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Garrison Gage #7
A Deep and Deadly Undertow
What kind of treasure is worth dying for?
Years after his wife dies in a mafia hit gone wrong, Garrison Gage finally pieces together a life for himself in the Oregon coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs. Some days the cranky private investigator with the bum knee and the caustic wit could even call himself content. Maybe even happy. But marrying again? Never.
Yet not long after quirky Rita Rodriguez enters the scene, Gage can't imagine life without her. Unfortunately, when dark secrets violently emerge--involving first loves, tragic loss, and, strangest of all, a Spanish galleon that sunk in 1642 loaded with treasure--their relationship enters turbulent waters.
Worse, the same deadly undertow that drags Gage into the darkness also threatens everyone around him. His friends. His enemies. Even the town itself . . .
Years after his wife dies in a mafia hit gone wrong, Garrison Gage finally pieces together a life for himself in the Oregon coastal town of Barnacle Bluffs. Some days the cranky private investigator with the bum knee and the caustic wit could even call himself content. Maybe even happy. But marrying again? Never.
Yet not long after quirky Rita Rodriguez enters the scene, Gage can't imagine life without her. Unfortunately, when dark secrets violently emerge--involving first loves, tragic loss, and, strangest of all, a Spanish galleon that sunk in 1642 loaded with treasure--their relationship enters turbulent waters.
Worse, the same deadly undertow that drags Gage into the darkness also threatens everyone around him. His friends. His enemies. Even the town itself . . .
- GenresMystery
331 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 12, 2020
61 people are currently reading
88 people want to read
About the author
Scott William Carter
81 books171 followersScott William Carter’s first novel, The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys, was hailed by Publishers Weekly as a “touching and impressive debut” and won an Oregon Book Award. Since then, he has published many books and short stories, his fiction spanning a wide variety of genres and styles. His book for younger readers, Wooden Bones, chronicles the untold story of Pinocchio and was singled out for praise by the Junior Library Guild. He is the author of the popular Garrison Gage mystery series set on the Oregon coast, as well as the provocative Myron Vale Investigations, about the private investigator in Portland, Oregon who works for both the living and the dead. He’s also the cartoonist behind the Run of the House comic strip.
If that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, in his “day job” life he works as an Instructional Designer and Digital Production & Publishing Specialist at Western Oregon University, where he manages the Digital Media Center and provides training and expertise to the campus community on a variety of topics, including Web page creation, digital video production, print-on-demand and ebook publishing, and many software applications related to publishing, distribution, and education in all its forms. He also teaches occasional classes for both the English department and the College of Education.
In past lives, he has been an academic technologist, a writing instructor, bookstore owner, the manager of a computer training company, and a ski instructor, though the most important job — and best – he’s ever had is being the father of his two children. He currently lives in Oregon with his wife and two children.
If that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, in his “day job” life he works as an Instructional Designer and Digital Production & Publishing Specialist at Western Oregon University, where he manages the Digital Media Center and provides training and expertise to the campus community on a variety of topics, including Web page creation, digital video production, print-on-demand and ebook publishing, and many software applications related to publishing, distribution, and education in all its forms. He also teaches occasional classes for both the English department and the College of Education.
In past lives, he has been an academic technologist, a writing instructor, bookstore owner, the manager of a computer training company, and a ski instructor, though the most important job — and best – he’s ever had is being the father of his two children. He currently lives in Oregon with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 8, 2022
Love this series. A Deep and Deadly Undertow included a character and a relationship with Garrison that I didn't like, hence the two-star rating. I intend to continue following the series. The plot is good, and Garrison Gage is an excellent character.
June 13, 2025
-Each time I read another of the books of this series, I consider it the best ever, and this story is no exception. From the plot, to the depth of characters, to the dialogue, this books gets top marks.
-The story opens with some type of evening get together in the Turret House, the home of his friends, Alex and Alex’s wife, Eve. There’s a woman there that Gage obviously has strong feelings for, and Gage asks her to go for a walk on the beach. He’s nervous, and though the steps down to the sand are hard on his bad knee, he wanted to be alone with her. At a certain point, he stops and goes on one knee, taking out a velvet box containing an engagement ring and he begins to propose, when the woman looks up and shouts “No!”. Gage is hit from behind and is knocked out.
-We jump to many months earlier, when Gage first met this woman, Rita Rodriguez. She’s a very attractive woman who’s a teacher at the local high school. Gage falls for her almost immediately, and the feeling between the two of them is mutual. He finds out she has a son, and a little later, Gage sees the son and Rita in a supermarket where the son tells Gage that his father was a war hero who died as a soldier. Rita is embarrassed, and she tells Gage it’s because she didn’t want to introduce a boyfriend to her son so soon.
-It’s not long after this, when Rita invites Gage to her house for dinner while her son is by Rita’s mom, that things start to get heavy between her and Gage, but then a tall muscular man suddenly appears in her house holding a huge pistol that could take down a large animal. He reveals that he’s Rita’s ex-husband, Lance, and was just released from prison. He doesn’t seem right in the head, and keeps asking Rita about the treasure, and where Beau could have hid it. He promises that he’s not going to hurt her at all, but then turns and seems to see something outside. He fires two shots through the large window in the front of the house and runs outside, chasing after someone. Gage follows him as he’s unsure if he may hurt someone and finds him a little in the distance standing at the edge of a lake near Rita’s house. Gage sees Lance holding a gun aimed at Lance’s own head, followed by the roar of the gun. Lance, the ex-husband, goes down.
-What should have been a straightforward case of a soldier who suffered some sort of brain trauma and took his own life, now gnaws at Gage as he feels that there’s something wrong, despite the fact that he was a witness to the suicide.
-Knowing that there’s going to be a mystery to this, we the readers, already feel that the death is part of that mystery, but it looks cut and dry. Rita then explains to Gage the injuries that Lance suffered while in the army, and it was after Lance returned and was discharged that, while Lance was drunk, he drove his car into his friend, Beau’s car, killing him, that led to Lance’s imprisonment.
-There was a lot more to this story than Gage was first told, but while Gage’s deepening relationship with Rita was playing out, the Chief of Police, Percy Quinn, was going through his own issues. In the last story, Quinn’s daughter was arrested and imprisoned, while his wife was terminally ill. In a sense, Quinn felt drained. He no longer wanted to deal with the job of being the Police Chief and told Gage he was stepping down, and putting Bob Brisbane, the detective who Gage constantly clashed with, as acting Chief, until it was either confirmed or someone else was selected.
-As to his friends, Alex and Eve, Alex had a surprise for Gage. Eve decided to enter politics. That came with its own complications, as Zoe, Gage’s adopted daughter, now came back from college to help Eve with her campaign. In typical Gage fashion, he had a blowout with Zoe, so that things between Zoe and Gage became strained and their relationship needed a lot of TLC.
-The highlight, though, was the continued relationship between Gage and Rita and as we read the story leading up to the events we read in the first chapter, the question as to who could have hit Gage and why, is still unanswered.
-This is a great story. There are many twists and turns, with other side stories that complement the other major events that are happening. The pages are filled with danger and while Gage wants to pursue Lance’s death, which he suspects was actually murder, despite what he saw, he must deal with Brisbane, who, as the Chief of Police, threatens to arrest him if he continues to look into Lance’s death for reasons that only reveal themselves later. Gage, though, always has his sub-conscience working, and he manages to piece together what is really going on from clues that are in plain sight and which become apparent to us only after the fact.
-The story opens with some type of evening get together in the Turret House, the home of his friends, Alex and Alex’s wife, Eve. There’s a woman there that Gage obviously has strong feelings for, and Gage asks her to go for a walk on the beach. He’s nervous, and though the steps down to the sand are hard on his bad knee, he wanted to be alone with her. At a certain point, he stops and goes on one knee, taking out a velvet box containing an engagement ring and he begins to propose, when the woman looks up and shouts “No!”. Gage is hit from behind and is knocked out.
-We jump to many months earlier, when Gage first met this woman, Rita Rodriguez. She’s a very attractive woman who’s a teacher at the local high school. Gage falls for her almost immediately, and the feeling between the two of them is mutual. He finds out she has a son, and a little later, Gage sees the son and Rita in a supermarket where the son tells Gage that his father was a war hero who died as a soldier. Rita is embarrassed, and she tells Gage it’s because she didn’t want to introduce a boyfriend to her son so soon.
-It’s not long after this, when Rita invites Gage to her house for dinner while her son is by Rita’s mom, that things start to get heavy between her and Gage, but then a tall muscular man suddenly appears in her house holding a huge pistol that could take down a large animal. He reveals that he’s Rita’s ex-husband, Lance, and was just released from prison. He doesn’t seem right in the head, and keeps asking Rita about the treasure, and where Beau could have hid it. He promises that he’s not going to hurt her at all, but then turns and seems to see something outside. He fires two shots through the large window in the front of the house and runs outside, chasing after someone. Gage follows him as he’s unsure if he may hurt someone and finds him a little in the distance standing at the edge of a lake near Rita’s house. Gage sees Lance holding a gun aimed at Lance’s own head, followed by the roar of the gun. Lance, the ex-husband, goes down.
-What should have been a straightforward case of a soldier who suffered some sort of brain trauma and took his own life, now gnaws at Gage as he feels that there’s something wrong, despite the fact that he was a witness to the suicide.
-Knowing that there’s going to be a mystery to this, we the readers, already feel that the death is part of that mystery, but it looks cut and dry. Rita then explains to Gage the injuries that Lance suffered while in the army, and it was after Lance returned and was discharged that, while Lance was drunk, he drove his car into his friend, Beau’s car, killing him, that led to Lance’s imprisonment.
-There was a lot more to this story than Gage was first told, but while Gage’s deepening relationship with Rita was playing out, the Chief of Police, Percy Quinn, was going through his own issues. In the last story, Quinn’s daughter was arrested and imprisoned, while his wife was terminally ill. In a sense, Quinn felt drained. He no longer wanted to deal with the job of being the Police Chief and told Gage he was stepping down, and putting Bob Brisbane, the detective who Gage constantly clashed with, as acting Chief, until it was either confirmed or someone else was selected.
-As to his friends, Alex and Eve, Alex had a surprise for Gage. Eve decided to enter politics. That came with its own complications, as Zoe, Gage’s adopted daughter, now came back from college to help Eve with her campaign. In typical Gage fashion, he had a blowout with Zoe, so that things between Zoe and Gage became strained and their relationship needed a lot of TLC.
-The highlight, though, was the continued relationship between Gage and Rita and as we read the story leading up to the events we read in the first chapter, the question as to who could have hit Gage and why, is still unanswered.
-This is a great story. There are many twists and turns, with other side stories that complement the other major events that are happening. The pages are filled with danger and while Gage wants to pursue Lance’s death, which he suspects was actually murder, despite what he saw, he must deal with Brisbane, who, as the Chief of Police, threatens to arrest him if he continues to look into Lance’s death for reasons that only reveal themselves later. Gage, though, always has his sub-conscience working, and he manages to piece together what is really going on from clues that are in plain sight and which become apparent to us only after the fact.
February 10, 2021
While I liked this book and reading about Gage again, I don't think it was up to par with the previous books. I thought the mystery/hook pirate ship plot was boring and uninspired. I enjoyed reading about all the characters again, and really liked the character of Rita, but it took a long time to get to anything really interesting (like the last 10%). I do look forward to continuing to read about Gage and will get the next book.
November 21, 2024
PI Gage is dating Rita (teacher he encountered in his last book). Seems he's getting serious and the book begins with Gage asking her to marry him and being knocked out while doing it. Then it goes back to how their romance started, her military ex & their friends from high school.
While telling their story, Gage's adopted daughter returns from college to run the campaign of his friend Alex's wife Eve for mayor. She informs him that she's changing her major to become a defense attorney and it doesn't go over well. Seems every other book, they are at odds and not speaking.
Meanwhile, Gage gets hints that all was not right with Rita & her friends. Ex-husband Lance & friend Beau were treasure hunters which brings danger to them all. Will Gage's new romance survive & will he solve the case?
He's like a dog with a bone when faced with a puzzle and won't give up but he still hasn't had his gimpy knee fixed!
While telling their story, Gage's adopted daughter returns from college to run the campaign of his friend Alex's wife Eve for mayor. She informs him that she's changing her major to become a defense attorney and it doesn't go over well. Seems every other book, they are at odds and not speaking.
Meanwhile, Gage gets hints that all was not right with Rita & her friends. Ex-husband Lance & friend Beau were treasure hunters which brings danger to them all. Will Gage's new romance survive & will he solve the case?
He's like a dog with a bone when faced with a puzzle and won't give up but he still hasn't had his gimpy knee fixed!
October 1, 2020
Garrison Gage is a fascinating character and once again he is involved in a mystery. Couldn’t put the book down. This story take Garrison down a new path, and the story involves possible pirate ships and a lost treasure. The twists and turns leave the reader perplexed with an unexpected ending- that feels unfinished . Or perhaps will be continued in the next novel. All in all a great read.
October 26, 2020
Wow this book left a huge scar and going forward will be interesting 🤔! It looks like the end of a long chapter Is over but the future is calling and it looks very different.
Unlike past books, this book closed the door to a strange and unkind feud between Gage and other characters. This book was difficult to get into but the twist at the end was kinda known.
Looking forward to book 8
Unlike past books, this book closed the door to a strange and unkind feud between Gage and other characters. This book was difficult to get into but the twist at the end was kinda known.
Looking forward to book 8
April 23, 2021
Disappointed. G-Gage books 1-4 were great! Then #5 was dull and slow. Since #6 was last in series (at that time), I convinced myself to read it. Mistake. Duller and slower. Many months later, #7 is available and I'd forgotten how bad 5 and 6 were. Ugh! #7 is the dullest, and by far the slowest. Was so bored I just skimmed and flipped pages. Same dull plot, different boring characters.
June 2, 2021
Another good Garrison Gage story. i have read them all and have enjoyed them all. the characters are very different with the Curmudgeonly garrison at the centre and his friends and his difficult daughter to deal with.
The setting is really good and one gets a real feel of the Oregon coast and area.
A good read!
The setting is really good and one gets a real feel of the Oregon coast and area.
A good read!
February 25, 2025
There is a lot to like about Garrison Gage..but I wish he were more grown up.
Maybe get therapy for his anger issues and his need to punch someone that always lands him in jail
Pretty good yarn about shipwrecks, treasure, and his ability to alienate those he wants help from
His breakup with Rita made no sense
Maybe get therapy for his anger issues and his need to punch someone that always lands him in jail
Pretty good yarn about shipwrecks, treasure, and his ability to alienate those he wants help from
His breakup with Rita made no sense
September 17, 2020
Another winner
I was so happy to see Carter had a new Garrison Gage book. I am so absorbed by this series. I literally read till it's over. Right through mostly. This most recent book was the same way. A really well done story. Thanks Mr Carter.
I was so happy to see Carter had a new Garrison Gage book. I am so absorbed by this series. I literally read till it's over. Right through mostly. This most recent book was the same way. A really well done story. Thanks Mr Carter.
January 16, 2021
Difficult story with too many twists
Found this very difficult to follow. The author is a wonderful writer but there were times I didn’t know if I was reading a novel or fiction. I preferred Ben porter in false assurances and threat bias with a third coming!
Found this very difficult to follow. The author is a wonderful writer but there were times I didn’t know if I was reading a novel or fiction. I preferred Ben porter in false assurances and threat bias with a third coming!
February 23, 2021
Knee!
Enough with the shattered knee already. It would be interesting to know how much space has been dedicated to descriptions of issues about the knee over the course of seven books, but I for one, am tired of it. Mabey knee replacement surgery could get equal space?
Enough with the shattered knee already. It would be interesting to know how much space has been dedicated to descriptions of issues about the knee over the course of seven books, but I for one, am tired of it. Mabey knee replacement surgery could get equal space?
May 12, 2022
This is a very good mystery with lots of good twists and turns. As a fan of this series this was not my favorite ending. Just when you think you know where the story is going it takes a turn. This is a good story but a little sad.
September 19, 2020
Always a Great Story
Have followed Carter’s “Grumpy” Garrison Gage since the first book. Great writing. I always look forward to the next installment.
Have followed Carter’s “Grumpy” Garrison Gage since the first book. Great writing. I always look forward to the next installment.
September 24, 2020
Great read on a continued series.
October 2, 2020
I love this series and the characters. Good mystery right until the end.
Please continue this series!
Please continue this series!
January 12, 2021
One of the few authors I cannot wait to read the next book! Garrison Gage is so likeable,definitely recommend this series! 👍
April 23, 2021
great series...
love the entire series... i hope it continues... it cant end here... true depiction of the central oregon coast...Gage is the friend you both hate and love
love the entire series... i hope it continues... it cant end here... true depiction of the central oregon coast...Gage is the friend you both hate and love
August 7, 2021
still don't like Rita
October 3, 2022
Best story yet for Garrison.
I kept hoping for a different ending, but the one I got though somewhat surprising was better than what was expected.
I kept hoping for a different ending, but the one I got though somewhat surprising was better than what was expected.
June 10, 2023
Twists and Turne
Another novel by this fabulous author. This latest book in the Gage Garrison series is top notch. It keeps you guessing right to the end. I’m looking forward to what happens in Gage’s life next.
Another novel by this fabulous author. This latest book in the Gage Garrison series is top notch. It keeps you guessing right to the end. I’m looking forward to what happens in Gage’s life next.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews