Lord knows being an investigator of sorts was never in my imagination or life desires.

Back in the day when we were engaged in a Cold War with the Evil Empire on the other side of the globe — which still exists, just under a different name — I was a journalism major in college and saw a little ad in our student newspaper that intrigued me, about taking a test to be considered for a position in the Department of Defense.

Surprising me and my parents, I passed the test, and in a few months, was working as a Research Analyst for an obscure intelligence agency within the DoD. I loved my job, being on the inside regarding foreign policy and military matters, and researching and writing intelligence reports that sometimes ended up in the Oval Office.

I was also deeply in love with a fellow analyst, Cissy Manning, and one day, during a classified training exercise in the mountains of Nevada with my intelligence unit, everyone was killed except for me, although I was exposed to a nerve agent that would forever haunt my health.

In order to keep my mouth shut and this matter out of the news media, I was pensioned off to a former government house on Tyler Beach, N.H., and was given a cover job as a monthly columnist for a magazine called Shoreline, covering the eighteen miles of New Hampshire seacoast.

But burdened by PTSD and survivor’s guilt, I started getting involved in things criminal and mysterious along the New Hampshire coast, anchored on both ends by the power of the atom — the Porter Naval Shipyard at the north, and the Falconer Nuclear Power Plant in the south — along with tremendous disparities in wealth and standing.

There are multi-million dollar homes built near trailer parks, gourmet restaurants on the same streets as fried dough stands, and each summer, hundreds of thousands of tourists descend upon Tyler Beach and its neighboring towns. In the winter time the tourists leave, the beach population decreases, and many neighborhoods almost seem abandoned.

It’s in this mix of conflict that over the years have had me involved in missing Viking artifacts, an oil spill on the beaches leading to a number of murders, the every four-year New Hampshire Presidential primary and an attempted political assassination, as well as nuclear power plant protests that suddenly took a deadly turn.

Along the way I’ve made friends with some of the locals, including Diane Woods, a detective with the Tyler Police Department; Paula Quinn, a reporter for the Tyler Chronicle, and Felix Tinios, a former mobster from Boston’s North End, who now lists his occupation on his IRS 1040 form as “security consultant.”

On most days, Tyler Beach and its environs are a peaceful piece of New Hampshire paradise, but when the storm clouds come in and the bullets fly, that’s where you’ll find me.

Terminal Surf, A Lewis Cole Book Mystery #12
Genre: Private Investigator Mystery
Release: June 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

In the quiet charm of New England, a shocking truth washes ashore.

When retired Department of Defense analyst and local columnist, Lewis Cole, stumbles upon a harrowing scene—a drowned migrant woman and her child—he is thrust into the middle of a thriving human smuggling operation on the coasts of New Hampshire and Maine. Appalled by the discovery and determined to unveil the hidden machinery of this inhumane trade, Lewis navigates the choppy waters of local politics, high emotions, and escalating violence.

The undertow of the crisis grows stronger when various parties—ranging from migrant rights advocates to immigration opponents, government agencies, and news media—capitalize on the situation, each spinning the narrative to their advantage. The lines blur between right and wrong, pulling Lewis deeper into the conflict.

His pursuit of justice pushes him into a deadly crossfire, forcing him into the shadowy world of human smuggling and threatening his very life. His investigative journey ends where it began, alone on the frosty Atlantic waters, battling the waves of despair and violence that surge from the far corners of the globe. He’s not just fighting for his survival, but for those who are fleeing death in their homeland. Will he be able to save them all, or die trying?

Terminal Surf is the next unputdownable installment in the Lewis Cole Series by New York Times bestselling author Brendan DuBois. An action-packed thriller perfect for fans of James Patterson and Michael Connelly.

About the author
Brendan DuBois is the New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six novels, including CROSS DOWN, co-authored with James Patterson. His next novel, TERMINAL SURF, the twelfth novel in his acclaimed Lewis Cole series, was published this in June.
Brendan’s short fiction has appeared in Playboy, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and numerous anthologies including “The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century” and “The Best American Noir of the Century.”

He has thrice won him the PWA’s Shamus Award, two Barry Awards, two Derringer Awards, the Ellery Queen Readers Award, and three Edgar Allan Poe Award nominations. In 2021 he received the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement from the Short Mystery Fiction Society. He is also a “Jeopardy!” game show champion.