Scorpion Reef — Charles Williams

Aboard a ghost ship, sailors discover a tale of treasure, lust, and murder

When the tanker finds the yacht, she is far from land, adrift in the middle of the Caribbean. No one is onboard, but the hold is stuffed with cash, the coffeepot is still warm, and a hint of perfume hangs in the air. The passengers have vanished, but the ship's log tells a chilling story of the madness peculiar to the search for sunken riches.

The journal was written by salvage diver Bill Manning, who was out of money and out of luck when he met a statuesque Swede named Shannon. She and her husband hire him to sail them to the Yucatan coast, to find a plane that went down carrying untold wealth. But a pair of gangsters is pursuing them, hoping for a crack at the treasure as well. For the sake of Shannon's beauty Manning will chase this fortune, knowing it will take him to the height of riches, or to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea.