone who gets stuck trying to squeeze through a water intake port? How about character and thrills embedded at every turn?��

The sound of the mermaid's hands slapping the wood pursued him as he fled. He turned the corner, heading for the enclosed hallways where th sea was out of sight, acting on some deeply buried instinct that told him he might be safer if he got away from the water. Amphibious or not, the mermaid was a creature of the sea. It wouldn't pursue him too far from its natural habitat.

A man stepped into his path. Luis shouted something unintelligible as collision seemed inevitable. Then strong arms were reaching out of the nearest doorway, jerking him out of the way as the man--Jacques, his features becoming visible as he took another step forward, out of the shadows--raised his sidearm and fired three times. The mermaid screamed, its voice still unnervingly like Luis's own.

He turned his head and found himself looking into Michi's eyes. They were brown, cold and surrounded by impeccably applied winged eyeliner. He had time to wonder who took the time to do their makeup before coming out to hunt mermaids before she was shoving him away, a disgusted expression on her face.

"Really, mate, what were you going to accomplish?" she demanded, her accent painted broadly across every syllable. She sounded like the pure distillation of Queensland, Australia, all sunny skies and brutal murder. "If you were looking to kill yourself, there are easier ways."

"It's dead," said Jacques, stepping into the room. He looked at Luis and sniffed. "Little boy, are you a fool, or are you too stupid to know when you're taking unnecessary chances?"

"Hold on a second," said Luis, scowling. "I didn't take any unnecessary chances. I knew the mermaid was coming, I went to have a look at it."

"Carrying this?" Michi held up his tracker gun. Luis's hands flew to his waistband. Michi looked at him with open pity. "Please. I got it off you while you were trying to decide whether or not my breast was touching your arm. This thing doesn't even have bullets. It was never going to save you."

"It's a tracker gun, and I'd like it back." Luis held out his hand. He was proud of the fact that it wasn't shaking. Under the circumstances, he felt that was a victory.

"What do you track with it?" Michi dropped it into his palm. She looked almost bored.

"Mostly squid and big fish."

"You wanted to track the mermaid?" Jacques snorted. "We know where the fish-women go. They go down to Davey Jones's locker, and they take you along for the ride."

Seanan McGuire took me for an e-ticket ride with this novel. Into the Drowning Deep is scary and loaded with gore galore, but also science and compelling characters. I was surprised by how much marine biology, engineering and other sciences filled the pages and how McGuire used global climate change to push the story forward, understanding this is a real and major issue and imagining how it could threaten her characters, which in another surprise, are seventy-percent female. The reader is primed for many of them to feed the sirens, but I was emotionally invested in those I hoped would survive. It's a real hit and makes me want to dive into her aka's other science fiction horror.