A sniper.
A surf contest.
A father with everything to lose.
Pismo Beach Sniper
A Thad Hanlon/ Bri de la Guerra Mystery Book 3
by Topper Jones
Genre: Private Investigator Mystery
When sniper fire erupts at the Central Coast Surf Trials at
Pismo Beach, private investigator Thad Hanlon is thrust into every parent’s
worst nightmare. His eleven-year-old son and two teammates are shot while
surfing—one critically injured—plunging the contest into chaos and terrorizing
the tight-knit Five Cities beach community.
The shooter disappears, torching his hideout, leaving only questions in his
wake. Random attack—or the first move in a deadly game? Why target young
surfers? And is the marksman finished…or just getting started?
Urged by desperate parents, Hanlon and his sharp-witted partner, Bri de la
Guerra, race to protect the kids as they train for the upcoming West Coast
Championships. But as the detective duo close in on the sniper, they uncover a
chilling truth: the surf team isn’t his ultimate target—and the nightmare is
far from over.
This gripping thriller will keep you turning pages late into the night.
What Critics Are Saying
“Engaging characters, wit, and suspense elevate this rip-curling
page-turner.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Pismo Beach Sniper is a tense and fast-moving mystery
with real emotional stakes. The target audience is readers who enjoy mystery,
private investigator fiction, crime thrillers, action suspense, coastal noir,
and family-driven detective series. Readers who like Robert Crais’s Elvis Cole
and Joe Pike novels may appreciate the same mix of banter, loyalty, and
wounded-hearted heroism, though Jones swaps Los Angeles grit for Central Coast
surf and spiritual undertow.”
— Literary Titan
“It felt like I was reading something akin to James Patterson: fast,
frighteningly imaginative, and furious with action. Pismo Beach
Sniper is a deftly plotted story of a man doing everything to keep his
child safe in a world where not only waves can kill.”
—R. Oserio, Readers’ Favorite Reviews
Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads
Chapter 1
I was sitting under a beach canopy in the spectator
section of the California Central Coast Surf Trials, watching the first heat of
the semifinals, when I heard the sonic crack of a large firearm. Something
long-range like the scoped high-precision rifle my business partner, Bri, uses
to qualify at the Five Cities Shoot’n Center.
“What was that?” my son’s surf coach asked. Gev Burian
was sitting on my left. “Sounded like it came from behind us.”
Bri de la Guerra, on my right, stood to check things
out. “Cityside, yeah. I’m thinking .30 cal. Maybe three-oh-eight.”
I swiveled to scan the low-rise buildings of downtown
Pismo—the seafood cafes, souvenir shops, and beach rentals. Clumps of tourists
meandering down narrow Pomeroy Avenue stopped. Some gazed skyward, herd-like,
examining the highest roofline—the old Hotel Pier Vista. Others rushed indoors.
When a second blast didn’t happen soon after, I saw
pedestrians raise their palms in the classic “what’s up” shrug before
continuing their weekend saunter. Some, trailing well-groomed dogs on leashes,
took refuge in their smartphones.
I turned to face the Pacific as Bri sat in her folding
chair. Coach Gev got out his binocs and we rejoined the hundreds of other
parents, friends, and supporters along the beach to watch the tournament.
Three junior surfers, ages eleven to twelve—”grommets”
in surf jargon—were perched on their boards 100 yards offshore in the chilly
morning waters north of Pismo Pier. The contestants wore different colored
jerseys over their wetsuits. Red jersey had priority takeoff; the next wave was
his. As the kids waited for the sets to roll in, they bobbed in the mushy surf
like sitting ducks.
“Yellow’s down!” Coach Gev shouted. He handed me his
binoculars. “The kid’s slumped sideways off his board.”
“Cramp, maybe?” I pressed the field glasses to the
bridge of my nose, fiddling with the adjustments. “January water temps are
cold, fifty-three, fifty-four degrees. These temps? He should have worn a 5/4/3
mm instead. Maybe even a—”
There was a second sonic crack. I watched Yellow’s board
splinter into pieces. Chunks of the foam core ringed the downed contestant as
he struggled to keep his head above water.
Red jersey, closest to Yellow, dropped prone and paddled
with fury toward him. Just as he was about to grab Yellow’s arm, I heard shot
three. There was a splash near the tail of Red’s board.
Red turned turtle, flipping his tri-fin surfboard over
so the bottom faced the sky. Only his hands, gripping the sides of the
shortboard, were exposed.
Shot four took out Red’s middle fin. Shots five and six
took out the two outer fins. Red let go of his board and sank out of view.
That left the eleven-year-old in the light blue jersey
as the only contender sitting on the water. My son, Zael, was in full
competition mode, hyper-focused on The One Thing—a wave with his name on it. A
wave built by the sea gods just for him, for his performance, his tricks, the
ones he’d stick. The 10-rating he’d be awarded by all three judges. That
perfect ten.
Zael was in the zone, tunnel vision his ally. Chaos
bending to will. He had no clue what had happened to Red and Yellow.
I popped out of my beach chair, sprinted from our shade
canopy to the shoreline, and screamed as I waded in. “Duck and cover, Zael! Get
down! Now!” I waved my arms, zigzagging through the shallows.
My son wasn’t hearing me, wasn’t seeing me, wasn’t even
attuned to my panic despite his gift for sensing things unspoken. Zael paddled
hard for takeoff, slid into the three-foot wave breaking off the pier, and
dropped into the curl. He drove down the line, pumping his board to build
speed, then bottom turned, and angled toward the lip to launch into his
signature 360-degree air rotation and—
Blam.
Shot seven.
Zael’s right leg buckled. He lost balance and angled into a dive as far away from his board as his leash would let him. When he didn’t come up for air...
Oceano Beach Bedlam
A Thad Hanlon/ Bri de la Guerra Mystery Book 2
Hanlon & de la Guerra have gone full service. In this
second book in the surfing crime-fighter mystery series, Thad Hanlon and his
martial-arts-obsessed partner, Bri de la Guerra, hang out their shingle as
newly licensed private investigators. Now in addition to fraud-busting, the two
detectives do it all. Background checks. Surveillance. Even finding lost souls.
Just about anything that requires sleuthing or going undercover.
All they need is a client.
That’s when a former exotic dancer from Bakersfield CA shows up looking for her
surf prodigy son who’s gone missing in the wake of cult violence terrorizing
the California Central Coast.
What Critics
Are Saying
“A crunchy detective novel set in the world of California surfers.
Jones delivers a proper beach read, both in form and content.”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Honestly, I had a blast with this one. Oceano Beach
Bedlam is a smart and entertaining read. If you like your mysteries with
surfboards, sass, and just enough heart to keep you caring, this one’s for you.
It’s a great pick for fans of offbeat detectives, fast dialogue, and
sun-drenched noir with a brain and a soul. I’d recommend it to readers who
enjoy Janet Evanovich, Robert Crais, or the beachier edges of Elmore Leonard.”
— Literary Titan
Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads
All That Glisters
A Thad Hanlon/ Bri de la Guerra Mystery Book 1
When the facts don’t add up in his surf buddy’s bizarre
death, forensic consultant (and daddy-to-be) Thaddeus Hanlon investigates,
volunteering to go undercover to pick up where best friend Rafi Silva left off
in a secret probe of the U.S. gold stockpile—every last bullion bar.
Rafi’s spunky fiancée, Bri de la Guerra, has suspicions of her own and soon
joins Thad on the hunt for answers. Together, the two amateur sleuths delve
deep, stumbling onto a financial a-stock-alypse in the making, triggering a
brutal manhunt along the Eastern seaboard meant to silence anyone looking to
set the ledger straight.
What Critics
Are Saying
“Jones’ action-packed murder mystery...is
tension-fueled with plenty of twists and two appealing sleuths. In this
detective series opener, Thad Hanlon, a 27-year-old forensic accountant,
becomes the target of a murderous cadre when he accepts a new assignment that
takes him from Los Angeles to the East Coast center of power. Woven into the
gripping plot are sensual, detailed descriptions of Thad’s adventures riding
the waves, which should please the surfer crowd and afford others a visceral
sense of the experience.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“All That Glisters by Topper Jones is well-written with not a
single dull moment. I liked the way the author included elements of action,
mystery, and even some cyber investigating. Overall, I found this book to be an
amazing read.”
—Sefina Hawke, Readers’ Favorite Reviews
Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads
Writing
as Topper Jones, award-winning author Christopher G. Jones, Ph.D., delivers
detective fiction with a dash of romance, plenty of action, and memorable
characters. His Thad Hanlon & Bri de la Guerra Mystery Series has earned
Readers’ Favorite Five Stars and the Literary Titan Gold Book Awards.
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