Deborah Smith, Diary of a Radical Mermaid

Diary of a Radical Mermaid

Deborah Smith

Belle Books, July 2004, $14.95, 234 pp.

ISBN 0967303575

The race of Mers lives in, on, or by the sea but they do not have tails or shift from half human to human and back again. They are very strong physically and are able to speak telepathically with their own kind and the high order of sea creatures. June Lee Pourfox is on probation because she squelched a deal with Donald Trump and a Mer. She is in the custody of Lilith who asks her to bring Molly Reve, a famous writer who tells stories about mermaids to Bellmede a seaside town right across from Seinte's Point Island.

Molly, who suffers from Leukemia and damaged legs, fears that her cat is going to die any day of old age. She is a floater, a person with Mer blood running through her veins but is unaware of her heritage. June Lee kidnaps Molly and brings her to the home of her clan where she meets Rhymer. He is a Mer who is protecting his three neices from their father, a sleeper much more powerful than Singers like Molly and Rhymer. He believes the swimmer killed his sister and is doing his best to keep his nieces away from him. Rhymer and Molly fall in love and through his affections, she comes into her powers as a Mer and is physically blessed and ready to battle with the swimmer.

This romantic fantasy is a combination of romance, chick-lit and conspiracy thriller. Deborah Smith creates a world of Mers that is so believable readers will believe they celebrate the world and have the ability to do it if some brave Mers do not stop them. DIARY OF A RADICAL MERMAID is a cross between Lara Croft's Tomb Raider and Daryl Hannah's Splash. Ms Smith is a joy to read because she knows how to give pleasure to readers who want something magical.

Harriet Klausner