A crippling knee injury forced Elliot Mills to trade in his FBI badge for dusty chalkboards and bored college students. Now a history professor at Puget Sound university, the former agent has put his old life behind him, but it seems his old life isn't finished with him.

Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, reigning Scrabble champion, and occasionally clueless owner of the village's only mystery bookstore, the Crow’s Nest, is both flattered and bemused when he’s invited to the annual Marauder’s Masquerade, the best and biggest social event of the season in the quaint seaside village of Pirate’s Cove, Rhode Island. The event is hosted by the wealthy Marguerite Bloodworth-Ainsley - a descendant of the famed pirate Tom Blood. 

Ex-FBI agent Elliot Mills thought he was done with the most brutal case of his career. The Sculptor, the serial killer he spent years hunting, is finally in jail. But Elliot's hope dies when he learns the murderer wasn't acting alone. Now everyone is at risk once again - thanks to a madman determined to finish his partner's gruesome mission.

Fifty years ago, Roland Mills belonged to a violent activist group. Now, someone is willing to kill to prevent him from publishing his memoirs. When ex-FBI agent Elliot Mills is called out to examine the charred ruins of his childhood home, he quickly identifies the fire for what it is - arson. A knee injury may have forced Elliot out of the Bureau, but it's not going to stop him from bringing the man who wants his father dead to justice.

Unlike everyone else in Pirate's Cove, Ellery Page, aspiring screenwriter, reigning Scrabble champion, and occasionally clueless owner of the village's only mystery bookstore, is anything but thrilled when famed horror author Brandon Abbott announces he's purchased legendary Skull House and plans to live. Ellery and Brandon have history. Their relationship ended badly, and Ellery's relationship with Police Chief Jack Carson is just getting interesting. But Brandon seems very interested in asking questions about the bloodstained past of his new home. What is Brandon really up to?

Mystery Bookshop owner Ellery Page and Police Chief Jack Carson are diving for the legendary sunken pirate galleon Blood Red Rose when they discover an old-fashioned diver's suit, water-damaged and encrusted with barnacles. Further examination reveals the 19th-century suit contains a 21st-century body. Who is the mysterious diver? No one seems to be missing from the quaint and cozy town of Pirate's Cove. Was he really diving for pirate's gold? And if not, what exactly did he do to earn that bullet hole in his skull?

The snick of a lock. The squeak of door hinges. The creak of a floorboard... Nothing is more mysterious than footsteps in the dark. Are those approaching steps that of friend or enemy? Lover or killer?

Jason West, hot-shot special agent with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, is at the Wyoming home of Behavioral Analysis Unit Chief Sam Kennedy, who is recuperating from a recent hit-and-run accident, when he’s asked to consult on the theft of a priceless collection of vintage magic posters. But before Jason can say “presto change-o”, the owner of the art collection turns up murdered in a national forest. 

The last thing Jason West, an ambitious young FBI Special Agent with the Art Crimes Team, wants - or needs - is his uncertain and unacknowledged romantic relationship with irascible legendary Behavioral Analysis Unit Chief Sam Kennedy. And it's starting to feel like Sam is not thrilled with the idea either. But personal feelings must be put aside when Sam requests Jason's help to catch a deranged killer targeting wealthy, upscale art collectors. A killer whose calling card is a series of grotesque paintings depicting the murders.

Special Agent Jason West is seconded from the FBI Art Crime Team to temporarily partner with disgraced and legendary "manhunter" Sam Kennedy when it appears that Kennedy's most famous case, the capture and conviction of a serial killer known as the Huntsman, may actually have been a disastrous failure. The Huntsman is still out there...and the killing has begun again.