Some monsters hide in the deep. Others hide in plain sight.
When true-crime podcaster Wendy Donovan returns to her postcard-perfect hometown on Maine’s rugged coast, she plans to expose one cold case the town has buried for years. Instead, she uncovers a pattern.
Missing tourists. Charters that never add up. A beloved captain no one dares question.
What begins as a single investigation spirals into something far larger—corruption woven through the harbor, loyalties that can’t be broken, and a predator who has survived by being indispensable. As Wendy’s reporting explodes from local whispers to national headlines, the line between hunter and hunted disappears.
Because in Cinder Bay, exposing evil doesn’t end it. It provokes it. And the deeper Wendy digs, the clearer it becomes—
The monster isn’t finished.
In this idyllic fishing town, the deadliest predator isn’t in the water—he’s at the helm.
When true-crime podcaster Wendy Donovan returns to her coastal hometown of Cinder Bay, Maine, she tells herself it’s just for the story.
A vanished tourist.
A boating accident.
A case everyone insists was a tragedy.
But the file is thin. The timeline doesn’t add up. And the captain who brought the boat back alone is now the town’s golden boy. Guy Finch is charming. Generous. Untouchable. He sponsors festivals. Knows every tide. Has never had a complaint.
He was also the last person to see her alive.
As Wendy pulls at the knots in his story, she uncovers whispers of other women. Other charters that ran too long. Other disappearances the ocean conveniently kept.
Now the town is watching her. The captain is smiling at her. And someone has started sending a message.
Stop digging.
Because in Cinder Bay, loyalty runs deeper than the harbor. And the man at the helm has already chosen his next catch.
Book 2 coming this summer!