Dive into 1970s Florida noir with detective Lena Carter’s chilling Everglades cases

OLD FLORIDA SECRETS NEVER STAY BURIED

Step into the dangerous 1970s Everglades with Detective Lena Carter—a woman who notices the clue everyone else overlooks.

Discover atmospheric mysteries filled with hidden evidence, environmental danger, dark water, family secrets, and crimes powerful people hoped the swamp would conceal.

Start with a free Lena Carter mystery or explore the complete Black Water Mystery Series.

EXPLORE THE BLACK WATER SERIES
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The Feather Ledger is a complete Lena Carter mystery set after the Black Water cases and before Painted Air, the first novel in the upcoming Air Series.

When poisoned birds begin falling over an Everglades rookery, Lena follows a trail of altered weather reports, false ceremonial clues, missing flight records, and evidence hidden inside paintings.

Inside this exclusive prequel, you will meet conservation researcher Colin Trathen, wildlife artists Elizabeth Evans and Sierra Williams, and young tribal historian Shawn “Savage” Osceola

Watch the birds. Watch the dust. And never trust a sky that looks too clean.

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Featured Books

Dive into Lena Carter’s shadowed Everglades cases.

A vintage detective’s notebook resting on aged parchment with a fountain pen and a faded Everglades map.
A vintage detective’s notebook resting on aged parchment with a fountain pen and a faded Everglades map.
THE LENA CARTER MYSTERIES

Old Florida noir mysteries set in the dangerous Everglades of the 1970s.

Detective Lena Carter solves crimes by studying the details others dismiss—the silence of birds, disturbed mud, altered water, cigarette ash, missing objects, nervous gestures, and lies that do not fit the landscape.

THE BLACK WATER MYSTERY SERIES

Read the Black Water Mystery Series in order.

Book 1

BLACK WATER WAKE

A death in the dark Everglades water pulls Detective Lena Carter into a dangerous investigation filled with buried evidence, uneasy alliances, and secrets someone is willing to kill to protect.

A typewriter with a half-finished manuscript page titled ‘Everglades Mysteries’ illuminated by a flashlight.
A typewriter with a half-finished manuscript page titled ‘Everglades Mysteries’ illuminated by a flashlight.

Book 2

DUSK OVER BLACK WATER

As dusk settles over the Everglades, Lena follows a trail of fading clues into a case where the water hides more than evidence—and the people closest to the truth have the most to fear.

Book 3

BLACK WATER VEIL

Secrets, oil, land, and murder collide as Lena uncovers a scheme hidden behind the beauty of Old Florida. The truth is not buried. It is being deliberately concealed.

Book 4

BLACK WATER RECKONING

The Black Water cases reach their final reckoning. Old lies rise to the surface, dangerous alliances break apart, and Lena must follow every unfinished clue before the Everglades claims the truth forever.

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Complete the Series
Free Prequel

The Black Water cases are closed. The air has only begun to speak.

Read the exclusive mystery that connects the Black Water Series to Painted Air, the first book in the upcoming Air Series.

COMING NEXT: PAINTED AIR

Air Series—Book One

A strange bird band, an altered painting, and crimes written across the Everglades sky lead Lena into a mystery involving poisoned wildlife, stolen cultural history, hidden flight routes, and a pilot who disappeared decades earlier.

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Permitted Ground

Standing Ground

Hollow Ground

Broken Ground

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woman wearing yellow long-sleeved dress under white clouds and blue sky during daytime

Lena Carter’s world pulled me deep into the Everglades’ shadows—unforgettable.

J. M.

A foggy Everglades swamp at dusk with faint flashlight beams cutting through the mist.
A foggy Everglades swamp at dusk with faint flashlight beams cutting through the mist.

Marie Fletcher’s storytelling feels like a secret case file come to life.

R. T.

Vintage typewriter keys with a weathered detective file and a bronze magnifying glass.
Vintage typewriter keys with a weathered detective file and a bronze magnifying glass.
★★★★★
★★★★★

Our Services

Dive into the mysteries of the Everglades with immersive storytelling and atmospheric design.

Book Features

Detailed synopses and vintage-style covers that pull you into 1970s Florida noir.

A foggy Everglades swamp at dusk with shadowy silhouettes of cypress trees and flickering flashlight beams.
A foggy Everglades swamp at dusk with shadowy silhouettes of cypress trees and flickering flashlight beams.
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An old typewriter on aged parchment with a flickering candle casting warm light in a dark room.

Caregiving Tools

Gentle digital aids designed to support your caregiving journey.

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A serene workspace with a tablet displaying a caregiving app, surrounded by soft lighting and comforting decor.
Daily Planner

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Mood Tracker

Keep tabs on emotional well-being. A 10-minute Read to escape with Lena Carter is waiting below.

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