Deception Cove

by Owen Laukkanen

  Hold fast to love, Mason thought. Hold fast. “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

  And before he knew what he was doing, he was standing up, walking down the aisle of the empty bus to the front, where the driver sat listening to Springsteen, watching the two-lane macadam unfurl ahead.

  He was the same driver who had taken Mason into Seattle the night Cole Sweeney ran him out of town. He recognized Mason in the rearview mirror, eyed him, suspicious, and Mason met his eyes, sheepish, and then he took the plunge.

  “I’m real sorry,” he told the driver. “But I need you to let me out here.”

  Acknowledgments

  First and foremost, thanks to RainCoast Dog Rescue Society for bringing the real Lucy into my life. Jesse Adams and Brielle Turpin found Lucy in a California kill shelter with only days left to live, and they scooped her up and brought her to Canada, and I’ll always be grateful for it. RainCoast rescues and rehomes dogs from all over the world, and their work is in every sense a labor of love. Visit them at raincoastdogrescue.com to learn more (and donate!).

  Thanks to my agent, Stacia Decker, who earned her commission on this book by including cute pictures of the real-life Lucy in her pitch letters to publishers, and who landed us a wonderful home at Mulholland Books.

  Thanks to my editor, Emily Giglierano, for coaxing this book from its rough beginnings to the polished product you’re holding in your hands, and for doing it with humor, irreverence, and an astute editorial eye. I look forward to plotting out many more Lucy, Jess, and Mason adventures together!

  Thanks to Reagan Arthur, Josh Kendall, Betsy Uhrig, designer Marie Mundaca, and everyone at Mulholland and Little, Brown for welcoming me into the fold. It’s a privilege to be part of your family!

  Thanks also to copyeditor Erica Stahler for keeping me honest, and for saving my bacon more times than I’d care to admit.

  Thanks to Chris and Katrina Holm; Josh Christie and Emily Russo at Print: A Bookstore in Portland, Maine; Paul Swydan at the Silver Unicorn Bookstore in Acton, Massachusetts; Ed Aymar; Bill Bride; Erik Arneson; Lynn Pellerito Riehl and George Riehl; Robin and Jamie Agnew at the dearly departed Aunt Agatha’s Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Nick and Margret Petrie; Erica Ruth Neubauer; Jon and Ruth Jordan; Daniel Goldin at Boswell Books in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Mara Panich-Crouch and Chris LaTray at Fact and Fiction Books in Missoula, Montana; Jim Thomsen; and Jane and Dave Danielson at Eagle Harbor Books on beautiful Bainbridge Island, Washington.

  I’m also very grateful to McKenna Jordan, Sally Woods, and John McDougall at Murder by the Book in Houston; to Michelle Turlock Isler and her husband, Tommy Isler; to Barbara Peters, Patrick Millikin, Patrick King, and everyone at the Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, Arizona; to Jim Thane and Steve Shadow; to Meg King-Abraham, Devin Abraham, and Dennis Abraham at Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis; to Dan and Kate Malmon, Kristi Belcamino, Lynn Cronquist, Julie and Mike McKuras, and Alex Kent; to Anne Saller at Book Carnival in Orange, California; and to the rest of you lot: all of the readers, booksellers, and friends who’ve stuck with me on this ride.

  Thanks especially to Alexis May Tanner, who has my back in matters big and small, and—more importantly—has Lucy’s.

  Thanks, as always, to my family—Ethan Laukkanen, Ruth Sellers, Andrew Laukkanen, Terrence Laukkanen, Laura Mustard, and Little E—for love and inspiration.

  And thanks, of course, to Lucy. It was on walks together through the city that I rediscovered my love for writing, and so I owe this book to the hound, and so much more besides.

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  About the Author

  A former commercial fisherman and professional poker journalist, Owen Laukkanen is the author of six critically acclaimed Stevens and Windermere FBI thrillers, the nautical adventure Gale Force, and—as Owen Matthews—two highly inappropriate novels for young adults. A native of Vancouver, Canada, Laukkanen spends nearly every waking hour with his dog, Lucy, a six-year-old rescue pit bull whose hobbies include hiking, napping, and squirrels. Laukkanen and Lucy are currently at work on the second Jess Winslow–Mason Burke adventure.

  owenlaukkanen.com

  Instagram/Twitter: @OwenLaukkanen

  Facebook/TheOwenLaukkanen

  Also by Owen Laukkanen

  Gale Force

  Stevens & Windermere novels

  The Professionals

  Criminal Enterprise

  Kill Fee

  The Stolen Ones

  The Watcher in the Wall

  The Forgotten Girls