Picked by Coastal Adventure Series fans

Here are 8 books that Coastal Adventure Series fans have personally recommended once you finish the Coastal Adventure Series series. Shepherd is a community of authors and super-readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Book cover of Low Tide

Don Rich Author Of Coastal Jury

From my list on coastal mystery and adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an entrepreneur who was born literally within sight of the Intracoastal Waterway in South Florida. Got my first boat (a dinghy) when I was six. I used to drive an airboat on Lake Okeechobee and learned to fly back when I was a teenager. Since then, I’ve flown over a dozen different types of planes and even a helicopter. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Antilles. In my late teens I worked on various private sportfishing boats in Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas. With this much time spent on, in, under, or around the water, I was destined to write coastal novels. 

Don's book list on coastal mystery and adventure

Don Rich Why Don loves this book

Dawn Lee was a friend and an inspiration to me. Cancer took her from us way too soon, but she left behind a large legacy of great books that were set on the Gulf coast in the panhandle of Florida. Low Tide is the first book in her Forgotten Coast Florida Suspense series which launched her into the bestseller ranks. If you ask anyone who’s read her what makes her writing so special, they’ll all tell you it’s her uniquely crafted characters. The plots and the twists of her stories are top-notch as well, but the characters are simply amazing.

By Dawn Lee McKenna ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Low Tide as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Apalachicola, Florida, sinister things are afoot, as sinister things tend to be.Lt. Maggie Redmond is called to a crime scene on St. George Island, where she is met with the body of Gregory Boudreaux. The medical examiner calls it a suicide, but no one knows that Maggie has a horrible connection to the dead man.When Gregory’s uncle, Bennett Boudreaux, the richest and scariest man in town, takes a sudden interest in Maggie, people start to wonder, Maggie included. Maggie knows he may suspect her of killing his nephew, but she finds herself slowly drawn to the man. As Maggie…


Book cover of Hold Back the Night

Armand Rosamilia Author Of Shake Down

From my list on tropical author thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am such a huge fan of Thrillers. Always have been, since I started reading Dean Koontz at 12. The Tropical Authors listed are some of my favorites, but they are a stepping stone to other great authors who write unique thrillers as well. I hope you’ll check them out, and let me know if you find a new favorite. I also love suggestions as well. (Of other authors, please don’t be tacky and suggest your own book!) 

Armand's book list on tropical author thrillers

Armand Rosamilia Why Armand loves this book

The author’s work with Dawn Lee McKenna might be more fighting for this list (check out The Stillwaters Suspense Series) but I absolutely love this series because the main characters are fun to follow along with. They are so multi-dimensional, and the dialogue is outstanding. I could read chapter after chapter of them chatting about nothing, and still enjoy it. The action is well-written and not hokey, which I love. The twists and turns will leave you wanting more, and I cannot wait to read more from Axel in the future. You should, too! 

By Axel Blackwell ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Hold Back the Night as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

4:23 a.m. The phone rings. The officer on the other end says, “It’s a bad one, Darren. Can you come?” Darren McDaniel has worked dozens of homicides in his years as a detective. It’s a dark and gritty business, and he’s prepared to handle whatever it throws at him. Or so he once believed.The pre-teen girl is dead, dressed in a white princess gown, lying on a bus stop bench. There’s a steel chain clamped to her ankle. A cryptic message scrawled across the booth’s dusty glass wall may be the only clue.As McDaniel plunges into the case, he isn’t…


Book cover of Fallen Out

Armand Rosamilia Author Of Shake Down

From my list on tropical author thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am such a huge fan of Thrillers. Always have been, since I started reading Dean Koontz at 12. The Tropical Authors listed are some of my favorites, but they are a stepping stone to other great authors who write unique thrillers as well. I hope you’ll check them out, and let me know if you find a new favorite. I also love suggestions as well. (Of other authors, please don’t be tacky and suggest your own book!) 

Armand's book list on tropical author thrillers

Armand Rosamilia Why Armand loves this book

Jesse McDermitt is the star of over twenty books in this series, and Wayne is still full of stories for his main character. This book sets the pacing and the storytelling for the entire series, and it takes you on a rollercoaster ride. Reading it, you can smell the fresh Florida Keys air and hear the waves crashing on the beach and against the side of a boat. A fantastic start to this series, which continues to impress me as well as a lot of other readers. Once you start the first one, you’ll dive into the rest. Guaranteed. 

By Wayne Stinnett ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Fallen Out as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first book in USA Today Bestselling Author, Wayne Stinnett's exciting Caribbean Adventure Series.

When Jesse McDermitt leaves the Marine Corps, he has no idea what he will do for the rest of his life. He only knows he doesn't want to spend the coming winter anywhere cold. His greatest skill is killing people from up to a mile away and he knows there aren't many job opportunities in the civilian world for that.

Jesse also knows his way around boats and has an old friend living free and easy in the Florida Keys. Being an experienced diver and angler,…


Book cover of Deadly Sommer

Armand Rosamilia Author Of Shake Down

From my list on tropical author thrillers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am such a huge fan of Thrillers. Always have been, since I started reading Dean Koontz at 12. The Tropical Authors listed are some of my favorites, but they are a stepping stone to other great authors who write unique thrillers as well. I hope you’ll check them out, and let me know if you find a new favorite. I also love suggestions as well. (Of other authors, please don’t be tacky and suggest your own book!) 

Armand's book list on tropical author thrillers

Armand Rosamilia Why Armand loves this book

A great start to a new series, but you really need to read anything by this author. He has an easy cadence with his stories, and his characters are layered and can surprise you. So can the ‘bad guy’ in this one, too. Lots of diving and puzzle-solving in this adventure story, with the secondary characters equally as exciting as the main one. I’m looking forward to the second book, coming in 2022. 

By Nicholas Harvey ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Deadly Sommer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One missing girl. Two lives on the line. Four treacherous challenges.

Nora Sommer's first case for the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service is one she'll never forget - if she survives.

When the daughter of a wealthy businessman is taken, Nora is first on the scene and unwittingly 'chosen' by the kidnapper. With the crime live-streamed across the internet, the eyes of the world are upon her as she faces a sequence of difficult challenges with the life of the kidnapped girl hanging on Nora's success - or failure.

Deadly Sommer is the thrilling first book in the Nora Sommer…


Book cover of Backwater Channel

Don Rich Author Of Coastal Jury

From my list on coastal mystery and adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an entrepreneur who was born literally within sight of the Intracoastal Waterway in South Florida. Got my first boat (a dinghy) when I was six. I used to drive an airboat on Lake Okeechobee and learned to fly back when I was a teenager. Since then, I’ve flown over a dozen different types of planes and even a helicopter. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Antilles. In my late teens I worked on various private sportfishing boats in Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas. With this much time spent on, in, under, or around the water, I was destined to write coastal novels. 

Don's book list on coastal mystery and adventure

Don Rich Why Don loves this book

I first started reading Becker with his Mac Travis series (which I also loved), but when he created Kurt Hunter, I was totally hooked. He and I both share a love for the area around Biscayne Bay, which is where he set the Kurt Hunter Mysteries. Hunter is a Park Ranger who patrols and protects the underwater national park in that area. This creates great and unique plot opportunities, of which Becker takes full advantage. Oh, and then there are the rare saltwater crocodiles that make appearances throughout Backwater Channel. Real creatures, unique to the area. Really nasty, too!

By Steven Becker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Backwater Channel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

You’d think a nuclear power plant was dangerous enough …

That’s what special agent Kurt Hunter thought until, while out fishing, he witnesses a murder at the Turkey Point nuclear power plant. After being assigned the case, Kurt is pulled into the convoluted politics of Miami only to find out that the embattled power plant is only a pawn in a more deadly game.

Greed and corruption are nothing new to pristine Biscayne Bay. With the plant's miles of cooling canals providing essential habitat for several endangered species, Kurt is thrown into a rift between warring environmentalists and power-hungry corporate…


Book cover of Deep Focus

Don Rich Author Of Coastal Jury

From my list on coastal mystery and adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an entrepreneur who was born literally within sight of the Intracoastal Waterway in South Florida. Got my first boat (a dinghy) when I was six. I used to drive an airboat on Lake Okeechobee and learned to fly back when I was a teenager. Since then, I’ve flown over a dozen different types of planes and even a helicopter. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Antilles. In my late teens I worked on various private sportfishing boats in Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas. With this much time spent on, in, under, or around the water, I was destined to write coastal novels. 

Don's book list on coastal mystery and adventure

Don Rich Why Don loves this book

As a veteran actor of stage and screen, Sullivan is well versed in the art of movie-making. In his best-selling book, Deep Focus, he blends this along with his love of SCUBA diving and the Cayman Islands into a great coastal mystery and suspense read. As he asks in his book description, “Who wouldn’t want to shoot a movie in paradise? What could possibly go wrong?” As it turns out, plenty of things. So, grab a good sipping rum, settle into your favorite reading chair, and prepare to be entertained.

By Nick Sullivan ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Deep Focus as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Who wouldn't want to shoot a movie in paradise? What could possibly go wrong?

Divemasters Boone Fischer and Emily Durand have left the relative bustle of Cozumel to start anew on the sleepy Sister Island of Little Cayman; population 200, give or take. In the Cayman Islands, the reefs are so spectacular and extensive, you can dive a different site every day of the year.

When a prominent film studio decides to shoot their upcoming science-fiction flick in the waters of the Caribbean island of Grand Cayman, everything initially goes well. Eccentric director Heinz Werner is brought on board, and…


Book cover of The Lonely Silver Rain

Rob Avery Author Of Close-Hauled

From my list on a hard-nosed detective series.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in California when cameras had flashcubes, skateboards had clay wheels, and kids longed for a lime-green Schwinn Stingray. Sailing, surfing, beach parties, and rock music were staples of my youth. Over time, we lost the Beatles but found the Allman Brothers, Zeppelin, and The Who. Disco had not yet destroyed us. I ditched the skateboard but kept sailing. Later, I became a criminal defense attorney. My profession inspires me to write realistic mystery/thriller novels. My sailing provides the setting. My goal is to give readers a solid, entertaining tale while bringing them to warm waters and island cultures and putting a little sand between their toes.

Rob's book list on a hard-nosed detective series

Rob Avery Why Rob loves this book

Travis McGee lives aboard a houseboat he won in a poker game. A self-described “salvage consultant,” he’ll keep half of whatever he recovers for you. Travis locates a stolen boat for a friend, but this offends some South American drug dealers and they put him on a hit list. A subplot develops when somebody leaves little cats made of pipe cleaners on his houseboat. I enjoyed the strong female characters in this book and the non-stop action. The resolution is wonderful and shows a side of McGee the reader has never seen before. This is the last of twenty-one Travis McGee novels written by MacDonald.

By John D. MacDonald ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Lonely Silver Rain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From a beloved master of crime fiction, The Lonely Silver Rain is one of many classic novels featuring Travis McGee, the hard-boiled detective who lives on a houseboat.
 
Travis McGee has luck to thank for his reputation as a first-rate salvager of stolen boats. Now Billy Ingraham, a self-made tycoon, is betting that McGee can locate his $700,000 custom cruiser. McGee isn’t so sure. He knows all too well the dangerous link between Florida boatjackings and the drug trade, and he’s vowed never to swim with the sharks—but if he wants to keep his head (AKA finances) above water, swim…


Book cover of Stolen Sommer

Don Rich Author Of Coastal Jury

From my list on coastal mystery and adventure.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an entrepreneur who was born literally within sight of the Intracoastal Waterway in South Florida. Got my first boat (a dinghy) when I was six. I used to drive an airboat on Lake Okeechobee and learned to fly back when I was a teenager. Since then, I’ve flown over a dozen different types of planes and even a helicopter. As a kid, I spent a lot of time in the Bahamas, Virgin Islands, and the Antilles. In my late teens I worked on various private sportfishing boats in Florida, Georgia, and the Bahamas. With this much time spent on, in, under, or around the water, I was destined to write coastal novels. 

Don's book list on coastal mystery and adventure

Don Rich Why Don loves this book

I have a deep and long-standing love of coastal adventure books, and Stolen Sommer is the best I’ve ever read. Yes, that’s a bold statement, but Nick Harvey’s work with this book resonated with me and backs up my choice completely. I even found myself holding my breath at a couple of points. Harvey keeps the reader guessing throughout the story with his carefully crafted characters that seem real enough to step off the pages. While that’s the ultimate goal of every author (at least it should be), few do it as well as Nick Harvey does in this great mystery that’s set in the beautiful Cayman Islands.

By Nicholas Harvey ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Stolen Sommer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new crime. An old secret. A familiar demon.

When the Cayman Islands police investigate a burglary, Constable Nora Sommer recognises the victim from a past she's desperate to forget.

As thefts continue, consuming the department's focus and resources, Nora can't shake her new found knowledge - a guilty man living a happy life… behind a lie.

A missing girl adds further strain, and with little evidence in either case, Nora develops an improbable theory she's determined to prove.

How far will Nora go to right the wrong one man will do anything to hide?

Find out in book two…