Scan barcode
cathybruce208's review
4.0
Hallie's back, she's still at her Dad's house, and now there are ghostly black dogs surrounding her neighbor's ranch. ...and a whole lot of other stuff too. Same spare, beautiful prose, same rich characterization. I enjoyed this very much and will read the inevitable third installment.
cjay1957's review
4.0
This is a good series. Not the best I've ever read but it keeps me interested throughout and I like Hallie and Boyd well enough. Continuing the series.
mellabella's review
4.0
While I liked the prequel to this book, I did find it draggy... It was very long, which is fine. But had a lot of filler. Not so with the sequel. This one was fast paced and had a few tense moments. Hallie (the main character and mystery solver) didn't even get on my nerves as much. I think the author could squeeze one more novel out of Hallie, and Boyd.
scholastic_squid's review
3.0
Deep Down - There was all sorts of reviews on the cover/inside cover of Deep Down for a book written before this by the author, which was apparently a pre-story to this. It sort of didn't matter, whether or not you read it? There was some references but it seemed as though the author told you what was of importance each time it happened. Anyways...
Deep Down was a story about Hallie, Boyd, Death and Hollowell. Hallie lives on a ranch with her father, alone, because they lost their sister and mom. Her father and her don't really talk all that much because she left for four years once to join the military and it looks like they never really worked out their feelings. Now that she is back, she is trying to find a job and figure out what is going on between her and Boyd/her dad. Eventually bizarre things start to happen like Pabby, an older woman on a nearby ranch, is starting to see black dogs everywhere on her property. Pabby is also being visited by a white reaper, telling her it is her time to go. Hallie can see the dogs too, but no one else can. Turns out only people who are going to die or have died can see the black dogs, which are harbingers of death. One dog takes a liking to Hallie because as he puts it she is 'interesting', so he follows her around through 2/3rd of the story. So Hallie is trying to stop Pabby from dying right now because she claims it's not her time to go, but then this man Hollowell shows up and is trying to mess up her life and Boyds - so Hallie being her tough, independent-self tries to take on this man using her knowledge of death, Death himself, Boyd and a friend of hers that can speak to ghosts (occasionally). It is an interesting story and the writing style is not something I'm used to - the quick blips, short thoughts, etc - but it was good for this story.
Deep Down was a story about Hallie, Boyd, Death and Hollowell. Hallie lives on a ranch with her father, alone, because they lost their sister and mom. Her father and her don't really talk all that much because she left for four years once to join the military and it looks like they never really worked out their feelings. Now that she is back, she is trying to find a job and figure out what is going on between her and Boyd/her dad. Eventually bizarre things start to happen like Pabby, an older woman on a nearby ranch, is starting to see black dogs everywhere on her property. Pabby is also being visited by a white reaper, telling her it is her time to go. Hallie can see the dogs too, but no one else can. Turns out only people who are going to die or have died can see the black dogs, which are harbingers of death. One dog takes a liking to Hallie because as he puts it she is 'interesting', so he follows her around through 2/3rd of the story. So Hallie is trying to stop Pabby from dying right now because she claims it's not her time to go, but then this man Hollowell shows up and is trying to mess up her life and Boyds - so Hallie being her tough, independent-self tries to take on this man using her knowledge of death, Death himself, Boyd and a friend of hers that can speak to ghosts (occasionally). It is an interesting story and the writing style is not something I'm used to - the quick blips, short thoughts, etc - but it was good for this story.
kblincoln's review
5.0
The spare, emotion-loaded beauty of Coates' terse dialogue and South Dakota rancher milieu started in "Wide Open" continues here in Deep Down.
Hallie Michaels is hanging around on her father's ranch, no longer able to return to her former life as a normal, army grunt in Afghanistan.
Her run in with the supernatural in the prior book has left her a bit at a loss for a life path. She's staying in town, but plans to leave both the town and her new romantic interest, boyish, strait-laced Boyd Davies.
She's not ready to commit to anything.
But then she goes to check on an elderly neighbor and finds black dogs, harbingers of Death, circling the property. At last, here's something Hallie has no problem committing to: figuring out how to solve both the puzzle of the dogs, as well as mysterious disappearances of solid citizens and mysterious reappearnces of victimless car crashes.
I am beginning to think of Deborah Coates and Alex Bledsoe's "Tufa" series along the same lines: something like urban fantasy set in rural American areas. There is wide open spaces, nature as a scene setter/mood influencer and sometimes character, as well as the rural sensibilities of people separated by space who yet have known eachother all their lives and who you can rely on in a pinch. Maybe "rural" fantasy? Whatever its called, I still love the way Hallie, Boyd, Death, and her father have that brusque, loaded-with-unsaid-things style of communication, as well as the details of ranch life.
As an added bonus, we not only get deeper into Boyd's backstory as his past holds clues to the current supernatural happenings in Prairie City , but also get the addition of a new character, Maker, who provides a perfect foil for Hallie as a source of irritation and information.
Hope to see more in this series.
This Book's Snack Rating: still Salt-and-Pepper Kettle chips for the no-nonsense flavor of Hallie's South Dakota world and the satisfying crunch of well-laid plot and fantastic elements
Hallie Michaels is hanging around on her father's ranch, no longer able to return to her former life as a normal, army grunt in Afghanistan.
Her run in with the supernatural in the prior book has left her a bit at a loss for a life path. She's staying in town, but plans to leave both the town and her new romantic interest, boyish, strait-laced Boyd Davies.
She's not ready to commit to anything.
But then she goes to check on an elderly neighbor and finds black dogs, harbingers of Death, circling the property. At last, here's something Hallie has no problem committing to: figuring out how to solve both the puzzle of the dogs, as well as mysterious disappearances of solid citizens and mysterious reappearnces of victimless car crashes.
I am beginning to think of Deborah Coates and Alex Bledsoe's "Tufa" series along the same lines: something like urban fantasy set in rural American areas. There is wide open spaces, nature as a scene setter/mood influencer and sometimes character, as well as the rural sensibilities of people separated by space who yet have known eachother all their lives and who you can rely on in a pinch. Maybe "rural" fantasy? Whatever its called, I still love the way Hallie, Boyd, Death, and her father have that brusque, loaded-with-unsaid-things style of communication, as well as the details of ranch life.
As an added bonus, we not only get deeper into Boyd's backstory as his past holds clues to the current supernatural happenings in Prairie City , but also get the addition of a new character, Maker, who provides a perfect foil for Hallie as a source of irritation and information.
Hope to see more in this series.
This Book's Snack Rating: still Salt-and-Pepper Kettle chips for the no-nonsense flavor of Hallie's South Dakota world and the satisfying crunch of well-laid plot and fantastic elements
jonmhansen's review
4.0
I think I liked this one more than the first one. Nice to see this particular world/setting/universe/whatever-you-want-to-call-it get explored a bit more.
stewie's review
5.0
[a:Deborah Coates|123835|Deborah Coates|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1384228155p2/123835.jpg]' novel Deep Down has the storytelling style of Joe Lansdale and the snarky wit of Janet Evanovich. This was the first I've read of her work, and she easily has a new fan. You can read my full review over at Horror DNA.
colls's review
4.0
Hallie is becoming one of my favorite heroines: she's practical, no-nonsense and ready to get things done. She also has a refreshing amount of maturity. I'm unsure if that's the rancher's daughter or the war veteran in her, but for someone who's barely twenty-three, she goes about things like reapers and hell with more wisdom and common sense than one might expect. Of course, she still lacks hard intel and dives right into things, it would hardly be a supernatural genre novel if she didn't. But she's got a health dose of pragmatism that I really like. Even when it comes to Boyd, she doesn't flare into jealousy or gnash her teeth (much).
I'm surprised that this series isn't more well-known, it's incredibly entertaining and the stories are well-paced. The characters have some depth and the setting is vivid.
I'm surprised that this series isn't more well-known, it's incredibly entertaining and the stories are well-paced. The characters have some depth and the setting is vivid.
drey72's review
4.0
Published on drey's library: http://www.dreyslibrary.com/2013/04/23/review-deep-down-by-deborah-coates/
Well, Hallie’s figured out what happened to her sister, and barely survived it. Now maybe she’ll have the opportunity to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life… Hopefully without all that otherworldly stuff that’s been dogging her.
Too bad what Hallie wants doesn’t matter. Because no sooner does she gets a job proposition than she starts seeing black dogs. Dogs nobody else can see, except for a select few. Dogs who appear and disappear on a whim. Dogs who hop into her truck – through the door – and talk to her. In riddles, mostly. Because plain talk is apparently to much to ask for…
It doesn’t take long before Hallie feels lost again, out of her depth with the unexplained occurrences. She wishes they’d stop happening, but well, if wishes were fishes… Oh, whatever. Things aren’t going to stop being weird just because that’s what Hallie wants. But is a supernatural-guidebook-for-dummies too much to ask for?
Deep Down gives us a story more mystery than supernatural – similar to Wide Open. We learn more about Hallie’s backstory as well as Boyd’s, and meet some new characters with pivotal roles to play. The ending gives us a revelation that’ll surely play out in the next book.
As with Wide Open, Deep Down is dark and solemn. There’s not a lot to laugh at or about, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. Deborah Coates’ storytelling is compelling and keeps your interest with its revelations, and while I’m impatient and want to know what’s going on now, I cannot wait to see where it all goes from here.
drey’s rating: Excellent!
Well, Hallie’s figured out what happened to her sister, and barely survived it. Now maybe she’ll have the opportunity to figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life… Hopefully without all that otherworldly stuff that’s been dogging her.
Too bad what Hallie wants doesn’t matter. Because no sooner does she gets a job proposition than she starts seeing black dogs. Dogs nobody else can see, except for a select few. Dogs who appear and disappear on a whim. Dogs who hop into her truck – through the door – and talk to her. In riddles, mostly. Because plain talk is apparently to much to ask for…
It doesn’t take long before Hallie feels lost again, out of her depth with the unexplained occurrences. She wishes they’d stop happening, but well, if wishes were fishes… Oh, whatever. Things aren’t going to stop being weird just because that’s what Hallie wants. But is a supernatural-guidebook-for-dummies too much to ask for?
Deep Down gives us a story more mystery than supernatural – similar to Wide Open. We learn more about Hallie’s backstory as well as Boyd’s, and meet some new characters with pivotal roles to play. The ending gives us a revelation that’ll surely play out in the next book.
As with Wide Open, Deep Down is dark and solemn. There’s not a lot to laugh at or about, and yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. Deborah Coates’ storytelling is compelling and keeps your interest with its revelations, and while I’m impatient and want to know what’s going on now, I cannot wait to see where it all goes from here.
drey’s rating: Excellent!
nakedgreyhound's review
4.0
This series of books are really different from so many other fantasies I've read. They take place in rural South Dakota, though they are set in present-day, mixing the real with the fantasy. This type of blending is often seen more in "urban fantasy" books. I really love how the setting/place is as much as a character as the main characters.