A bright Florida sun illuminates her blonde hair and white shoulders when she finally lifts the block and breaks the surface of Card Sound. Curious, then appalled, a bridge fisherman quits his rod to find a telephone. It is 1987. Her name is Mary Clarke, missing three days earlier from the cheerful kitchen of her spacious home in an upscale Miami neighborhood. Cherished wife, two kids in primary school, by all accounts without an enemy in the world.

The person tasked with finding who killed Mary Clarke is Metro Dade Homicide Detective Frank Segal, a solid cop with years of experience. Early in his investigation, Segal finds himself with a sudden personal stake in the outcome, one that surfaces some long-submerged emotions in his own life and that threatens his professional judgement.

When the case takes a bizarre turn, Segal's efforts in pursuit of a suspect expand the ripple from Mary Clarke's plunge with damaging, even catastrophic consequences for everyone in any way connected with her death. A path to justice remains obscure.

Pre-Publication Praise

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"delivers a satisfying quota of twists and turns...a rewarding, unstoppable read." -Ann Vanderhoof, author of An Embarrassment of Mangoes and The Spice Necklace

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"Fast and fun - a one-sitting read that will leave you hoping to meet Detective Segal again." -Beth Leonard, author of The Voyager's Handbook

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"romps along. I got hooked and read until early in the morning." -Lin Pardey, author of Self-Sufficient Sailor

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"a different kind of whodunnit, one that entertains as much as it pleases. Few authors could have dunnit as well as this." -John Vigor, author of The Seaworthy Offshore Sailboat