Dead in the Water

This suspense/thriller is set on a Caribbean cruise ship and Miami’s Little Havana. Over 20 million people cruise each year. In recent years, over 150 people have disappeared from cruises. "Dead in the Water" traces the disappearance of one of those missing persons. A young bride on her honeymoon, she seems to disappear into thin air aboard the flagship of the Mariner cruise line, the Mardi Gras. The head of security aboard the Mardi Gras, Lieutenant Mario Morales, a former LAPD homicide detective investigates and unravels a mysterious plot involving drug smuggling by the Chinese and a lawyer more interested in money than upholding the law. Suspects in connection with her disappearance include the new bride’s husband and her a employer, a wealthy automobile dealer with a shady past. With help from his deputy, Sergeant Virginia Boudreaux and a newspaper reporter, Ken Hendricks. Lieutenant Morales not only finds out what happened to the missing bride, he solves another crime that had gone completely unnoticed, even by the FBI. Morales is a somewhat cynical, but ultimately decent man. If you are a fan of P.D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh or Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse, you will enjoy following Lieutenant Morales as he conducts his investigation, strictly according to the rules. Although fiction, the story that "Dead in the Water" tells could have just as easily been torn out of today’s newspapers. It is a "must read" for anyone who has ever taken a cruise or who wants to. "Dead in the Water" is the first in a series of Lieutenant Morales novels.