St. James City is a sleepy fishing village on the southern tip of Pine Island, Florida. It has one grocery store, one tackle shop, one church, a multitude of bars-and quite a few corpses. Fortunately, amateur sleuths Jim and Jill Story are always ready for another thrilling adventure.
When some friends head out for a fun day of fishing for grouper, they catch more than they bargained for. They pull in a corpse from the depths which they recognize as R. V. Dodge, one of St. James City's most notable and unpleasant characters.
The investigation uncovers no shortage of suspects, as lots of people apparently wanted Dodge dead. But the way the body was mutilated suggests the killer had a particularly deep-seated dislike for the wealthy farmer. Was that hatred due to Dodge's recent romantic entanglement that had enraged his wife-as well his lover's husband. But there's also trouble with a local environmental activist, and something seems fishy about how farm lands are being sold to the state. Was Dodge's death attributable to business or pleasure?
In the expert hands of author Mitch Grant, St. James City and Pine Island come to life. You will be transported to a tropical paradise where the locals take it easy, where there's usually a cooling island breeze, and where danger and death lurk behind nearby mangroves.
About the Author: Mitch Grant was inspired to write this series of St. James City mysteries by his deep admiration for the writing of legendary Florida authors Randy Wayne White and John D. MacDonald. Grant is a retired banker. He is also a seventh-generation Floridian, one-time field artillery officer, champion racing driver, and, most recently, aspiring buccaneer.
He and his wife, Sherry, love living in their little fishing village, where he enjoys trying to educate his grandchildren in the ways of the legendary pirates that once called this part of southwest Florida home.
