Secrets of the Treasure King (Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Satori (April 29, 2020)
Print Length: 261 pages
Digital ASIN: B085DC4ZVS

Synopsis

The Seaside Cove rumor mill is buzzing about the captain of The Treasure King. He claims to know the location of the San Manuel, a four-hundred-year-old sunken Spanish galleon with a cargo worth millions. And now, he’s dead, the victim of a speargun attack.

When the police ask B&B owner Rick Atwood to consult in the investigation, he has mixed feelings. Consulting for the police is not the problem. He’s done it before. The problem is his eleven-year-old daughter, Alex.

Alex is fearless, precocious, and fueled by a strong sense of girl power. She’s also convinced the cops will never find the killer without her help, so she launches her own investigation—and quickly becomes a candidate for Seaside Cove’s youngest felon.

Now, unless Rick can solve the case with the clues Alex found illegally, his daughter might face charges of breaking-and-entering, the treasure of the San Manuel will be lost to pirates, and a killer could get away with murder.

Guest Post

Four hundred years ago…

Imagine yourself crammed aboard a small sailing ship with a hundred and fifty others. Your fellow passengers include soldiers, traders, families—and farm animals. That’s right, 400 years ago you might have shared your sleeping accommodations with a horse, a lamb, a cow, or maybe the rats, fleas, and cockroaches. It was an ideal environment for diseases like yellow fever.

The rewards, however, made the risks worthwhile. Everyone was there for a chance to make their fortune by trading, stealing, or other means. Although no 400-year-old sailing ships have survived, there is one replica in existence, the Andalucia.

Replicas, all that remain

In San Diego, we don’t have a galleon, but we do have a replica of the 18^th Century Royal Navy frigate Rose. The H.M.S. Surprise was built in the 1970s, then painstakingly refurbished for the film Master and Commander. The photos of the Surprise may give some inkling of what life was like for those aboard an old sailing vessel. For months at a time, a sail-powered ship would ply the seas, hoping for favorable winds and ports of call.

Finding the San Manuel

In the first four Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast mysteries, everyone wants to find the San Manuel, a fictional Spanish galleon. According to the legends about the San Manuel, its luck ran out and the ship became of victim of the sea.

There are two reasons I found the search for a 400-year-old sunken treasure ship so fascinating. First, there’s the allure of finding riches from so long ago. A ship traveling to the Americas from the Far East would have been carrying china, ivory, and ancient artwork. The second reason is that treasure hunting hasn’t changed much in 400 years. When I began my research, I spoke to a man who had spent his life researching Sir Francis Drake and those that try to find lost treasure. He warned me that even today’s treasure hunters are an “unsavory bunch.”

Treasure hunting was a cutthroat business in Drake’s time. These days, the technology has changed, but not much else. Treasure hunters around the world—from individuals to multinational companies—compete to make their fortunes, and many of them will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Secrets of the Treasure King

Come join me in Seaside Cove. It’s the little town where murder meets the sea. And where secrets just might get you killed. A lost treasure ship. A web of lies. A murdered ship captain. Can a father-daughter duo unravel this mystery before a killer escapes with a secret worth millions?

About the Author

Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who only stole cars when it was legal. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

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