Mapping the Glades — David Burton

A stolen million. A gangster who wants it back. A reclusive writer who doesn't give a damn. Mapping the Glades is a fast paced thriller set in the Everglades. An Ex-DEA agent, now a successful writer, is forced to go after a desperate California gangster. Ex-DEA agent, Harrison Park, now a successful writer who has lived in virtual seclusion on the edge of the Everglades for three years since the suspicious death of his wife. Trouble arrives with his step-son, Pauly, who Harrison believes was involved in his wife's death. With Pauly is his girlfriend, Tracy, who has stolen money from a California gangster, Raul Geoshay. As Harrison reluctantly allows himself to be drawn in to protect Pauly and Tracy from Geoshay, he is helped by Carmen, an attractive Cuban woman whose family he helped rescue years ago. When Carmen's beautiful younger sister is attacked, and her boyfriend murdered, the search for Geoshay becomes personal. As Geoshay's actions and Harrison's search for him become more intense, Harrison learns the awful secret of his wife's family and how she really died. He and Carmen grow closer. In the final confrontation with Geoshay in the Everglades he begins to see her as an attractive, strong woman who can help him live a full life again.