Every wreck leaves a key to its story.
Janessa “Nessa” Douglas discovers a broken brass key among the wreckage after a Nor’ Easter storm as she catalogs for the historical society. The initials engraved on its shaft appear to connect it to the Widow’s Return, a legendary shipwreck said to be cursed.
Then, shipwreck podcaster Cassie Wren dies during a dive to the sunken vessel. Authorities call it an equipment failure. Nessa isn’t convinced. Before her death, Cassie uncovered evidence linking the wreck to a local salvage company, which left behind a trail of symbols, missing records, and hidden dive sites. As Nessa follows the clues through an abandoned Coast Guard station, archives, and the dangerous waters surrounding the shoals, she suspects the sea has been blamed for crimes committed by the living.
Someone has spent decades burying the truth beneath the waves. And now that Nessa holds the key, they will do anything to keep her from unlocking it. Atmospheric and suspenseful, The Salt Widow’s Key is a haunting coastal mystery about greed, guilt, and the secrets the ocean refuses to keep.
Excerpt:
He digs into his coat pocket and pulls out something small. The metal glints in the sunlight. It’s a key, jagged and corroded. My throat tightens.
“You found another one?” I ask.
“I didn’t find it,” he says. “She gave it back. It turned up tangled in my nets last night.”
He tosses it into the barrel fire, where it hisses and splits like something alive. “No man should hold the same key twice.”
The flame burns around the key, turning it black.
Silas rises, straightening his back. “Tell your curator friend, Mara, that the Widow’s stirring again. Tell her storms aren’t accidents. They’re invitations.” $1.99 on Kindle.
