{"product_id":"the-gold-of-st-croix-9781663202697","title":"The Gold of St. Croix","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRetired Homicide Detective Mad Dog Cotton has a reputation on St. Croix. He can find missing things, and Betsy Rourk's husband is missing. When Betsy asks Mad Dog to find her husband, Mad Dog says, \"no.\" \u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003eWhen Betsy offers a single golden piece of Pirate Treasure, common sense is abandoned and he says, \u003cstrong\u003e \"yes.\"\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e There was no way Mad Dog could have known he was walking into a 400-year-old Caribbean mystery. A mystery where the ancient ghosts of greed, lust and insanity would rip a gaping hole in his tranquil island existence and threaten to destroy everyone he loves.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaybe it would be better if Mad Dog told you about this mess.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am a simple guy, give me little slice of paradise, a nice cold beer, let me put my feet up on the back deck of my boat, and I'm happy. Sure, I do a little Private Detective work for my friends, but I don't like action or adventure anymore.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSo, why did I tell Betsy, \"yes?\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy wife Cheri, a retired Federal Marshal, would say, \"because you're a dumb ass.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMy best friend, Ray Jones, a hard-boiled Cruzan gangster, would say, \"because you're a fucking dumb ass.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCheri's ex-partner at the Marshal Service, a gentle giant named John Canfield, would just shake his head and maybe laugh at me.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIt's ok, I know I'm a dumb ass, a greedy dumb ass. I can tell you straight up, if I would have known that only hours after I took that gold coin from Betsy, everyone I saw or talked to would be targeted for murder by a sociopathic serial killer even I would have said, \"NO.\"\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI am opposed to sociopaths making it their fulltime job to murder me and everyone around me. I don't think they understand, I'm a nice quiet guy, but if you threaten my wife and friends, I will hunt you to the end of the universe \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Gold of St. Croix \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eis a fast-paced Caribbean action thriller where the opposites of murder and paradise collide. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Gold of St. Croix is the first in Tom Sedar's new detective series about Mad Dog Cotton and an assortment of island characters as they investigate murder in paradise. Tom's years as a homicide prosecutor in St. Croix lend his writing a refreshing and chilling sense of reality.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWyoming native Tom Sedar's life has been a fun ride. As a young man he worked as a ranch hand, rodeo cowboy, rough neck, and commercial diver. In 1984 Tom quit his wondering life to attend Law School at the University of Wyoming. After Law School he had a 25-year career as a trial lawyer. In his career Tom tried over 250 jury trials (that is a lot of storytelling). In 2007 Tom and his wife Charlene, a Federal Marshal, moved to the Caribbean where Tom was the Major Crimes \/ Homicide Prosecutor for the Island of St. Croix. In, The Gold of St. Croix, Tom couples his lifetime of experience with his gift for storytelling to create a must read for any mystery lover.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"iUniverse","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50900921516306,"sku":"9781663202697","price":10.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2622a4ff-cb6c-48a1-b990-fdbb8c34c30c.jpg?v=1738405474","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-gold-of-st-croix-9781663202697","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}