The Deep (1976), The Island (1979), Beast (1991, and White Shark (1994) also contain a great deal of information about the sea. The reader can learn much about the history of Bermuda and its people in The Deep, and Benchley shows that he has done his research thoroughly on Caribbean buccaneers in The Island. The menace is human in these books — dope smugglers and anachronistic buccaneers, respectively.

The Island offers a less believable plot of the two. How could this band of cutthroats armed with weapons from the seventeenth century survive for centuries in an area not far from where powerful naval forces patrol regularly?

They have not only kept their society unchanged but have taken over 600 ships in recent years.

The two of Benchley's novels that most closely resemble Jaws are Beast, which again pits a small seaside town against an aquatic menace — a great octopus! &mdash...