When PI Quint Mitchell volunteered to help with an archaeological survey in St. Augustine, he didn't count on digging up a murder victim. In the nation's oldest city, Mitchell discovers links to ancient sins, comes face to face with his own past, and unleashes powerful forces that will do anything to keep their secrets-even if it means taking his life. In this award-winning debut mystery, author Parker Francis taps into an undercurrent of violence hidden behind the sleepy facade of the historic town. When Mitchell's friend, the City Archaeologist, is charged with a brutal murder, he must find...

Sherman's troops burned it the first time. Now a serial arsonist threatens a small South Carolina town and private investigator Quint Mitchell is caught in the backdraft. When Quint follows the "Heartthrob Bandit" to the hamlet of Allendale, he finds himself in the crossfire of an ugly cultural war between an ultraconservative minister and the scientist who may have discovered proof of the oldest humans ever found in North America.

A reunion with an old friend turns deadly, and Quint Mitchell is plunged into a high stakes game of murder and kidnapping. Quint faces his most dangerous case yet, and this one is personal since one of the women taken is his girlfriend. With time running out, Quint and his friend, an ex-cop, dig through a series of baffling clues while battling ghosts from the past and a vicious drug dealer. Then there's the psychic in the purple evening gown. Can things get any worse? They can and they do as Hurricane Freda bears down on Florida's Gulf Coast. This rip-roaring thriller "will blow you away."