Greetings from Adams Key in Biscayne National Park. My name is Kurt Hunter and I am a special agent for the National Park Service. It was through Mac Travis that Steve first met me. I always thought of myself as an ordinary guy, though once in a while I stumble onto some interesting things, but I never thought them story worthy. Steve insisted that there was some good stuff here and I thought I should say a few words and introduce myself before the release of my first book: Backwater Bay.

My posting here in Biscayne Bay is a whole lot different from Northern California where I was assigned for the last six years. I wasn’t after a change, but while fishing one of the streams in the forest there, I uncovered an intake pipe for the irrigation system which led me to the discover the largest pot grow ever found on government land. That didn’t go so well with the cartel running the operation-or my now ex-wife. Now, I’m out here on an island in what I call the park services version of the witness protection program.

My house is one of two residences on Adams Key. The small island is part of the chain of barrier islands separating Biscayne Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Located about seven miles from the park service headquarters building in Homestead my park service issued center-console is my car.

I’ve met some interesting people since I’ve been here. Mac and his friends of course, as well as my new girlfriend, Justine, who works for Miami-Dade’s crime lab. Sid, the night shift medical examiner, and Chico, one of the local fishing guides have helped me learn the ropes out here. My neighbors on the island are Becky, Roy, and their two year old son Jamie. And of course there’s Zero, the islands security system.

I’ve been learning the park and picked up some boating skills, though I still have a lot to learn. The best way to learn new waters for me is to fish, and I’ve been working my way around the bay with some success. It was a pretty good existence until I found the body of a woman in the mangroves. Then everything changed.

How much would it take for you to kill someone close?

When a body is found floating in the mangroves of Biscayne National Park, Special Agent Kurt Hunter has his first real case. He’s not looking for the spotlight or notoriety—he’s had both with disastrous results. But that seems unavoidable as the trail leads him to South Beach and his introduction to the culture there is anything but comfortable.

In the National Parks Service’s version of the witness protection program, Kurt quickly finds out that the pristine waters surrounding Miami are very different from the National Forest he transferred from. Follow Kurt through this new world as he unearths a crooked families greed to solve the case.

Available on Kindle and paperback.