by Graham Brown
First published 2025
Kurt Austin and Joe Zavala discover masses of dead sea life scattered across the Indian Ocean. Their investigation takes a dangerous turn when someone steals NUMA's research data and flees at high speed. The theft raises urgent questions about who would risk so much to hide the truth about dead whales. Mysterious coded messages arrive through NUMA's secure satellite network. The phrases and numbers match NUMA's internal systems perfectly. Someone with intimate knowledge of the agency's technology is either offering help or setting an elaborate trap. Austin and his team must decode encrypted data while facing threats on two fronts. Bio-engineered sea locusts swarm the oceans in deadly clouds. A cult of identical cloned men operates from the shadows. Even Max, NUMA's advanced computer system, joins the investigation as digital warfare erupts alongside physical combat. The trail leads Austin deeper into a conspiracy that threatens both ocean ecosystems and NUMA itself. Someone inside the organization may be working against them. Austin must discover whether the cryptic messages come from an ally or a traitor before the enemy's plan destroys everything NUMA protects.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, mystery, action
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Indian Ocean, NUMA
480 pages · Paperback · G.P. Putnam's Sons