Captain Maxwell Hernandez has been found dead next to his fishing vessel, The Ramblin' Rose, facedown in the waters at the Bahia Honda Inlet near Key West, Florida.
Meanwhile, Paulette Marshall has left her mansion on top of Mulholland Drive in the very rich and prestigious Bel Air, California, neighborhood after winning the property during a very contentious divorce she did not want. Arriving at Key West, she is hired by the local high school as a counselor.
Her student Ariel Costa is the victim of sexual abuse by the captain, who had been her mentor and provider as well as a father figure. Ariel was aboard that ill-fated trip to Islamorada and is considered a person of interest to local authorities. Pregnant with Max's child and only an alcoholic mother and absent father to turn to, who can Ariel trust now?
Further, there is the issue of $300,000 missing from the safe of Hernandez's fishing boat. If Ariel tells authorities about the one envelope she did take, feeling assured Hernandez wanted her to have the money for a new start, she could go to jail and be charged with stealing the entire amount.
This plays right into the plans of Susanna, the captain's youngest daughter, who is hot to recover the $300,000 so her drug dealer husband will take her back.
In between all the action, Key West turns out to be the perfect getaway for Paulette as she works through no longer being "someone's daughter, wife, or mother." As a woman finally able to seek her own road, Paulette hopes she can do the same for Ariel.
LOIS RICHMAN left Palm Beach, Florida and went directly to Hollywood, California right after graduation from high school where she was hired as a columnist and west coast editor for various fan magazines. She also wrote articles for national women's magazines before she finished her formal education at Cal State Northridge, earning a B.A. in English Literature. Teaching for the L.A. Unified School District, she taught in gang schools (the basis for her soon-to-be completed third novel in the Paulette Marshall Mystery Series, entitled L.A. Interlude.)
Her year in Key West "to do my Ernest Hemingway thing" resulted in a novel entitled "Wanted First Mate" and the first draft for the trilogy, "Key West Interlude" (both available on Amazon.com.) Returning to Florida, she earned her Master's Degree at F.A.U. As a professor at the college level for Keiser University, she established their ESL Department for the West Palm Beach campus where her students learned English and American skills. Her students were from such countries as China, South Korea, Europe, and South America.
A serious interest in human nature and its journeys, her books capture the essence of today's society as told through her characters. The travails of Paulette Marshall help the reader escape into her fast-paced, page-turning and intimate style, giving a good read that will make a reader laugh or cry while becoming involved and excited by their ongoing problems and resolutions.
She is a swimmer; she gardens, reads, and loves to bring her two rescues, Foxie and Pearlie, along wherever she may go. She is also a collector of movie memorabilia including a "Gone with the Wind" poster board, Disney art, and various dress sketches from "Suddenly Last Summer", "Raintree County," and "Boys Town". She currently resides in Florida.
