Salvage Bay runs on tides, tradition... and paperwork that decides what counts as truth.

Boatwright Maren Cole expects a quiet morning at Tidemark Boatworks?until the land trust calls her to Lighthouse Point. The coastal path is being "managed" with new chains, swapped signs, and official-looking restrictions that don't match any record. The man directing volunteers, Caleb, speaks in protocols and shift coverage like he owns the shoreline.

Maren and her girlfriend, Simone, have learned that in Salvage Bay, control often hides behind polite language. But when land trust staffer Tessa Lang falls on the bluff steps and the scene turns into caution tape and radios, Maren can't shake the feeling it wasn't an accident.

Then, buried in mud and rusted links, Maren finds a metal tag stamped with a code that shouldn't exist: LP?Shift 2:14.

With Detective Jonah Pike asking the questions the town won't, Maren follows the trail of tags, chains, and quiet authority to uncover who's been shaping the cove's rules?and what they're willing to do to keep the truth from going public.

Sloane Grant spent years in the fast-paced world of nursing, where she learned that everyone has a story?and a few secrets. Now, she's traded the hospital wards for a much quieter life of "fictional homicide," trading her stethoscope for a notebook and a sharp pen.

When she isn't dreaming up small-town scandals, Sloane is a full-time "chaos coordinator" for her two daughters. Her home office is currently overseen by a strict editorial committee consisting of three cats?Mooshi, Pixie, and Sugar?and one small, very vocal dog named Chocky.

Sloane believes that the best mysteries are solved over a warm drink, and that no puzzle is too complex when you have a sharp mind and a loyal pet by your side.