A YouTubing cruiser couple sails the world living their best life—until one of them goes missing and their whole world capsizes, in this captivating psychological thriller perfect for fans of Something in the Water and Saint X.
ON THE SURFACE
by Rachel McGuire
Crooked Lane Books, July 2024
Sawyer Stone III and Dani Fox, a young couple who spends their time circumnavigating the globe aboard their 42′ sailboat and documenting it for their fledgling YouTube channel Sailing with the Foxes, have anchored in Exuma, in the Bahamas.
As they wait for the price of crypto to rebound so they can provision and continue their journey, they’re partying and exploring with their fellow cruisers off shore. But one night, Dani vanishes after a boat party, and Sawyer has no memory of her disappearance.
The search for Dani is initially fueled by concerns that she disappeared during one of her daily ocean swims, but friends soon reveal that Dani’s relationship with Sawyer is not quite as perfect as everyone thinks it is.
Meanwhile, Royal Bahamas Police Force Inspector Knowles has her hands full trying to keep the investigation on course as the story of the American woman missing in the Bahamas goes viral and the internet sleuths unearth secrets from Sawyer’s past. Sawyer Stone is far from perfect, but is he a murderer?
This twisty, edge-of-your-seat thriller will keep readers gripped all the way through the final satisfying turn.
Rachel McGuire is the pen name for the collaboration between Rachel Graham and Lee-Ann McGuire Whitlock.
Rachel Graham has worked as a firefighter, paramedic, clinical researcher, and health consultant. She lives in San Diego, California with her family.
Lee-Ann McGuire Whitlock is a former lawyer, serial entrepreneur, and national pub trivia champion several times over. She and her husband, two children, two Cavalier King Charles spaniels split their time between Arkansas and Vancouver, Canada.
ON THE SURFACE is their first thriller.
Shivering and bruised, a teen wakes up on the side of a dirt road with no memory of how she got there—or who she is. A passing officer takes her to the police station, and not long after, a frantic man arrives. He’s been searching for her for hours. He has her school ID, her birth certificate, and even family photos. 
Joni Ackerman’s decision to raise children came with a steep cost. Twenty-five years ago, she was a pioneering filmmaker, one of the few women to break into the all-male club of Hollywood feature film directors. But she and her husband Paul had always wanted a family, and his ascending career at a premier television network provided a safety net. They have recently transplanted to Brooklyn, so that Paul can launch a major East Coast production studio, when a scandal rocks the film industry and forces Joni to revisit a secret from long ago involving a powerful man who abused women, including the friend of her youth, Val.
Nikki Serafino is enjoying the sunset from her boat in her beloved port city of Naples, Italy when she discovers the body of a strangled man in the warm waters of the bay. As an investigator with a security unit, Nikki is certainly no stranger to violence, but this case grows complicated when the autopsy reveals that the victim has been boiled. And the next day, Nikki comes across another dead body in an abandoned car – surely two bodies in as many days is no coincidence. While local police suspect a lowlevel crime syndicate is responsible, Nikki isn’t so sure. But when she delves into the case, her search for answers brings her face to face with the possibility that those closest to her are living darker lives than she wants to admit. To catch a killer, Nikki must untangle the cords of past and present that keep her and her family vulnerable to Naples’ dangerous sides.