Part of Doc Ford, book 13
First published 2007
A Category 4 hurricane tears across Florida's west coast, flattening familiar reefs and exposing new wrecks on the ocean floor. Marine biologist Doc Ford explores one such wreck with his friends and discovers a cluster of strange objects. These items lead him to an enigmatic woman living in an ancient, gray-gabled beach house. She tells Ford about someone she lost and asks him to help salvage a boat called Dark Light, which sank without explanation during the 1944 hurricane. Ford agrees to the salvage operation, setting off a chain of events that will transform his existence. The wreck contains other valuable items that dangerous men want badly enough to kill for. As Ford digs deeper into the salvage, he realizes the woman has been hiding crucial information about her true identity and motives. The hurricane's destruction becomes the least of Ford's worries as he faces human predators willing to commit violent acts to claim what lies beneath the waves.
Genres: adventure, mystery, thriller, action
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, hidden-identity
Setting: Florida
Period: 1944, Present Day
352 pages · Mass Market Paperback · G.P. Putnam's Sons
Content warnings: violence