Crude Carrier: A Touchstone Agency Mystery

After a 17-year hiatus, Edgar-winner Burns (The Alvarez Journal) launches a promising new series featuring a father/daughter PI team in Denver, Colo. When the parents of Third Officer Harold Rossi receive a terse letter informing them of their son's death aboard the supertanker Aurora Victorious, their efforts to get more details are ignored by the ship's owner, the Hercules Shipping Company. The Rossis hire James Raiford and Julie Campbell of the Touchstone Agency to try to learn more. After getting nowhere in the U.S., Julie heads to England to press for answers, and Raiford manages to wangle a temporary berth aboard the Aurora Victorious in the Persian Gulf as an electronics officer. As Julie fights for information in London, Raiford struggles for survival on a ship with a brutal first mate and a ragtag crew. Burns succeeds in making life aboard a huge oil tanker both fascinating and scary. Readers will look forward to the further adventures of Julie and Raiford. (Oct.)