My name is Abby Pearce, and I’m a homicide detective with the Cedar Cliffs, Mass. police force on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

I always wanted to be a police officer.

In school, all the other girls dreamed of growing up to be Hillary Clinton or Serena Williams or Madonna.

Me, I wanted to be Cagney and Lacey.

I graduated from the Police Academy in New York City, I got a degree in criminal justice from Baruch University, I joined the NYPD as a policewoman and later I became a homicide detective – breaking a lot of big cases during my time there on the force.

And then – for reasons too complex to get into right now (hell, I’m not sure I even understand them myself) – I returned to my hometown on Martha’s Vineyard to become a detective with the tiny Cedar Cliffs, Mass. police force.

People say when they first meet me that I don’t match their idea of the way a cop is supposed to look. I’m not a big woman. Just average size, maybe even petite at 5 foot 5 and around 105 pounds. I have long black hair. Usually, I wear it in a ponytail or in a bun held up in the back with a plastic hair pin.

Since I don’t wear a police uniform in my job as a detective, a lot of people figure me for a businesswoman or a real estate broker, maybe even a media person or soccer mom until I show them my badge. Not a cop. Which I’ve sometimes been able to use to my advantage by catching people off guard.

As you might expect, going from being a cop with the NYPD to working here on the tiny Cedar Cliffs force has been a difficult adjustment to make. Most of the police work done on this island has traditionally consisted of lost dogs, stolen mopeds, traffic problems, and maybe a rowdy beach party or two when the drinking and the drugs get out of hand.

In fact, there have only been two major crimes as far as I know in the history of Martha’s Vineyard.

One was the famous Chappaquiddick drowning death of Mary Jo Kopechne in a car with Senator Ted Kennedy during the summer of 1969, which derailed his presidential aspirations.

The other was that of a seventy-two-year-old woman named Clara Smith who was mysteriously found beaten and strangled to death in her bed back in 1940. The murder was never solved, and I didn’t figure there was much chance of me or anyone else solving it eighty years later.

But now bigtime crime has suddenly come to this island paradise.

It began when Samantha Claymore, the 16-year-old heiress of a billion-dollar cosmetics corporation, mysteriously disappeared after an afternoon bicycle ride on Martha’s Vineyard. I know from experience how quickly a lost young girl case like this can become a tragedy. But, despite a massive search – and a six -figure reward being offered for Samantha’s return – no trace of her has been found.

The sensational case quickly brought a swarm of media descending on us here – and made me the center of attention as the lead detective and face of the Cedar Cliffs police in the dramatic search for the missing girl.

Now I’ve uncovered shocking evidence of more missing girls, covered-up murders – and even a disturbing link to the supposedly accidental drowning death of Samantha Claymore’s wealthy father on the island five years earlier.

Is someone killing people and snatching innocent teenage girls on this island paradise?

And how many more victims will there be?

I came back to Martha’s Vineyard to escape the stress of fighting crime in New York City, but now I suddenly find myself faced with the most baffling and the most dangerous case of my career.

A lot of people’s lives are at stake here.

Including maybe my own. . .

Her Ocean Grave, A Detective Abby Pearce #1
Genre: Thriller
Release: June 2021
Purchase Link

Over the cliff edge, she sees a broken body on the jutting rocks below, the waves crashing all around. She can’t see the girl’s face, which is covered by her long, brown hair. But she knows her. She met her just yesterday. . .

When Samantha Claymore doesn’t return home after an afternoon bicycle ride on Martha’s Vineyard, Detective Abby Pearce acts immediately. She knows from experience how quickly a lost girl can become a tragedy. Back on the island for the first time since she ran away as a teenager, Abby hopes solving Samantha’s case will make up for her past mistakes… But, as the media swarm and Samantha’s grieving mother joins the search, the police find no trace of the beloved sixteen-year-old—even when a reward is offered for her return.

Trawling through old case files, Abby discovers that Samantha is not the only girl to have gone missing in the small community of Martha’s Vineyard. She’s convinced more could follow, but her team insists there’s no link to be found. Until Samantha’s best friend is found dead at the bottom of a cliff the next day. . .

After searching Samantha’s bedroom and trawling through the files on her computer, Abby digs into the death of Samantha’s father five years ago at sea, following the trail to one of the island’s most powerful families. The same people who failed to protect Abby the night she was forced to leave as a young girl. Is there anyone left on this quiet island who Abby can trust? Can she find Samantha before more innocent lives are taken?

An absolutely unputdownable and nail-biting crime thriller that will have you racing through the pages. Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Kendra Elliot and Gregg Olsen.

About the Author
Dana Perry is the penname for thriller author R.G. Belsky. The third Dana Perry book, Her Ocean Grave, was published on June 2 by Bookouture. It features a former NYPD homicide detective named Abby Pearce who now solves crimes in a small town on the island of Martha’s Vineyard. Previous Perry titles have been The Silent Victim and The Golden Girl. Belsky has also written 14 novels under his own name, including the ongoing Clare Carlson series. He is a longtime New York City journalist who worked as a top editor at the New York Post, the New York Daily News, Star magazine and NBC News.

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