A river engineered to become cleaner instead becomes the path of an expanding firestorm, placing cities, landmarks, and potentially the world in danger. In Fireline, Peter Berk turns an environmental solution into the source of a fast-moving disaster as a young chemist races to stop the compound he warned should never be released. The threat begins in the Potomac and advances toward Manhattan, giving this eco-thriller a crisis measured not only by lives and miles, but by the terrifying possibility that reaching the Atlantic could make containment impossible.

A scientific experiment gone horribly wrong sends an apocalyptic firestorm raging throughout the Eastern Seaboard. If it reaches the Atlantic, it might just be game over for the world.

An unhinged scientist introduces a nano-based chemical compound into the Potomac that's designed to purify the world's waterways but that instead sets the river on fire and rapidly spreads directly toward Manhattan, with only the young chemist who first warned against the experiment the world's best hope of stopping it.

Fireline takes us from the heart of Washington, D.C. to the Statue of Liberty—all of which are directly impacted by an out-of-control firestorm snaking its way to the Atlantic where it could go on to threaten every corner of the world.

A science-gone-astray disaster novel, Fireline also touches on such timeless themes as personal redemption, heroism in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, friendship, and even father-son dynamics—all handled with touches of humor and romance.

The central danger in Fireline begins with an invention intended to solve a genuine environmental problem. A nano-based compound designed to purify contaminated water instead makes the Potomac combustible, transforming the very system it was meant to protect into a route for destruction. That reversal gives the disaster a particularly unsettling foundation: the catastrophe is not caused by nature alone, but by scientific certainty pushed forward despite a warning.

The scale of the threat expands with the river. Washington, D.C., Manhattan, the Statue of Liberty, and the Atlantic lie along the firestorm’s path, while the young chemist who opposed the experiment must confront both the consequences of its release and the scientist responsible for it. The race to contain the compound therefore operates on two levels—stopping the immediate blaze and preventing the technology from becoming a worldwide disaster.

Berk also places personal conflicts inside the larger emergency. Redemption, friendship, strained father-son dynamics, humor, and romance give the characters concerns that exist beyond survival. Those elements may appeal to readers who want a disaster thriller to remain focused on the people making decisions inside the crisis rather than relying on spectacle alone.

Fireline is suited to readers who enjoy eco-thrillers, scientific disaster fiction, large-scale action, and suspense stories built around a rapidly advancing deadline. The journey from the Potomac toward Manhattan gives the novel a geographic momentum that may particularly appeal to readers who like watching a crisis spread across recognizable locations.

The book may also interest fans of cautionary stories about experimental technology, scientific ethics, environmental intervention, and the consequences of ignoring expert objections. Readers who prefer their action thrillers to include personal redemption, family tension, friendship, romance, and occasional humor will find those elements incorporated into the wider fight to stop the firestorm.

Peter Berk has written six novels, three TV pilots and a dozen screenplays, including several with his father which became the basis for the TimeLock series of novels. The original TimeLock novel is a Finalist in the 2023 Chanticleer International Book Awards for Science Fiction, Mystery, and Global Thrillers. TimeLock was also named as a Distinguished Favorite in the TechnoThriller category of the 2024 Independent Press Award. TimeLock 2: The Kyoto Conspiracy was published in 2023 and the third book in the series will be published by IngramElliott. Peter and his family live in Southern California.

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Fireline builds its suspense around a danger that grows more difficult to contain with every mile it travels. The young chemist at the center of the crisis understood the risks before the experiment began, but being correct is no protection once the compound enters the Potomac and the river itself becomes the fuel line. Peter Berk’s premise turns environmental ambition into a warning about unchecked certainty while keeping the story focused on the people responsible for preventing a regional catastrophe from becoming a global one. 

Readers who enjoy fast-moving disaster fiction with scientific stakes, recognizable settings, and a human struggle for redemption should find plenty to consider along the firestorm’s path.

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A package sent from West Berlin in 1988 draws New York art curator Daniel Singer into a family history shaped by war, persecution, concealed identities, and decisions made more than four decades earlier. In Between These Walls, Michael Newman connects the final days of World War II with the unresolved questions of a later generation, following one American family and two German families through the Holocaust, the founding of Israel, and conflicts that continue to influence Daniel’s search for the truth. Rooted in the author’s family history and visits to locations central to the novel, the story examines what happens when secrets preserved for survival can no longer remain hidden.

History often hides its deepest secrets behind closed doors and within silent walls. Some stories remain buried for decades, waiting for the right moment to emerge and demand to be told. Between These Walls is not merely a work of historical fiction, but a profound exploration of identity, survival, and the unbreakable bonds that connect generations across time and tragedy. Written by Michael Newman, this compelling narrative weaves together threads of war, persecution, and redemption into a tapestry that refuses to release its grip on the reader's heart and mind.

A Tale Woven from Three Families

In the summer of 1988, New York art curator Daniel Singer receives a mysterious package from West Berlin, sealed with security tape that will shatter everything he thought he knew about himself and his family. What begins as a simple delivery transforms into an extraordinary odyssey that spans continents and decades, pulling Daniel into a labyrinth of secrets that have been carefully guarded for over forty years.

Newman masterfully constructs a dual timeline that oscillates between May 1945 and July 1988, creating a narrative bridge across generations. In the dying days of World War II, on the American occupied side of Germany's Elbe River, US Army Medical Corps Colonel Samuel Singer stumbles upon the shot-up wreck of a smoldering SS staff car. Inside: a badly injured driver, a dead German Army officer carrying the ID of a Nazi war criminal, and a young blonde woman, also dead in the back seat. This haunting discovery sets in motion a chain of events that will echo across four decades.

The story sweeps across the battlefields of World War I, through the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, into the founding of Israel, and through three Middle East wars. Each historical moment is rendered with meticulous attention to detail and emotional authenticity.

The involvement of the Mossad, Israel's legendary intelligence agency, adds layers of intrigue and suspense to Daniel's quest. As he uncovers shocking truths about his heritage, Daniel must navigate a treacherous landscape where the past and present collide, where old wounds remain fresh, and where the consequences of long-buried secrets threaten to destroy everything he holds dear. Following one American family and two German families, Newman crafts a narrative that explores not just acts of evil and callous indifference but also acts of heroism, generosity, and love in the time of Adolf Hitler's rise and eventual defeat.

A Labor of Love Rooted in Personal History

Newman's research was exhaustive and deeply personal. He traveled throughout Europe, visiting the actual locations that appear prominently in the book. He walked the streets of Berlin, discovering the stolpersteine, the engraved brass plaques embedded in the cobblestone streets marking where Jewish families lived before the Nazis deported them to their deaths in Auschwitz. He ventured to the Eagle's Nest in Berchtesgaden near Munich, Hitler's wartime summer home perched high in the Bavarian Alps. Most significantly, he visited Mauthausen concentration camp itself, where his own father had been imprisoned by the Nazis in 1944-45.

"My visits to Mauthausen, Berlin and Hitler's summer home at Eagle's Nest were the motivators for me to write Between These Walls," Newman explains.

"These places provided me with the inspiration and ideas for the plot and premise of the book. With the global rise in antisemitism, the words 'Never again' couldn't ring truer."

The book's website features a compelling gallery of images from Newman's travels, including photographs of historical documents, and the actual locations featured in the story

Discover the Truth Behind the Walls

Between These Walls is available for purchase through multiple platforms, making it accessible to readers worldwide. The novel is available in both paperback and Kindle editions.

The mystery begins with a physical object—a sealed package from West Berlin—but the questions it raises extend far beyond its contents. Daniel Singer must reconsider his identity, his relationship to Colonel Samuel Singer, and the events that joined three families during the collapse of Nazi Germany. That structure gives the historical material a direct consequence in the later timeline rather than treating the past as background information.

The novel also approaches twentieth-century history across several connected periods. Its scope moves from World War I and the rise of Adolf Hitler through the Holocaust, the end of World War II, the founding of Israel, and later Middle East conflicts. Daniel’s investigation provides the thread linking those events as he discovers how wartime choices can shape descendants who were not present when the original decisions were made.

Newman’s personal connection to the material adds another dimension to the book. His father survived imprisonment at Mauthausen, while his mother, aunt, and grandmother survived in hiding in Budapest. The author’s visits to Mauthausen, Berlin, Berchtesgaden, and other historically significant locations informed the setting and premise of the novel. That background does not make Daniel’s story autobiographical, but it explains the seriousness with which the book approaches memory, survival, and the responsibility of later generations to understand what occurred.

Between These Walls is suited to readers of multigenerational historical fiction, dual-timeline mysteries, World War II novels, and stories centered on concealed identities or family secrets. The movement between 1945 and 1988 may especially appeal to readers who enjoy watching evidence from one era gradually alter the meaning of events in another.

The book may also interest readers seeking fiction connected to the Holocaust, the aftermath of Nazi persecution, the founding of Israel, and the continuing effect of wartime trauma on later generations. The presence of military history and intelligence intrigue broadens the story beyond a private family drama, while Daniel’s search keeps the larger historical scope tied to a personal question: who is he, and why was the truth hidden from him?

Michael Newman brings an unparalleled authenticity to Between These Walls because he writes not as a distant observer of history, but as someone whose life has been indelibly shaped by it. The son of Holocaust survivors, Newman has always had a deep interest in the Second World War, not as an academic pursuit, but as a personal mission to understand and honor the experiences that defined his family's existence. He received first-hand accounts of what happened during WWII in the concentration camps, particularly Mauthausen, where his father was imprisoned.

Newman's mother, aunt, and grandmother were hidden by Righteous Gentiles in Budapest during World War II. His father fought in the Hungarian Army, dug trenches in a forced labor battalion near Stalingrad, and later endured eight terrible months at Mauthausen in Austria. In 1956, at age twelve, Newman himself became a refugee, slogging through mud and snow, dodging guard huts to escape into Austria after the crushed Hungarian uprising against the Soviets.

Years later, as a successful self-made real estate magnate and founder of InterRent, a real estate investment trust on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Newman could have allowed his professional achievements to define him. Instead, he chose to honor his heritage by telling a story that needed to be told. He has since taken his wife, three children, and one granddaughter on trips to Mauthausen, ensuring that the next generation never forgets.

During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, concerned over what he perceived as one-sided news coverage against Israel, he had the opportunity to travel, surreptitiously, to Israel. Using a connection with an Israeli intelligence colonel, Newman spent a week in the war zone, visiting bomb shelters, air raid command centers, and troops in the field. This experience became a model for a character in his book who helped Israel fight for independence in 1948.

"I am not a religious person, but I do identify myself with what happened during the Holocaust and I am very much a Zionist and support the founding of Israel," Newman says.

This conviction breathes through every page of Between These Walls, giving the novel an emotional authenticity that resonates with readers across all backgrounds.

Today, Newman lives on Toronto's waterfront with his wife, Dixie, and their Morkie, Mia. Surrounded by five children and eleven grandchildren, he has transformed the pain of his family's past into a gift for future generations. Writing books, as Newman admits, is "a career change I wasn't expecting to make at this stage of life. It's been gratifying for the ego." He is currently working on a sequel with the working title A Daughter's Revenge, and has hired a screenwriter on spec to craft a six-part series based on his first book.

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Between These Walls places a family mystery inside a much larger historical reckoning. Daniel Singer’s package from West Berlin forces him to confront the possibility that the identity he inherited was constructed from wartime secrecy, while the 1945 timeline reveals why silence may once have seemed necessary. Michael Newman uses that connection between personal discovery and documented history to examine how survival decisions continue to affect people born long after the immediate danger has passed. 

For readers interested in historical fiction that asks later generations to confront what earlier generations endured, concealed, or sacrificed, Daniel’s search offers a story in which opening one package also means opening a past that can no longer remain behind closed walls.

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A childhood dream of reaching space might seem far removed from the daily vigilance of a Southern California lifeguard, yet Ken Kisco’s path connects those worlds through the same habits of preparation, composure, and responsibility. In No Straight Lines to the Stars, Kisco traces an unconventional route from beach rescues to aerospace systems engineering, examining the professional opportunities, personal disappointments, and acts of perseverance that shaped a career connected to major space and defense programs. His story offers a grounded look at ambition without pretending that purpose arrives through a neat sequence of victories.

No Straight Lines to the Stars is the inspiring true story of a young lifeguard who dared to believe his life could reach far beyond the horizon.

On the beaches of Southern California, Ken Kisco learned that preparation saves lives. From rip-current rescues to split-second emergencies, he discovered that courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to act in spite of it. Those early lessons in resilience and composure pushed Ken to believe he could accomplish anything . . . including his lifelong dream of reaching the stars.

Through relentless perseverance and unwavering faith, Ken rose into the heart of America’s most advanced space and defense programs, contributing to human spaceflight initiatives and supporting groundbreaking technologies. His unusual start as a lifeguard helped advance his career, distinguishing him from his Air Force and Navy peers. Yet, his toughest challenges were personal—he faced deep disappointment when a space mission was canceled and learned lessons about trust and integrity from a romance-turned-ruse.

Ken’s journey reveals that success is rarely linear. Setbacks became launchpads, adversity became refinement, and purpose became a compass. Part memoir, part inspiration, and part behind-the-scenes look at America’s quest for the stars, this is the unforgettable story of a man who proves that bold dreams, combined with grit and heart, can launch an ordinary life into an extraordinary one.

Kisco’s starting point distinguishes this memoir from a conventional account of an aerospace career. His years as a lifeguard taught him to assess danger, prepare for emergencies, and make decisions while other lives depended on his response. Those lessons later became part of the professional foundation he carried into complex space and defense work.

The book also refuses to present success as a direct ascent from childhood ambition to professional achievement. A canceled space mission, career uncertainty, and a personal betrayal interrupt the forward momentum, giving Kisco room to examine what remains when a carefully imagined future changes without permission.

That combination of technical ambition and personal reflection makes the story useful to readers beyond the aerospace community. The central question is not simply how Kisco entered advanced engineering programs, but how he continued to move toward meaningful work when the next step was uncertain, disappointing, or entirely different from the one he had planned.

No Straight Lines to the Stars will appeal to readers interested in narrative nonfiction, aerospace history, human spaceflight, engineering careers, and personal accounts of unconventional professional development. Students and early-career professionals may find particular value in a story that connects long-term ambition with the less visible work of preparation, persistence, and adaptation.

The book may also resonate with readers navigating a major setback or an unexpected change in direction. Kisco’s experiences suggest that a disrupted plan does not necessarily erase the larger purpose behind it; sometimes the skills gained along the way become valuable in a role that could not have been predicted at the beginning.

At ten years old, Ken Kisco dreamed of becoming a rocket scientist, a goal that shaped his life. He earned multiple degrees, including master's degrees from the University of Southern California in systems management and from San Jose State University in industrial psychology.

As an aerospace systems engineer for NASA, Rockwell International, and Boeing, he developed new technologies and earned recognition as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fellow.

Ken now shares his passion by mentoring USC engineering students, inspiring them to dream boldly. When not traveling, he and his wife enjoy San Diego's beaches, where they live.

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The title No Straight Lines to the Stars captures more than an unusual résumé. Kisco’s movement from a lifeguard tower into aerospace engineering depended on skills developed before he entered a launch environment, while some of the experiences he expected to define his future disappeared through circumstances beyond his control. His memoir places those detours beside the achievements rather than treating them as irrelevant interruptions. For readers facing a future that no longer resembles the original plan, Kisco’s story offers a measured reminder that preparation, integrity, and persistence can continue to shape a meaningful direction even when the route changes.

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A summer on a West Texas ranch bears little resemblance to the adventure Charley imagined from Seattle. The clothes feel unfamiliar, her grandfather remains difficult to reach, and the horse she hoped to ride does not exist—until a lost, blind horse named Radar gives her a reason to stay. In Nightflower of Comanche Mound, Katlyn Bates places a teenager searching for family connection in a landscape that demands patience, resourcefulness, and courage, allowing the bond between Charley and Radar to become both a responsibility and a path toward understanding the fractures that brought her to the ranch.

A troubled teen struggling with fractured family relationships forms an unexpected bond with a lost, blind horse that transforms her life, teaching her the true meaning of courage, resilience, and healing.

Charley does not arrive at the ranch prepared for the realities of rural work or for a grandfather whose estrangement from her mother has left years of unanswered questions between them. Her expectations of racing across the prairie give way to oversized work clothes, corral repairs, and the daily effort required to care for an animal that cannot rely on sight. That contrast gives her growth a practical foundation rather than treating the ranch as a picturesque escape.

Radar’s blindness also changes the usual relationship between a young rider and a horse. Charley cannot simply climb into the saddle and expect the adventure she imagined; she must learn how to make the world safer and more understandable for him. The responsibility encourages her to act with greater patience and purpose, even while she continues to wrestle with the family tensions that brought her to Texas.

The excerpt shows that the novel balances its heavier themes with Charley’s dry humor and sharp observations. Her reaction to ranch clothes, her growing ability to understand Sabion, and her secret plans for Radar’s training reveal a teenager adapting without losing the voice and personality she brought with her from Seattle.

A week on the ranch had really transformed me. I looked the part, like I’d lived here all my life. Before jetting from Seattle, I had an expectation of riding a fast horse over a wide prairie, the wind whipping my hair. Never had I imagined myself in baggy-butt jeans with pockets that sunk to my knees. They were heavier than any I’d ever owned, and fastened high on my waist, as if pulled up with suspenders. The shirt tail draped my back, and I had to roll the sleeves five times.

But the boots! Oh, I loved how they made me taller. They fit like clamps, as if my feet were growing in bark.

I clomped to the large picture window, plunked the sombrero Sabion gave me on my head. “Eesh.”

I look like a mushroom.

If Mom had told me from the beginning that Pap didn’t have horses, maybe I wouldn’t have thought twice about coming. I had the idea of wearing the giddy-up home—I would walk right past her at the airport and she wouldn’t even know me. But then, what would’ve happened to Radar?

No. Destiny had brought me here.

Pap’s boots stammered on the porch. I couldn't resist a cocky stroll past him—long, lanky strides that thunked my foot heel to toe. He sipped smugly from his coffee mug. Well, of course—nothing unusual to him. Just a set of sensible clothes.

Oh, well…as long as he’s happy—

* * *

Sabion’s smirk held a snicker. “Ah, si. You look…now you look right.”

I rolled my eyes. “Glug—”

Radar was pungent with horse sweat. Was it his timid nature that made me brave for him? A fearless front to give us both courage, like a parent protecting their child? Well, some parents. He sniffed my pant leg, and blew a snort that spewed junk on my knee. Now they’re broken in…

“How much time do I have today?” I asked. Sabion had honored his agreement to let me use Jennie half a day for training, but I’d already wasted a slip of his morning trying to make the blasted blue jeans work.

He looked at his watch. “None today. I am here too long already.”

“An hour?” I pleaded.

Sabion shook a finger. “Yesterday you say to me, ‘This day I will make repairs to the corral.’ You forget this? Now you say, ‘Este día voy a hacer reparaciones.’ Mas importante.”

I tried not to laugh. Sabion could never scold. Though he tried to sound tough, it only made him look leathery. It was kinda weird that I was beginning to understand him when I didn’t even speak the lingo.

“But you’re here already. I can make the repairs when you leave.” My plan today wasn’t to repair the corral; my plan was to string those blasted bells together while I had the workbench to myself. Then I’d reveal my fun training plan to Sabion when he returned.

His shoulders caved, the argument lost. “One hour okay is all.” His words netted altogether.

Nightflower of Comanche Mound is suited to teen and adult readers who enjoy contemporary Westerns, horse stories, family dramas, and coming-of-age novels rooted in a strong sense of place. The story may be especially meaningful to readers interested in young protagonists who must earn an animal’s trust while confronting problems the adults around them have avoided.

Readers drawn to ranch settings will find the work, clothing, language, and routines of Charley’s new environment woven into her adjustment. Those who prefer emotional conflict alongside action and adventure will also find a family mystery beneath the immediate question of how Charley can protect and train Radar.

Katlyn Bates writes contemporary fiction for young adults. Her debut novel, Nightflower of Comanche Mound was named a 2025 Spur Finalist by Western Writers of America (WWA) in the Juvenile-Young Adult Fiction category. The recognition, along with multiple 5-Star book reviews from Readers’ Favorite, encouraged her to dust off old stuff she wrote just for fun, and look at them with fresh eyes.

Drawn to action and adventure that is grounded in real life, Katlyn finds inspiration in the wildness of the world around us. “Nature doesn’t care what we think. It’s wild and ferocious and unpredictable—a good reminder not to take ourselves too seriously. The downright ridiculous seems to call for a twist of humor. What I can’t see, I can imagine.” Juggling family, work, and life, over the years Katlyn grasped whatever time she had available for a writing class when she could—poetry, creative, a bit of journalism. What she discovered was that stories come from deep within us…a moment. A memory. An experience or impression or dream. Only when they surface, can you add texture and color.

A late-bloomer by her own description, Katlyn’s writing kicked off when she joined Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), a community of like-minded people who selflessly share, uplift, and guide, one meeting at a time. “There’s so much to learn, just for the listening. Other writers energize me, challenge me to ‘say it better’. Everyone has a natural style, and it always amazes me how many ways there are to tell a story. From SCBWI to the Writers’ League of Texas (WLT)—where Nightflower of Comanche Mound was a 2022 Thriller/Action-Adventure Finalist in the Manuscript Contest—on to Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West (WWW), Katlyn has found that it’s networks of writers that encourage her “No matter what stage of writing skill, anyone, at any age, with a yearning to write should seek out others who love what you love. Don’t wait.”

A native Texan, Katlyn Bates lives near Dallas, TX, outside a small town that—like so many inter-connected communities, is quickly becoming absorbed by the sprawl. “As for me, it’s open skies and nature and landscape that frame a plot, and lend power to a story.”

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The relationship between Charley and Radar gives Nightflower of Comanche Mound its clearest emotional focus. Neither arrives at the ranch with the security they need: Charley is searching for a connection to an estranged grandfather, while Radar must navigate an unfamiliar world without sight. 

Caring for him requires Charley to move beyond the Western adventure she imagined and accept the patience, labor, and risk involved in protecting a vulnerable animal. Set within a family conflict shaped by old secrets and a harsh West Texas landscape, the novel offers a coming-of-age story in which courage develops through responsibility rather than bravado.

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A surf competition should be measured in clean takeoffs, difficult maneuvers, and points on a judges’ scorecard. In Pismo Beach Sniper, the first crack of a rifle transforms that familiar coastal scene into a parent’s worst nightmare. Topper Jones places private investigator Thad Hanlon at the center of a case in which professional instincts collide with raw fear: the child in the sniper’s sights is his own. 

Set against California’s Central Coast, the third Thad Hanlon and Bri de la Guerra mystery combines an active investigation with the tension of a threatened family and community. The result is a crime story built around an unusually exposed crime scene—the open water—where reaching the victims is difficult, identifying the shooter is harder, and every new wave can carry another danger.

When sniper fire erupts at the Central Coast Surf Trials at Pismo Beach, private investigator Thad Hanlon is thrust into every parent’s worst nightmare. His eleven-year-old son and two teammates are shot while surfing—one critically injured—plunging the contest into chaos and terrorizing the tight-knit Five Cities beach community. 

The shooter disappears, torching his hideout, leaving only questions in his wake. Random attack—or the first move in a deadly game? Why target young surfers? And is the marksman finished…or just getting started? 

Urged by desperate parents, Hanlon and his sharp-witted partner, Bri de la Guerra, race to protect the kids as they train for the upcoming West Coast Championships. But as the detective duo close in on the sniper, they uncover a chilling truth: the surf team isn’t his ultimate target—and the nightmare is far from over. 

This gripping thriller will keep you turning pages late into the night.

“Engaging characters, wit, and suspense elevate this rip-curling page-turner.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Pismo Beach Sniper is a tense and fast-moving mystery with real emotional stakes. The target audience is readers who enjoy mystery, private investigator fiction, crime thrillers, action suspense, coastal noir, and family-driven detective series. Readers who like Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole and Joe Pike novels may appreciate the same mix of banter, loyalty, and wounded-hearted heroism, though Jones swaps Los Angeles grit for Central Coast surf and spiritual undertow.”

— Literary Titan

“It felt like I was reading something akin to James Patterson: fast, frighteningly imaginative, and furious with action. Pismo Beach Sniper is a deftly plotted story of a man doing everything to keep his child safe in a world where not only waves can kill.”

— R. Oserio, Readers’ Favorite Reviews

The opening threat is frightening because it unfolds in a place with almost no cover. The young surfers are separated from their families by cold water, distance, and breaking waves, while the person firing remains hidden among the buildings behind the beach. That geography gives the crime immediate tactical complications and makes Thad’s helplessness as a father as important as his skill as an investigator. 

The case also extends beyond finding a shooter. Thad and Bri must determine why children were selected, whether another attack is coming, and how the surf team connects to the sniper’s larger objective. Their partnership gives the investigation two useful angles: Thad brings the emotional urgency of a parent directly affected by the crime, while Bri supplies the sharper distance needed to examine evidence and danger without being overwhelmed by either. 

The surfing setting is more than coastal scenery. Competition routines, equipment, wave conditions, and the physical vulnerability of athletes offshore are woven into the mechanics of the attack. That combination gives the mystery an identity distinct from a conventional urban sniper thriller.

Chapter 1

I was sitting under a beach canopy in the spectator section of the California Central Coast Surf Trials, watching the first heat of the semifinals, when I heard the sonic crack of a large firearm. Something long-range like the scoped high-precision rifle my business partner, Bri, uses to qualify at the Five Cities Shoot’n Center.

“What was that?” my son’s surf coach asked. Gev Burian was sitting on my left. “Sounded like it came from behind us.”

Bri de la Guerra, on my right, stood to check things out. “Cityside, yeah. I’m thinking .30 cal. Maybe three-oh-eight.”

I swiveled to scan the low-rise buildings of downtown Pismo—the seafood cafes, souvenir shops, and beach rentals. Clumps of tourists meandering down narrow Pomeroy Avenue stopped. Some gazed skyward, herd-like, examining the highest roofline—the old Hotel Pier Vista. Others rushed indoors.

When a second blast didn’t happen soon after, I saw pedestrians raise their palms in the classic “what’s up” shrug before continuing their weekend saunter. Some, trailing well-groomed dogs on leashes, took refuge in their smartphones.

I turned to face the Pacific as Bri sat in her folding chair. Coach Gev got out his binocs and we rejoined the hundreds of other parents, friends, and supporters along the beach to watch the tournament.

Three junior surfers, ages eleven to twelve—“grommets” in surf jargon—were perched on their boards 100 yards offshore in the chilly morning waters north of Pismo Pier. The contestants wore different colored jerseys over their wetsuits. Red jersey had priority takeoff; the next wave was his. As the kids waited for the sets to roll in, they bobbed in the mushy surf like sitting ducks.

“Yellow’s down!” Coach Gev shouted. He handed me his binoculars. “The kid’s slumped sideways off his board.”

“Cramp, maybe?” I pressed the field glasses to the bridge of my nose, fiddling with the adjustments. “January water temps are cold, fifty-three, fifty-four degrees. These temps? He should have worn a 5/4/3 mm instead. Maybe even a—”

There was a second sonic crack. I watched Yellow’s board splinter into pieces. Chunks of the foam core ringed the downed contestant as he struggled to keep his head above water.

Red jersey, closest to Yellow, dropped prone and paddled with fury toward him. Just as he was about to grab Yellow’s arm, I heard shot three. There was a splash near the tail of Red’s board.

Red turned turtle, flipping his tri-fin surfboard over so the bottom faced the sky. Only his hands, gripping the sides of the shortboard, were exposed.

Shot four took out Red’s middle fin. Shots five and six took out the two outer fins. Red let go of his board and sank out of view.

That left the eleven-year-old in the light blue jersey as the only contender sitting on the water. My son, Zael, was in full competition mode, hyper-focused on The One Thing—a wave with his name on it. A wave built by the sea gods just for him, for his performance, his tricks, the ones he’d stick. The 10-rating he’d be awarded by all three judges. That perfect ten.

Zael was in the zone, tunnel vision his ally. Chaos bending to will. He had no clue what had happened to Red and Yellow.

I popped out of my beach chair, sprinted from our shade canopy to the shoreline, and screamed as I waded in. “Duck and cover, Zael! Get down! Now!” I waved my arms, zigzagging through the shallows.

My son wasn’t hearing me, wasn’t seeing me, wasn’t even attuned to my panic despite his gift for sensing things unspoken. Zael paddled hard for takeoff, slid into the three-foot wave breaking off the pier, and dropped into the curl. He drove down the line, pumping his board to build speed, then bottom turned, and angled toward the lip to launch into his signature 360-degree air rotation and—

Blam.

Shot seven.

Zael’s right leg buckled. He lost balance and angled into a dive as far away from his board as his leash would let him. When he didn’t come up for air...

Oceano Beach Bedlam

A Thad Hanlon/Bri de la Guerra Mystery, Book 2

Hanlon & de la Guerra have gone full service. In this second book in the surfing crime-fighter mystery series, Thad Hanlon and his martial-arts-obsessed partner, Bri de la Guerra, hang out their shingle as newly licensed private investigators. Now in addition to fraud-busting, the two detectives do it all. Background checks. Surveillance. Even finding lost souls. Just about anything that requires sleuthing or going undercover. 

All they need is a client.

That’s when a former exotic dancer from Bakersfield CA shows up looking for her surf prodigy son who’s gone missing in the wake of cult violence terrorizing the California Central Coast. 

What Critics Are Saying

“A crunchy detective novel set in the world of California surfers. Jones delivers a proper beach read, both in form and content.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“Honestly, I had a blast with this one. Oceano Beach Bedlam is a smart and entertaining read. If you like your mysteries with surfboards, sass, and just enough heart to keep you caring, this one’s for you. It’s a great pick for fans of offbeat detectives, fast dialogue, and sun-drenched noir with a brain and a soul. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, or the beachier edges of Elmore Leonard.”

— Literary Titan

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All That Glisters

A Thad Hanlon/Bri de la Guerra Mystery, Book 1

When the facts don’t add up in his surf buddy’s bizarre death, forensic consultant (and daddy-to-be) Thaddeus Hanlon investigates, volunteering to go undercover to pick up where best friend Rafi Silva left off in a secret probe of the U.S. gold stockpile—every last bullion bar. 

Rafi’s spunky fiancée, Bri de la Guerra, has suspicions of her own and soon joins Thad on the hunt for answers. Together, the two amateur sleuths delve deep, stumbling onto a financial a-stock-alypse in the making, triggering a brutal manhunt along the Eastern seaboard meant to silence anyone looking to set the ledger straight. 

What Critics Are Saying

“Jones’ action-packed murder mystery...is tension-fueled with plenty of twists and two appealing sleuths. In this detective series opener, Thad Hanlon, a 27-year-old forensic accountant, becomes the target of a murderous cadre when he accepts a new assignment that takes him from Los Angeles to the East Coast center of power. Woven into the gripping plot are sensual, detailed descriptions of Thad’s adventures riding the waves, which should please the surfer crowd and afford others a visceral sense of the experience.”

— Kirkus Reviews

“All That Glisters by Topper Jones is well-written with not a single dull moment. I liked the way the author included elements of action, mystery, and even some cyber investigating. Overall, I found this book to be an amazing read.”

— Sefina Hawke, Readers’ Favorite Reviews

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This installment belongs on the list for readers who prefer private investigators to police procedurals and who like a case to carry consequences beyond professional reputation. Thad is not observing another family’s crisis from a safe distance; his son’s injury makes every decision personal and gives the investigation an urgency that cannot be switched off at the office door. 

The book should also suit readers drawn to coastal crime fiction, surfing culture, sniper investigations, and detective partnerships built on contrasting temperaments. Familiarity with the first two books can add context to Thad and Bri’s working relationship, but the central attack, its victims, and the immediate investigation are clearly established in this third installment.

Writing as Topper Jones, award-winning author Christopher G. Jones, Ph.D., delivers detective fiction with a dash of romance, plenty of action, and memorable characters. His Thad Hanlon & Bri de la Guerra Mystery Series has earned Readers’ Favorite Five Stars and the Literary Titan Gold Book Awards. 

Before writing full-time, Jones taught financial reporting and business systems development at the university level and worked in public accounting and consulting. He is a member of The Private Eye Writers of America and International Thriller Writers, and an affiliate of Mystery Writers of America. 

To stay close to family, Jones now lives in the southwestern desert rather than his native California. But when the surf’s up, he’ll make the 450-mile trek to the coast for a little “water therapy.”

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