The shiny new charter fishing boat financed with family money was supposed to launch a bright new career for Cape Cod fisherman, diver, and private investigator Aristotle "Soc" Socarides. But when the slip of a beer-oiled tongue brings the ire of a Russian KGB mogul down on his head, Soc finds himself drowning in a sea of troubles. As he looks for a foothold on the sandy shores of Nantucket Island, Soc discovers more than he ever bargained for: a deranged homicide suspect who thinks he's Captain Ahab and Soc is his first mate Starbuck; a high-seas case of murder and cannibalism that still stirs up emotions; a Cold War secret; a missing whaling artifact with a bloody history; and cutting-edge underwater technology with deadly potential. As he gropes his way through the Nantucket fog that shrouds the lonely moors and beaches, Soc will soon discover that "the little, grey lady of the sea," has a dark side the tourists never view, and that a single misstep can be fatal.
About the Author: My fiction-writing career owes it start to the bad navigation of an 18th century pirate. For it was in 1717 that a ship, the Whydah went aground, reportedly carrying a treasure. In the 1980s, three salvage groups went head-to-head, competing to find the wreck. The controversy over the salvage got hot at times and I thought there might be a book in their story. I developed my own detective, an ex-cop, diver, fisherman, and PI named Aristotle "Soc" Socarides. He was more philosophical than hard-boiled. Making his first appearance in "Cool Blue Tomb," the book won the Shamus award for Best Paperback novel. After many years in the newspaper business, I turned to writing fiction and churned out five more books in the series. Clive Cussler blurbed: "There can be no better mystery writer in America than Paul Kemprecos." Despite the accolades, the Soc series lingered in mid-list hell. By the time I finished my last book, I was thinking about another career that might make me more money, like working in a 7-11. Several months after the release of "Bluefin Blues," Clive called and said a spin-off from the Dirk Pitt series was in the works. It would be called the NUMA Files and he wondered if I would be interested in tackling the job. I took on the writing of "Serpent" which brought into being Kurt Austin and the NUMA Special Assignments Team. Austin had some carry-over from Soc, and another team member, Paul Trout, had been born on Cape Cod. The book made The New York Times bestseller list, as did every one of seven NUMA Files that followed, including "Polar Shift," which bumped "The DaVinci Code" for first place. After eight NUMA Files I went back to writing solo. I wrote an adventure book entitled, The Emerald Scepter, which introduced a new hero, Matinicus "Matt" Hawkins. I have been working on the re-release of my Soc series in digital and print, and in 2013, responding to numerous requests, I brought Soc back again in a seventh Socarides book entitled, Grey Lady. Christi and I live on Cape Cod where she works as a financial advisor. We live in a circa 1865 farmhouse with two cats. We have three children and seven granddaughters. To learn more about Paul Kemprecos, check out his website at http: //www.paulkemprecos.com.