SHOALS OF DECEPTION

The Carolina coast runs on tides, weather, boats, and the people who make their living from them.

Bo Danner knows those waters as well as anyone. A widower trying to rebuild his life, he spends his days working on boats and restoring an aging Carolina sportfisherman he rescued from auction. The sea offers peace, routine, and a refuge from questions he'd rather leave unanswered.

Beneath the postcard beauty of North Carolina's Crystal Coast, old traditions, rapid development, tourism, conservation, and competing visions for the future are pulling the community in different directions. When a series of suspicious deaths unsettles the coast, Bo finds himself drawn into a mystery that stretches far beyond local waters. Alongside fishermen, veterans, deputies, and other familiar faces from the waterfront, he begins uncovering evidence of a criminal network operating in the shadows of a community he thought he knew.

As violence spreads and trusted faces come under suspicion, Bo discovers that the same waterways that bring fishermen home each evening can also carry darker cargo. To protect the people and place he loves, he must choose between the safety of the life he's rebuilding and the dangerous pursuit of the truth.

Shoals of Deception is a coastal thriller steeped in the boats, fishing traditions, communities, and maritime culture of North Carolina's Crystal Coast—a story of mystery, friendship, loss, faith, and redemption set where the Gulf Stream meets the Carolina shore.

Drawing on a lifetime spent fishing, exploring, and working along the Carolina coast, author Jeff Christian brings the region's waters, culture, and people vividly to life in a suspenseful story whose characters and setting will stay with readers long after the final page.

The first draft is currently undergoing careful editing and refinement to create the strongest possible reading experience. Join the mailing list by contacting us at jeff@jkchristian.com for updates and news about the book's progress.