Requiem Shark is an adventure story with likable characters, an exotic setting, and a shark. The story goes something like this:  When an old surfer is killed by a big bull shark off the Florida coast, an odd collection of footloose misfits is drawn to the beach where he died--two friends who served with him in Vietnam, two 30-something wildlife journalists drawn by the chance of a story to jumpstart their careers, and Kelli Ryder, a seventeen-year-old dropout with high school behind her and an uncertain future ahead, whose heroic attempt to take the shark's victim away from it makes front-page news.  Together they become an uneasy and contentious fellowship on a mission of revenge or redemption or renewal--none of them is sure which. And as they set out aboard a barely seaworthy 45-foot research vessel to hunt sharks, Kelli's selfless courage and obdurate optimism rekindle long-extinguished fires in her older companions.  She leads them on an odyssey down the Indian River Lagoon through one of the most diverse coastal ecosystems in the world, westward on the Okeechobee Waterway into a hurricane clawing its way ashore on the Gulf Coast, and onto a sun-blasted inland sea on the edge of the Everglades where together they confront--in the form of the very shark that Kelli has already faced once--their pasts, their problems, and their destinies. Requiem Shark by W.E. Burnette is a complex novel including diligent research, satiric parody, humor, imaginative creative writing, superb character development, and a well told story. Reminiscent of Peter Benchley's best seller novel, Jaws , Burnette captures the imagination of the reader in this action adventure novel from the first paragraph of page one right through to the final paragraph of the epilogue. - readerviews.com Author W.E. Burnette has done a fantastic job in creating characters that his readers will enjoy, relate to, and will continue to think about long after they've put the book down for the final time. Any reader who enjoys fiction chock full of adventure, thrills and excitement, coupled with great character development or a simply good read, will love Requiem Shark. I recommend this book, and will certainly be keeping my eye out for any new work by author W.E. Burnette. If it's anything like Requiem Shark it will certainly be on my must-read list! - Reader's Favorites Burnette's story is heavily indebted to Jaws , which Burnette makes explicit with repeated callbacks to the 1975 Steven Spielberg movie and the original 1974 Peter Benchley novel. He tells it with confidence, allowing the action to rise from his nuanced characterizations rather than by forcing plot contrivances on readers. Each character...has plausible traits and fears, and Burnette writes with a surety that allows the people to drive the story. Strong characterizations and realistic relationships help make this shark tale a satisfying, accomplished read. - Kirkus