The Sailor’s Curse

An hours-dead man tied to the mast of a tall ship turns up with strange facial mutilations that speak of weeks in the sea. Another like him is displayed between grinning pirate skeletons in an underwater carnival exhibit.

That’s what Sheriff Zach Tully walks into when he takes over law enforcement in Fort Charles, a scenic tourist village on the north coast of California. Fort Charles is sister city to Eternity, where Tully previously faced a serial killer alleged to be Jack the Ripper, encountered vampires, and made friends with two Elvises, Ambrose Bierce, and Amelia Earhart.

Fear the Mermaid’s Kiss

Tully thinks he’s ready for anything, but he soon learns that when it comes to weird, Eternity has nothing on Fort Charles. He meets the Old Salts, a closed-mouthed league of seamen who are mightily worried about something called the Sailor’s Curse. The group is led by grumpy physician Lazarus Clay and lighthouse keeper Amos Franklin, who talks to seagulls. The old men are favorites among a bevy of drop-dead beauties who the Salts swear aren't really mermaids.

As Tully tries to solve the ongoing murders, he’s antagonized by kilt-wearing Mayor Horatio Hill, and finds a friend in Father Matthew Campion, who’s either insane or brilliant, or maybe both.

The Founders Festival is about to begin, bodies are piling up, and there’s even been a shark attack. Death threatens Tully’s family—and everyone else in town—and the fireworks haven’t even started yet.