Sarah thought Echo Ridge would be their fresh start-a remote wilderness retreat where she and her son could rebuild after their world fell apart. Instead, a wrong turn in a monster blizzard traps them in a nightmare where nature's fury is the least of their threats.
Hidden in the white-out are armed men hunting for millions in cash from a crashed plane. They've already killed to protect their secret, and a mother and child won't change that.
Ranger Cody Andersen races against time to reach them, guided by Luma-his cutting-edge AI partner who sees through the storm with heat sensors and predictive algorithms. Together, they've mastered this mountain. But the criminals aren't their only enemy.
Something else stalks Echo Ridge. The locals call it the Ghost-a figure that appears when death comes to the mountain. As bodies start falling and the storm intensifies, Cody realizes the legend might be hunting alongside him.
Three deadly forces converge in a wilderness where help is impossible and escape means surviving the night.
In a place where technology meets ancient mystery, where every shadow could hide a killer, Cody and Luma must become the hunters before they become the prey. Because on Echo Ridge, some ghosts are real-and some monsters are very much alive.
Autorentext
Cade Meridian spent over a decade in the digital shadows as a cybersecurity expert and forensic investigator, training military intelligence and the CIA on cryptocurrency tracking, dark web investigations, and digital forensics. He testified as an expert witness, cracked ciphers to unlock stolen crypto wallets, and helped solve cases from cyberattacks to money laundering. AI became his trusted partner?finding hidden patterns in data mountains and decoding what human eyes might miss.
Everything changed when health challenges forced early retirement. The technology he'd used to fight crime became his daily companion in a different way?helping with memory, keeping ideas organized, providing cognitive support that illness had taken away. AI that once helped him catch criminals now helped him remember what he'd written that morning.
From his home in Las Vegas, Cade draws inspiration from the desert's contradictions?quiet vastness surrounding a city that never sleeps, ancient Joshua trees standing sentinel over fiber optic cables. Here, in this meeting of old and new, he writes about AI not as overlord or tool, but as partner.
The Luma Series emerged from a simple question: what if technology that can track down humanity's worst could also nurture its best? Each story explores how benevolent AI might catalyze healing?never solving our problems, but helping us find the wisdom we already carry.
When he's not writing or coding, you might find Cade practicing Okinawan Goju Ryu karate, hiking desert trails with his dog, or perfecting his chopstick technique. He's slept under African stars more times than he can count, dreams of space travel (though his wife firmly vetoed that adventure), and believes the best character development comes from witnessing both the worst and best of what humans are capable of.
His upcoming thriller series will blend investigative expertise with lighter storytelling?think "Sneakers" meets modern cybercrime, complete with an AI team member who's brilliant but delightfully imperfect. Because sometimes the most human thing about artificial intelligence is its flaws.
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