Available now from Forge Books

SYNOPSIS

Nick Finn and his partner and brother-in-law, Diego Jimenez, are used to rough water. As Marine Interdiction Agents for Customs and Border Protection, the two hunt drug smugglers, human traffickers, and other criminals who hide in the vastness of the waters off southern California.

One night, Finn and Diego track a phantom boat off the Los Angeles coast, but it disappears before they can intercept it. They find a dead body in its wake, ravaged by sharks. Their investigation into the floater stalls when Finn is accused of using excessive force following the death of a suspected drug smuggler. Then Diego is murdered—and Finn is the number-one suspect.

As he races to find the real killer and save his marriage, Finn is forced to partner with Linda Blake, the desperate captain of the Pacific Belle and mother of Lucy, a very sick little girl, to attempt the one thing he has devoted his life to stopping.

In order to clear his name and save a child’s life, Finn must smuggle narcotics by sea into the United States…and avoid the net that his CBP colleagues have cast for him.

REVIEWS

"Reminded me of an old-fashioned Jack London sailing novel hijacked by Walter White." 
— The Saturday Paper

“ [A] thrill-a-moment first novel…The ending is an unexpected nail-biter that crackles with tension.”
— Publishers Weekly

"The temptation is to dodge reviewing this splendid crime novel and just bark orders: Buy it! Recommend it! Push it on anyone who loves suspense and action served with hard-boiled style! The writing is exuberant yet controlled, the plot is twisty and devious yet easily tracked, the characters are freshly imagined ... The boat chases are the best since the early Bond novels, the revelations are startling, and the bourbon scenes make you thirsty."
— Booklist (starred review)

Gilly’s debut is a real page-turner filled with thrills, chills, and unexpected surprises."
— Kirkus Reviews

“DEVIL'S HARBOR is a fast-paced, sophisticated thriller, filled with twists, turns and compelling characters that will stay with the reader long after they’ve read the exciting final pages. Alex Gilly is a writer to be reckoned with — one that knows his territory, whether it is a speedboat trapped in an offshore gale or how to aim a rifle from a pitching deck. This is a book that operates deliciously in the shadows beneath the dark Pacific waters surface and in the darker places in men’s hearts. DEVIL'S HARBOR is a fine debut that will keep readers up late at night."
— John Katzenbach, global bestselling author of HART'S WAR and THE MADMAN'S TALE

“You're there, amidst the action, feeling, hearing, even smelling the tension. Tons of skullduggery keeps you guessing right to the end. This is one of those labyrinths of mystery readers crave."
— Steve Berry, #1 internationally bestselling author of THE LINCOLN MYTH

“Hooked me from page one! Dark, knowing, and suspenseful, with a twisty undertow of impending tragedy. This timely and provocative thriller—with its complex hero, cinematic setting, and heartbreaking consequences—makes debut author Alex Gilly a must-read.”
— Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of TRUTH BE TOLD

"DEVIL'S HARBOR is one of those rare thrillers with a bark to match its bite, a vibrant, high energy thrill ride with a subject both timely and topical. Alex Gilly's debut plumbs the waters off Southern California for a drug-infested tale of treachery and murder, one layer wrapped neatly upon another while remaining utterly unpredictable. Echoing Don Winslow, T. Jefferson Parker, and James Hall at their level best, Gilly proves to be as polished a writer as he is a storyteller and DEVIL'S HARBOR is a can't miss great read."
— Jon Land, bestselling and award-winning author of STRONG DARKNESS