The Gulf hides its secrets in muddy water.
After a string of unexplained disappearances along Alabama's Gulf Coast, investigator Mara can't ignore the similarities to the case that changed her career. Fishermen vanish without distress calls. Tourists simply fail to return home. Boats drift back to port with no answers, and local authorities are quick to blame accidents, storms, and the unforgiving sea.
Mara knows better.
The serial killer known as "The Hook" has survived, leaving behind only fragments of evidence and a trail of unanswered questions stretching from the Florida Keys to the Gulf Coast. As she struggles to convince skeptical investigators that a predator is hunting their coastal communities, the killer grows more confident, blending into the working docks and charter fleets where everyone knows everyone-and strangers rarely stand out.
But the Gulf offers the perfect cover. Murky water conceals mistakes, tight-knit communities guard their own, and the line between accident and murder grows thinner with every tide.
As the disappearances mount, Mara finds herself in a race against time to uncover the truth before the killer slips away once again. To stop him, she'll have to navigate a world of fishermen, charter captains, and hidden loyalties where trust is scarce and the next victim could already be heading out to sea.
