The Seafarer’s Secret
by Carol Ann Collins
About The Seafarer’s Secret
The Seafarer’s Secret
Cozy Mystery
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher : Beaufort Books (March 26, 2024)
Paperback : 310 pages
ISBN-10 : 0825310288
ISBN-13 : 978-0825310287
Digital ASIN : B0BZBCSG86
Secrets are revealed. Lies are exposed. And in order to have a future, William and Eva will have to delve into the past.
William Templeton, widower and police chief of Eden, North Carolina is working the scene of a local woman’s drowning when the body is found with an old gold coin in her pocket – identical to a coin that was discovered on Catherine’s body, his estranged wife, over a year ago. Catherine’s case, originally deemed a tragic accident, has been reopened, forcing William to step down as police chief.
Historian and Blackbeard expert, Eva Knightly, is brought into the investigation to help identify the coins and can’t understand why her good friend Catherine never mentioned anything about it. When more coins surface at a local church, Eva and William know it’s more than mere coincidence. With the entire town whispering about Blackbeard, cursed coins, and lost treasure, it becomes hard to separate what is true and what is a myth.
The Seafarer’s Secret is a thrilling cinematic mystery featuring the exigent slow-burning romance between William and Eva as they work together to reveal the secrets and lies of Eden, North Carolina. Though, in order to have a future, they’ll have to look deep into the past to keep from being a modern-day killer’s next victim.
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Read an Excerpt
“What’s the most interesting thing to you about Blackbeard?” Amelia asked.
Eva grinned. “By all accounts, he was a marketing genius.”
“Seriously?” Amelia said once the shocked look on her face disappeared. “That’s not what I was expecting to hear.”
“Exactly.” Eva chuckled. “Which is why I led with it. Now, what comes to mind when you hear his name? Just a word or two.”
“Ruthless. Dangerous. Violent.”
“Yes,” Eva said. “Almost three hundred years later, we still picture and imagine him the way people did in 1718. Now, can you name a pirate peer of Blackbeard’s?”
“You mean another pirate from that time in history?”
“Yes, and they can come from anywhere. Worldwide. Name another pirate.”
“I told you I could barely remember Blackbeard and you want me to name one of his cronies?” Amelia closed her eyes, thinking, and smiled when she opened them. “Captain Jack—”
Emerson laughed.
“A real pirate. Not a movie character.” Eva cut her off before she could finish and rolled her eyes for good measure.
“Damn.” Amelia snapped her fingers.
“For the record,” Emerson said, “I liked your answer.”
Amelia thanked him and then sat unmoving for a long minute, gaze focused on the top of the table, before finally looking up and admitting, “I can’t. Blackbeard and fictional characters are all I know.”
“Exactly,” Eva said, satisfied because Amelia had given the answer she was looking for. “He was so good at marketing, not only is he still selling it three hundred years later, he’s managed to shut out his competition. It stands to reason he did some really despicable things to earn such a tarnished but well-known name, right?”
“You would think so,” Amelia said, though her voice was hesitant as if she knew there was more behind the question.
“You would, but there are no records of him ever killing anyone until his last fight. The one he was killed in.”
“That is surprising.” Amelia’s forehead wrinkled. “Given the level of violence we associate with pirates, as well as how we view him today, you would think he did something. At least to get people talking about him.”
“Right? How else would he have become the most feared pirate, ever?”
“I have a feeling it has to do with marketing somehow, but I’m not sure how. I mean, how can you market yourself as a badass pirate unless you are a badass pirate?”
“Proper pirate branding.” Eva waited a second to see if Amelia had a reply, but she remained quiet. “If you want people to think of you as the world’s most fearsome pirate when they see you or hear reports of you, you have to appear to be the world’s most fearsome pirate.”
About Carol Ann Collins
Writing allows Carol Ann Collins to combine two of her favorite things, history and romance. Her work is a combination of historical fact, pure fiction, and a vivid imagination. Though she is an introvert who had no problem staying inside during quarantine, she enjoys traveling with her husband and two adult children. In her spare time, she is an avid book collector and bargain shopper who loves to combine the two. To date, her favorite find is an 1869 edition of Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain purchased for $10.
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