A coastal death unravels a conspiracy that puts a relentless detective in the crosshairs.
A body on Florida’s coast. A detective who refuses to let silence win. When a young woman washes ashore in Crystal Cove, Detective Ava Martinez is pulled into an investigation that exposes ecological sabotage, corporate greed, and a town built on buried truths. As the case deepens, Ava’s partner is murdered—turning the search for answers into a personal reckoning. Every lead drags her deeper into a coastal community where beauty masks danger, and the next body could be hers.
This is a layered, slow‑burn eco‑thriller that unfolds through intersecting investigations and atmospheric detail. Readers who enjoy immersive settings, complex investigations, and stories where the natural world becomes both witness and battleground will feel right at home.
What readers experience: Relentless suspense as Ava races corruption and time,
Atmospheric Florida setting—mangroves, inlets, and wildlife woven into the mystery, Emotional depth rooted in grief, loyalty, and the cost of uncovering the truth, Eco‑thriller urgency blending environmental stakes with pulse‑pounding crime
Ava Martinez will risk everything to expose the truth before silence claims her too.
Perfect for readers who love: Eco‑thrillers with moral weight, Crime fiction layered with atmosphere and realism, Slow‑burn mysteries that escalate into high‑stakes justice, Florida noir, coastal suspense, and investigative thrillers.
Not for readers who want: Light Florida adventure, nonstop action from page one, or a simple black‑and‑white thriller.
"Bennett’s Swimming with Manatees is a taut, atmospheric eco‑thriller in which expressive prose and plot‑driven dialogue propel a morally urgent investigation; Ava Martinez emerges as a compelling, determined lead whose pursuit of truth exposes corporate malfeasance and gives the novel real thematic heft, while Bennett’s vivid rendering of Florida’s coastline and marine science grounds the suspense in a richly realized setting."
- BlueInk Review
"An eco‑noir that traces the human cost of corporate influence across a coastal community. Ava Martinez returns in a gripping environmental mystery that exposes corruption and the price of profit in a small Florida town. Corporate secrets, crooked power, one relentless detective—Swimming with Manatees pulls no punches."
- Foreword Clarion Review
Firebird Award
Literary Titan Gold Award
PenCraft Award for Suspense
Finalist in the American Writing Awards
Finalist in the Indies Today Awards
