SwimSwam News is courtesy of Kensington Publishing Publishing Corp.
Praise For Under Water:
“Casey Barrett, an ex-Olympian, knows what he’s writing about in this sordid tale of murder and sport. This one has it all: mystery, suspense, secrets, and a longing for new adventure. It should be mandatory reading for all thriller aficionados.”– New York Times bestselling author Steve Berry
“I loved it. Duck Darley is an original, smart and sympathetic protagonist, the central mystery was really well thought through, the story gripping and the ending terrific. A great debut novel!”– Adrian McKinty, author of the Sean Duffy series
“Casey Barrett should find himself in the big pool of crime writers with this deftly conceived, crisply written debut. Slick and brash, with a little New York hip thrown in, it does for competitive swimming what Megan Abbott did for gymnastics, exposing the poison at the heart of a coach’s and a family’s need to win.”–New York Times bestselling author Andrew Gross”Casey
“Casey Barrett knows the world of swimming as well as almost anyone. But who knew it could be the source of so much suspense?”–Bob Costas
“Now and again a debut novel comes along that blows you out of the water. A novel that sparkles with wit, sass, and wonderful narrative style. The book sings in its sheer narrative momentum. Here be the beginnings of a superb series.”– Ken Bruen, author of the Jack Taylor series
“Barrett’s first-person narrative has a music of its own, and his alcoholic hero, just two drinks away from seeking his next fix, is appealingly vulnerable.”–Kirkus Reviews
Duck Darley should have been a winner. Once a competitive swimmer destined for Olympic gold, he drank away his gilded youth and followed his fraudster father’s footsteps into prison. Barely scraping by as an unlicensed private investigator, Duck now chases down cheating spouses for the same Manhattan elite who once viewed him as an equal, and drowning bitter memories with whatever fills his glass.
Duck’s lost glory days resurface when he’s tasked with finding the teenaged sister of a former teammate turned Olympic champion. Privileged Madeline McKay vanished over Labor Day weekend, leaving behind a too-perfect West Village apartment and a promising athletic career of her own. Duck thinks he’s hunting for a self-destructive runaway—until Madeline’s film student ex is savagely murdered, and the media spins her as the psycho who killed him.
As Duck searches for Madeline, he’s plunged back into the dark underbelly of Olympic swimming—a world rife with wild lies and terrible violence.
And he soon learns that no matter how hard he tries to escape his past, demons still lurk beneath every surface . . .
About the Author
Casey Barrett is a Canadian Olympian and the co-founder and co-CEO of Imagine Swimming, New York City’s largest learn-to-swim school. He has won three Emmy awards and one Peabody award for his work on NBC’s broadcasts of the Olympic Games. At the 2004, 2006, and 2008 Olympics, he served as one of Bob Costas’s Primetime Writers. His competitive swimming career took him from the North Baltimore Aquatic Club to the Bolles School to the University of Southern California and Southern Methodist University. In 1996 he reached the Olympic B Final in the 200m Butterfly at the Atlanta Games, placing 11th overall.