The Sonar Syndrome

An Ethan West Eco-Crime Novel

Fiction - Realistic
438 Pages
Reviewed on 05/31/2016
Buy on Amazon

This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.

Author Biography

Ben Mitchell began his trilogy, The Sonar Syndrome, Terror In The City and The Viking Sea while making a documentary for BBC–TV’s Traveller’s Tales series in Iceland.
He has worked as magazine publisher, news reporter, columnist or scriptwriter in all five North Atlantic locations in which his trilogy is set.
Ben’s travels appear in Journey Of A Novel at benmitchellauthor.com.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Anne-Marie Reynolds for Readers' Favorite

The Sonar Syndrome (The Sonar Trilogy Book 1) by Ben Mitchell is an Ethan West eco-crime novel. A horrible sight. Dead whales and dolphins, deformed beyond recognition in some cases, are turning up on the shores of Lovers Beach. Then a human corpse washes up and everything is about to change. Ethan West is a marine scientist and it is up to him to decide if the Navy is at fault. Covert testing of hypersonic undersea equipment could be causing irreparable damage to sea life or it could be that terrorists are testing a frightening weapon, one that can take out the sonar that defends America’s shores. A mortgage trader from Wall Street is murdered; a petty officer and a professor enter into a passionate affair on a Caribbean island. How does all of this piece together to become a threat to life, both above the sea and under it? And where does Freddie Dykstra, a prominent Wall Street guru, fit in? It is up to Ethan to find out and stop a huge tragedy from happening.

The Sonar Syndrome by Ben Mitchell is a powerful story, sadly one that could easily happen. The plot is fast paced and full of action. Plenty of twists and turns kept my attention riveted as the story unfolded and there was always something happening. The story contains all the elements needed to make it a gripping read – action, mystery, suspense, murder and passion – a thriller of epic proportions. The character development was excellent, giving me a real chance to get to know them properly and setting the scene nicely for the next book in the trilogy. This is a book for people who want something to get their teeth into, something that makes them think and is based firmly in reality. Excellent book, I'm really looking forward to the next one.

Rabia Tanveer

The Sonar Syndrome: An Ethan West Eco-Crime Novel by Ben Mitchell is the story of a marine science professor who must uncover crimes both above and below the sea in order to save everyone! Ethan West lives on a quiet, stunning island in the Caribbean. He is simply enjoying his life working with the animals he loves and a pretty officer who fills his heart with love. His blissful existence is interrupted when dead dolphins, whales, and all sorts of marine animals and a dead man are washed ashore. Ethan must find out why these animals and this man were washed ashore and what is killing them. The dead animals are deformed, and there is something disturbing the ecosystem of the ocean. On the opposite side of the world, a Wall Street mortgage trader is found murdered. There is a connection between the two incidents, but what is it? Can Ethan solve the mystery? Or is it too dangerous for him?

I am completely obsessed with the ocean and marine animals, especially dolphins. So this novel had my absolute attention from the get go. And as I am a romance nut, this novel was a must-read for me. This is a seriously powerful novel with amazing character development and a solid storyline. It is so hard to find a really well developed and structured mystery novel these days. Nevertheless, The Sonar Syndrome is one to keep because it also has a heavy dose of reality in it. I am very glad that Ben Mitchell is planning on making it a trilogy because this series can grab a lot of attention. I really enjoyed this novel!

Brit Rossie

The Sonar Syndrome by Ben Mitchell has a multi-layered plot that primarily follows marine scientist Ethan West as he seeks to discover who is behind the increasing number of marine life wash ups. He finds himself unwillingly partnered with the US Navy, but increasingly happy with the representative of that partnership, Petty Officer Gabriella. The plot secondarily follows Freddie Dykstra, a shrewd Wall Street guru who is somehow connected to the events happening on the other side of the world under the sea. It culminates in a high-risk, thrilling puzzle that Ethan and Gabby must piece together before either of them are taken out for having too many pieces in hand.

This is a very well-written story with compelling characters and a very complex plot. There was a lot of seemingly unrelated backstory for a large portion of the book that finally wrapped up in the last pages. It was bit hedonistic for my personal tastes and the explicit nature of the backstory could have been left out without having lost the impact on just how villainous the villains were. The romantic plot line was fine, as was the scientific element. This was a very graphic, visual novel, but an interesting story to say the least. This novel is not just an entertaining read, but explores darker, heavier ideas of ethics, judgement, government control and enterprise, and just how far a person will go out of selfish ambition. Very, very well done.