At 10.42 a.m. on 22 October 2003, while diving on the wreck of the SS Yongala on the Great Barrier Reef, an American tourist photographed his new wife for their honeymoon album. Instead the photo would become a vital police exhibit. On the right-hand side of the shot, Tina Watson's body lay 27 metres down on the ocean floor, one arm outstretched, reaching upwards. This is the photograph that shocked millions across Australia and the US.
How could a healthy young woman have died, a mere seven minutes into her dive, when Gabe Watson, her buddy and husband of only eleven days, was a certified rescue diver? And why did he later relay sixteen different versions of what happened that day to other divers, police, friends and family?
Did he cold-bloodedly shut off her air or did he panic after claiming her flailing arms dislodged his mask and regulator? When he ascended to the surface, was it to get help or to callously abandon his bride to her ultimate fate?
These remain the captivating questions at the heart of this true-life thriller. Researched across two continents, Honeymoon Dive is in turns disturbing and enthralling as it painstakingly reconstructs events behind one of Australia's most darkly fascinating tragedies.
About the Author Lindsay Simpson is the author of six works of non-fiction. She spent twelve years as an investigative journalist with The Sydney Morning Herald and was the founding member of the Journalism and Media Studies program at the University of Tasmania in 1999. She lectures in journalism and writing at James Cook University and lives on Magnetic Island with her husband, Grant. They have five children. The Curer of Souls is her first novel.
Sydney Morning Herald Reporter
