Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," a crime thriller set on Florida’s Gulf Coast that pairs the legend of pirate Jose Gaspar with a present-day story of poaching, pursuit and a hostage standoff in the backwaters. The book is out now through Covenant Books.

The novel follows Andy Warden, a veteran Florida conservation officer tracking an alligator poacher named Bart Thibodeaux through the same swamps where Gaspar is said to have buried millions in stolen treasure. According to the publisher’s description, Thibodeaux’s pursuit of easy prey turns into a hostage crisis when he seizes a vacationing mother and her two children who are themselves treasure hunting in the area. The woman, the description notes, proves to be more than he bargained for.

Larnerd draws on three decades of law enforcement experience for the book’s setting and detail. His thirty-one years as a wildlife officer across Pennsylvania and Tennessee were followed by an eight-year tenure as police chief in his Tennessee hometown, and he served as an active-duty infantryman earlier in his career. That background, per the publisher, informs how the novel depicts conservation efforts and the people who do it.

"I wanted to blend the romance of pirate legend with the reality of modern-day conservation challenges," Larnerd said in a statement. "The result is a story that keeps readers on the edge of their seats while honoring both history and the natural world."

The Jose Gaspar legend Larnerd draws on has shaped Gulf Coast lore for more than a century, most visibly in Tampa’s annual Gasparilla pirate festival, and continues to draw treasure hunters to the region despite no confirmed historical evidence that the pirate existed. "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay" is available through Covenant Books’ website, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play and the Apple iTunes Store, and at bookstores.

Studio CarryOnHarry sees the real hook here less in the Gaspar legend than in Larnerd’s own background: a career wildlife officer writing a poaching thriller is a pairing that tends to produce the kind of procedural detail readers notice.

Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.

Are you an author with a new release? We’re always looking for books to cover and authors to interview — tell us about yours here.

Press Releases at Studio CarryOnHarry

Related Posts

Former Wildlife Officer Rick Larnerd Blends Gasparilla Legend with Modern Florida Thriller in New Novel

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," that sets a…

Barry R. Willis’s New Book Traces the Pony Express and Its Costs on the Frontier

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Author Barry R. Willis has published "The Legacy of the Pony Express: True Tales from…

Former Game Warden Turns Three Decades of Conservation Work into Florida Crime Novel

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," a crime story…

Scottsdale Author Joe Reina’s New Novel Follows a Killer Who Gets Away With It

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Joe Reina has published a new novel, "Shadows over Scottsdale: An Unsolved Murder Mystery," built…

Joe Reina’s ‘Lost Masterpieces’ Imagines a Fictional Farewell Among Renaissance Painters

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Joe Reina has published a new novel, "Lost Masterpieces: Three Paintings, 500 Years A Journey…

Katt Taylor’s New Novel Follows a Woman’s Fractured Spirit from Darkness to Awakening

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Katt Taylor has released "The Mental Woman Within," a novel tracing the spiritual unraveling and…

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," that sets a present-day Florida conservation story against the backdrop of the Jose Gaspar pirate legend. The book is out now through Covenant Books, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and the Apple iTunes Store.

The novel follows Andy Warden, a Florida conservation officer, as he tracks an alligator poacher named Bart Thibodeaux through the state’s backwaters and bayous. According to the publisher, Thibodeaux’s pursuit of illegal game takes a dangerous turn when he takes a vacationing mother and her two children hostage while she is treasure hunting along the Gulf Coast, a decision that sets the novel’s central chase in motion. The story threads in the real history of Jose Gaspar, the early nineteenth-century pirate whose reputed buried treasure along Florida’s Gulf Coast has drawn hunters and storytellers for generations.

Larnerd’s own background runs close to his protagonist’s. He spent thirty-one years in law enforcement, working as a wildlife officer in both Pennsylvania and Tennessee before serving eight years as chief of police in his Tennessee hometown. He also served as an active-duty infantryman. The publisher’s materials describe that experience as shaping the novel’s depiction of conservation work and the people who do it.

"I wanted to blend the romance of pirate legend with the reality of modern-day conservation challenges," Larnerd said, according to the announcement. "The result is a story that keeps readers on the edge of their seats while honoring both history and the natural world."

The book is published through Covenant Books, a Christian publishing house. Larnerd has said on social media that the novel has already drawn its first reader review, though he did not detail its contents.

Studio CarryOnHarry sees a natural hook here: a work authored by someone with thirty years of real law enforcement experience brings distinctive credibility to its fictional conservation officer protagonist than most adventure fiction manages.

Read more People’s Choice stories on Studio CarryOnHarry. Reporting via Live News Vault.

Are you an author with a new release? We’re always looking for books to cover and authors to interview — tell us about yours here.

Press Releases at Studio CarryOnHarry

Related Posts

Former Wildlife Officer Rick Larnerd Blends Gasparilla Legend with Modern Florida Crime Fiction in New Novel

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," a crime thriller…

Barry R. Willis’s New Book Traces the Pony Express and Its Costs on the Frontier

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Author Barry R. Willis has published "The Legacy of the Pony Express: True Tales from…

Former Game Warden Turns Three Decades of Conservation Work into Florida Crime Novel

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Rick Larnerd has published a new novel, "The Mystery of Gasparilla Bay," a crime story…

Scottsdale Author Joe Reina’s New Novel Follows a Killer Who Gets Away With It

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Joe Reina has published a new novel, "Shadows over Scottsdale: An Unsolved Murder Mystery," built…

Joe Reina’s ‘Lost Masterpieces’ Imagines a Fictional Farewell Among Renaissance Painters

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Joe Reina has published a new novel, "Lost Masterpieces: Three Paintings, 500 Years A Journey…

Katt Taylor’s New Novel Follows a Woman’s Fractured Spirit from Darkness to Awakening

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk Katt Taylor has released "The Mental Woman Within," a novel tracing the spiritual unraveling and…