Captain Paul Kitka felt a little embarrassed to be taking a cruise through Southeast Alaska — he'd grown up there after all. But Dace wanted a cruise for their honeymoon, and why not? Ten days with nothing to do, but enjoy each other in some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
Until day three, it was going as planned — uninterrupted time with his wife. Even the word made him grin.
Until day three.
"Captain wants to see you," a uniformed ship officer said. He'd knocked on their door bright and early. He looked grim — not a good sign, since everyone he'd met so far was determined to be cheerful.
"Did he say why?" Paul asked. Dace followed him out of their room, and he didn't stop her.
"What do you hear?" the officer asked.
"Nothing," Paul said, puzzled.
"Exactly," the officer said. "We're dead in the water. And it gets worse. The captain will have to explain."
Paul grimaced. He thought of all the things he wanted to say: It's my honeymoon. I'm on vacation. Call headquarters. But he didn't figure anyone would be listening. He'd have to go see the captain.
He paused again, and listened, the ship officer's words sinking in. The engines were silent. And the reality of that sunk in. Dead in the water? Why? And then, because he really had grown up on these islands, his next question was where?
Book 8 in the Talkeetna series featuring Paul Kitka, a captain in the Alaska State Troopers, and Dace Marshall, office manager and pilot for Purdue Flight Service.
L.J. Breedlove is a former journalist writing mysteries and thrillers about what she knows: complicated people, small towns, big cities, cops, reporters, politicians, assorted bad guys.
L.J. grew up on a cattle ranch and then went to college to be an oceanographer. She decided getting seasick was not a good trait for any oceanographer to have, and discovered journalism instead — a field that liked people who asked questions!
As a reporter and editor, she worked in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Texas, and Washington, D. C. — places that have become the sites for her books. She got homesick for the Pacific Northwest and came home to work with college newspapers and teach journalism.
She is an over-educated, bleeding-heart liberal with a penchant for heroes such as Jack Reacher. She isn't particularly bothered by the inconsistency. Some of her thrillers have werewolves in them — that doesn’t faze her either.
You can follow her on Facebook at ljbreedlove. Best place to find her — besides a local coffee shop — is at ljbreedlove.com. You can sign up for her email newsletter there!