[Tom Dugan 02] • Deadly Coast

DUGAN THOUGHT SOMALI PIRATES WERE BAD NEWS. THEN IT GOT WORSE.

As Tom Dugan and Alex Kairouz, his partner and best friend, struggle to ransom their ship and crew from murderous Somali pirates, things take a turn for the worse. A US Navy contracted tanker with a full load of jet fuel is also hijacked, not by garden variety pirates, but by terrorists with links to Al Qaeda, changing the playing field completely.

With a possible link between piracy and terrorism now in play, the US and British goverments order the halt of all negotiations for captive ships, and enraged pirates ratchet up the mistreatment of the captive crews. When one of their crewman is murdered in front of him on a live video feed, a frustrated Dugan takes matters into his own hands and starts his own rescue operation, only to stumble across something far more sinister -- a rogue salvage operation for a long lost weapon of mass destruction. Isolated at sea on an old tanker previously destined for the ship breakers, Dugan and his hastily assembled little force of Russian mercenaries find themselves the last line of defense between the world and a terrifying bio-weapon.

Weaving historical fact with speculative fiction, Deadly Coast takes the reader from London board rooms into the very real world of modern day pirates -- and their victims.

About the AuthorI grew up on the Gulf Coast and a seagoing career just came naturally. After graduation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, I sailed as a ship's officer for a number of years and then spent a decade in shore side ship management before becoming an independent (i.e. self-employed) marine surveyor in 1986. Some years later I formed a company specializing in ship construction management and supervision. I've been a lot of places, seen interesting things, and lived for extended periods in both South America and the Far East (Singapore and China). By far the most interesting aspect of travel (and life in general) is the people you meet along the way, and I've had the good fortune to encounter a lot of interesting characters. Bits and pieces of some of them make their way into the characters of my novels.

I write the type of stories I like to read. For me, that means ordinary people forced by circumstances into extraordinary situations. I dislike stories in which the hero is some combination of brain surgeon/nuclear physicist (or who has some equally far-fetched skill set) and who just coincidentally happens to be an ace helicopter pilot and a fifth degree black belt in several different martial arts. Like the rest of us mortals, my characters are normal people who screw up from time to time and have to live with the results.

I'm currently retired from the marine business and living in Tennessee with my lovely (and patient) wife of 39 years. Our current and mutual ambition is to return to Singapore for several months each year. In addition to writing and travel, I occasionally (when cornered) complete a task on my 'honey do' list, and from time to time, join my wife in badgering our children to produce grandchildren. All in all, a rewarding life.