The Cave Diver

Author/Guide: Jake Avila

Why a Booktrail?

2000s: What do you do, trapped in a cave where no one can hear you?

ISBN: 978-1838775360
Genre: Crime, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller

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What you need to know before your trail

Acclaimed explorer Rob Nash has lost his way. Grieving the death of his wife, and blaming himself, he sees no reason to carry on. But when his ‘Uncle’ Frank Douglas offers him the chance to lead a cave diving expedition in the jungles of Papua, Nash can see some light at the end of the tunnel.

But the expedition might not be what it seems. With a decades old Japanese submarine buried deep in a cavern, and a team hell-bent on unleashing the treasures it hides, Nash finds himself on a ship heading for danger. With a lethal band of criminals on board, who will stop at nothing to get the gold, Nash is fighting for his life. Whilst battling his own demons, can he forgive himself for the wrongs of his past – and survive the perils of the deep?

Locations

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Papua New Guinea
A: Sepik River
B: Wewak

Australia - WA
C: Cowaramup

Travel Guide

Cave diving in Papua New Guinea

This adventure thriller is clearly set in the dangerous jungles and caves of Papua New Guinea. The details of the cafe explorations are clear and very easy to picture yourself at the heart of the action. It is written by someone who clearly understands the sport and skills of cave exploration.

In the novel, there is more reasons than most to head to such a remote location of a bottomless cavern – the quest to locate a World War II Japanese treasure submarine laden with gold.

The river Sepik is the only real location as such as the others are vague and rather frightening anyway.

“Floating debris was a constant hazard on the Sepik” Sometimes there are uprooted trees and vegetation but sometimes there is something more sinister here and that’s before you get to the dark depths of the cave!

Trail Gallery

Booktrailer Review

I’m not too keen on water. I’d swim if I had to but I have never wanted to go diving. Well, it’s about time to try I told myself. Get yourself on an expedition to an old submarine with the characters in this book. Ha! It might only be a fictional journey but OMG I felt the shivers and the bends.

This journey appealed not just for the diving but the fact it’s set in Papua New Guinea. Rob Nash heads out there despite him not liking confined spaces. He’s a keen and experienced explorer but has suffered some tragedy and loss of confidence. Not risky going diving then….

Well, getting the treasure off this submarine is going to raise his profile and confidence again so off he goes. Nothing is as easy as it seems for the caverns and waters off PNG are ruthless and wild. I swear I felt a bit sick in places as you dive and explore with those in the book. I felt the sea ebb and flow, the debris hit me and the darkness overwhelm me.

Nash really has his work cut out and this thriller starts slow but BUILDS and EBBS and FLOWS unpredictably like the sea itself. Those caves are so well described and evoked that I swear I could smell the damp and feel the pressure and darkness envelope me. PNG is a country I’ve never been to in real life, but I’ve had a whirlwind tour here of its jungles, caves, caverns and wildlife. Then there’s the heat! Oh get that fan at the ready if when you whip through the pages, that breeze is not enough to revive you.

A lot of fun this was but I am seriously in need of a lie down.