The Wall: Chronicle of a Scuba Trial

De: Lawrence Martin M.D.

Narrado por: Mark Bielecki

A young woman is lost on a scuba dive in Grand Cayman. Did she suffer nitrogen narcosis? Or did she commit suicide? Experts argue both scenarios in a civil trial that takes place 14 months later. Her parents are the plaintiffs. The defendants are a large corporation and its dive master on that fateful day. There are several experts called to testify, including the author. The two lawyers object to each other's arguments, cite precedent, drill their experts. Yet one thing is missing: Her body. It will never be recovered.

The Wall is fiction but it reads like a real case. Put yourself in the jury box, listen to the experts and lawyers battle it out, then make your decision. How will you decide? For the plaintiffs or the defense?

©2015 Lawrence Martin (P)2021 Lawrence Martin

One of my favorite scuba stories

A girl disappears into the abyss during a wall dive with her boyfriend in the Grand Cayman, and a lawsuit is brought by the parents of the girl against the dive operator claiming negligence. The author is a medical doctor and appears to be knowledgeable in the field of law and scuba diving, so the details are presented in a technical accurate way. Since the body is un recoverable due to the depth, it becomes a debate whether the cause was nitrogen narcosis or deliberate suicide.

Being a scuba diver I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. However I kept thinking, since she was markedly overweighted, that another plausible cause could be a failure of her BC. Since she was overweighted she had to have air in her BC to remain neutrally buoyant. If the bladder ripped or the plastic attachments, such as in the inflator hose or the overpressure valves failed. it would result in negative buoyancy and descent which could easily get out of control before she could kick herself up to the surface.

Dry as Toast

DRY! No character development. Wants to John Grisham, but reads like an amateur attempt.