This debut thriller by a US Coast Guard aviator will take you onto a cutter fighting drug runners at seaand into the terrifying world of modern-day pirates.
Lt. Junior Grade Cole Williams has always been at home on the sea, racing sailboats and crewing yachts during his time as a cadet at the United States Coast Guard Academy. But when he reports aboard a cutter patrolling the Caribbean, he can't seem to please the command, and his attempts to do the right thing always seem to land him in hot water.
At the end of a cruise on which he serves admirably during open-ocean rescues and in hot pursuit of drug runners, Cole is unceremoniously kicked out of the Coast Guard for what the command deems reckless behavior and a bad attitude. Dejected and disillusioned, he decides to go rogueand make a few unsanctioned runs for the smugglers he's already spent so much time chasing.
Navigating devious and dangerous twists and turns, Cole shifts from modern-day pirate to criminal fugitive. Ultimately, he'll be forced to choose between staying on the wrong side of the law or taking a deadly risk for the Joint Task Force charged with stemming the flow of illegal narcotics.
While seldom in the headlines, the southern border of the United States has been a battleground for years, and the men and women of the US Coast Guard have fought tirelessly to keep lethal substances off the nation's streets. In his debut novel, author Brian Boland shares a story born from more than a decade of experience fighting the war on drugs.
Graves in the Sand:
Living an idyllic life in the Normandy region of France, former Coast Guard officer and reformed drug smuggler Cole Williams wants nothing more than to put his turbulent past behind him. The lure of open seas still calls, but he's content to work at a bakery and spend quality time with the love of his life and a baby daughter they both adore.
And then Cole's sordid smuggling transgressions suddenly surface like a marauding submarine. He's snatched back into a dark world where oceans are simply avenues for criminal enterprise. Blackmailed with threats of prison or worse, Cole is forced to join a small international team working to prevent the infiltration of terrorists into America. The plan is to plant him among smuggling rings running drugs, weapons, human beings, and any other lucrative cargo by sea into the U.S. via the Gulf of Mexico. Ensconced as a mole among brutal criminal bands, Cole must navigate dangerous waters to uncover a deadly plot that threatens thousands of innocents in his homeland.
Cole Williams may not survive his return to sea, but he has no choice. To survive, he will have to swim with killer sharks or be eaten by them.
Boland tells a thrilling tale...and he knows how to keep a reader turning the pages.