A sailboat drifts near Freeport with blood covering its cockpit. Its owner, Chicago attorney Thomas Cowen, has vanished. No body waits aboard. No clear answer explains what happened. However, one disturbing clue turns a missing-person case into something far more dangerous.
Welcome to Crescent Beach, where calm Florida shores hide murder, betrayal, stolen money, and modern-day piracy.
A Mystery That Begins with a Deadly Fall
Detectives John Schmitt and Bud Carlson work the Chicago night shift. Then Loreli Miller falls from a tenth-floor apartment. At first, her death may look like suicide. Yet bruises, handprints, and signs of trauma tell a different story.
Loreli was also connected to Thomas Cowen. Soon, the detectives discover that Cowen has disappeared with Yvette Morosov, the wife of Russian mobster Viktor Morosov. Even worse, four million dollars belonging to the mob has vanished with them.
Suddenly, every clue carries a threat.
When Paradise Starts Watching You
The investigation leads Schmitt and Carlson from Chicago to Crescent Beach, Florida. There, experienced sailor and newspaper publisher Nathan Dillard steps in with the puzzle. His expertise about ships leads him to a disturbing pattern.
Several yachts have been found damaged, looted, or abandoned near Freeport. Blood appears aboard them, but their passengers are gone. Each vessel carried only two people. Moreover, every attack happened without a distress call.
Among crime mystery books, coastal settings often promise beauty before danger arrives. Crescent Beach uses that contrast well. Warm water, elegant marinas, ocean breezes, and quiet docks create a lovely escape. Meanwhile, someone may be hunting sailors just beyond the horizon.
