INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Nominated for the Lilian Jackson Braun Memorial Award
A rollicking mystery about a secret society, nautical charts, cryptic clues, and a fabulous treasure to die for-perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.
For nearly a century, tourists have ventured to the idyllic seaside town of Maple Bay in search of a legendary lost pirate treasure, though locals know there's more than just gold buried in the sand. As the paths of three strangers converge in Maple Bay, the truth is about to be blown wide open.
Peter Barnett is rapidly approaching forty with little to show for his life when a mysterious letter invites him to Maple Bay and the mansion his estranged family has called home for generations.
Fifteen-year-old Dandy Feltzen is isolated and adrift following the death of her beloved grandfather until a tantalizing clue sets her on a mission to solve the mystery he spent his entire life chasing.
Cass Jones has given up on her dream of being a successful author when an unexpected opportunity lands in her lap: a housesitting gig in remote Maple Bay, where she stumbles on the perfect subject matter for her breakout book-and the handsome sailor who might be just the person to help her research it.
Peter, Dandy, and Cass have never met, but they're on a collision course with each other and the mystery that has defined Maple Bay for centuries. None of them are prepared for the shocking truths that may still be buried there, or the fresh bodies piling up. Tom Ryan is the author of two adult mysteries, the internationally bestselling The Treasure Hunters Club, which was a 2025 Edgar nominee for the Lilian Jackson Braun Award, and We Had a Hunch, which Publishers Weekly called "criminally good fun". He is also the author of the YA mystery Keep This to Yourself, winner of the 2020 ITW Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel, the 2020 Arthur Ellis Award for Best YA Crime Book, and the 2021 Ann Connor Brimer Award. His YA follow-up, I Hope You're Listening, was the winner of the 2021 Lambda "Lammy" Award for Best LGBTQ Mystery. Tom, his husband, and their dog live in Nova Scotia. "Unexplained deaths, betrayal, corruption, secret societies, and buried treasure are only a few of the plot threads in Tom Ryan's twisty new mystery, and narrator Graham Halstead meshes them seamlessly. Peter Barnett's routine life changes after his estranged grandmother contacts him, inviting him to share her Maple Bay, Nova Scotia, mansion. Failed writer Cass is house-sitting in Maple Bay, hoping to revive her writing, while teenager Dandy is puzzling over her late grandfather's instructions to take his place in a secret group that is searching for buried treasure. Halstead juggles the alternating voices easily, heightening the tension when a series of suspicious deaths occurs. His multifaceted delivery highlights the town's eccentric characters, Cass's research on the pirate treasure, and Dandy's sleuthing. Exciting, surprising, and witty listening."
