Ike Schwartz, sheriff of Picketsville, Virginia, and his fianc├®e, Ruth Harris, president of a local university, survived a trying year of academic and local politics and now seek some peace and quiet on Scone Island, a rocky piece of land four miles off the coast of Maine. Its lack of electricity, a reliable water supply, and phone service guarantees their peaceful seclusion. The fact that there has been a suspicious accident resulting in the death of the mysterious Harmon Staley need not concern them at all. And it doesn't—until Ike's past as a CIA agent rolls in on him like the area's famous twelve-foot tides.
Two more murders involving former colleagues elsewhere in the country have Ike's old friend from the agency, Charlie Garland, searching the files for a connection. However, stonewalling by the CIA, as well as conspiracies, real and imagined, mean that Ike and Ruth are alone on the island and facing an unknown number of determined assassins.
To complicate matters, Ruth's mother decides to drop in on them just as the excitement begins. Late arrivals by the director of the CIA and Charlie Garland only make matters worse. Meanwhile, Ruth daydreams of Plan B—Las Vegas—in hopes that she and Ike will finally be able to get away from it all while lost in the crowds.
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“An eagerly awaited vacation on a quiet Maine island becomes a nightmare for a former CIA agent and his significant other…The latest mystery-thriller for Ike provides all the fast-paced action and danger readers have come to expect.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Engaging…Surefooted prose speeds this well-told tale of greed and betrayal among the nation’s covert elite. Ruth and Ike’s intellectual bickering will amuse literary and history buffs.”
— Publishers Weekly" This is the first book I have read by this author. I needed a book to take on a camping trip and this looked like it would work. It did. Pretty good if predictable.. "
— M, 9/9/2013" Fast read, liked the two main characters. "
— Debbie, 5/21/2013Frederick Ramsay was born in Baltimore and received a doctorate from the University of Illinois. After a stint in the army, he joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is also an ordained Episcopal priest and an accomplished public speaker. In addition to the Ike Schwartz mysteries, the Botswana mysteries, and the Jerusalem mysteries, Ramsay is the author of scientific and general articles, tracts, and theses and coauthor of the Baltimore Declaration. He lives in Surprise, Arizona, with his wife and partner, Susan.
Lloyd James (a.k.a. Sean Pratt) has been a working professional actor in theater, film, television, and voice-overs for more than thirty years. He has narrated over one thousand audiobooks and won numerous Earphones Awards and nominations for the Audie Award and the Voice Arts Award. He holds a BFA degree in acting from Santa Fe University, New Mexico.