Best Scuba Diving Novels for Your Surface Intervals

Because we cannot be underwater all the time — but we can always pretend to be!

We can’t be scuba diving 24/7, but we can pretend we are! That’s where scuba diving novels come in handy — especially during these long and boring surface intervals at the office. And it is cheaper than therapy!

Here is my list of recommended scuba diving novels.

This post is part of Are You (Scuba) Certifiable? series by the Business of Diving Institute and Darcy Kieran, author of:

Scuba Diving Novels by Darcy Kieran (Yes, That’s Me!)

Before we start… Noblesse oblige… You will find my first novels with, of course, a scuba diving twist right here.

The Making of a Neon Noir Hitman: Hunting The Bullies With Saltwater Blood
Mystery of The Blue Dragon: A Neo-Noir Dive Into Crime, Passion, and The Abyss
Operation Blue Dragon: A Vigilante’s Perfect Storm

Scuba Diving Novels by Eric Douglas

Many of you will remember Eric as the former director of training & education at DAN. He deserves a section of his own as he is the most prolific scuba novel author we know of — and my favorite.

First, he has an 11-book series with underwater hero Mike Scott, in chronological order:

Cayman Cowboys: Reefs Under Pressure
Flooding Hollywood: Fanatics at the Dam
Guardians’ Keep: Mystery below the Adriatic
Wreck of the Huron: Cuban Secrets
Heart of the Maya: Murder for the Gods
Return to Cayman: Paradise Held Hostage
Oil and Water: Crash in Curacao
The 3rd Key: Sharks in the Water
Turks and Chaos: Hostile Waters
Water Crisis: Day Zero
Held Hostage: Search for the Juncal

If you like the Mike Scott series of novels, you will also like Eric’s Lyin’ Fish and Tales from Withrow Key, short stories from the Florida Keys.

Other Captivating Scuba Diving Novels

We love Eric’s novels, but once we are done with them, there are many other scuba diving novels to consider. It helps us remain immersed in the underwater world while being on land.

Deep Water is about a dive gone wrong off the coast of Alabama. The first rule of scuba diving is not to ‘never hold your breath’, it’s: If you don’t feel right, don’t go down.
Something in The Water: This Novel made it to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s about a shocking underwater discovery during a honeymoon in paradise.
The Secret of Rosalita Flats. Here’s how the author, Tim W. Jackson, summarized it for me: “The Secret of Rosalita Flats follows a man trying to unload the football-shaped house he inherited while dodging the backwater Blacktip Island’s quirky collection of con artists, smugglers, and other ne’er-do-wells: an ornery housekeeper who refuses to be fired, a rum-soaked attorney with his own agenda, a chair-wielding resort manager who thinks he’s an avenging angel, and a self-styled psychic who may be able to see the future. There’s also the matter of sharks showing up every time he gets in the water. Cal has to figure out what his old man was mixed up in, fast, if he’s to sell the house and get off the crazy little rock alive.”
Tropical Ice. Written by Undercurrent’s publisher Ben Davison (writing as KL Smith) and set in Belize, Tropical Ice kicks off with a hairy shark feeding dive, and leads into a tale of shark-finning, reef-raping, murder, and politics, on an industrial scale, with plenty of diving, including a threatening night dive.
Grave Descend: An Early Thriller. Michael Crichton is the famous author behind Jurassic Park. He also writes under the name John Lange. ‘Grave Descent’ is about wreck diving in the Caribbean water.

Non-Novels That Read Like Scuba Novels!

If you want to take a break from novels but continue with captivating readings about the underwater world, here are some suggestions.

The Last Dive: A Father and Son’s Fatal Descent into the Ocean’s Depth by Bernie Chowdhury is a non-fiction book, but it reads as easily as a novel. It documents a fatal dive on a German U-Boat in 230 feet (70 m) of water off the coast of New Jersey.
Deep Descent: Adventure and Death Diving the Andrea Doria. This is another non-fiction book that reads like a novel. The author provides insights into a deep dive very few of us will ever be able to do — because of a lack of skills or lack of bravery!
Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do — by Wallace J. Nichols. Foreword by Céline Cousteau.
National Geographic Ocean: A Global Odyssey by Sylvia Earle. Just have a look! It’s stunning!