After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya's ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister's warnings: "If anything bad happens to me--it's Evan. Promise me you'll take Maya and run. Promise me." So Letty grabs her sister's Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan heeds her late sister"s warnings: "If anything bad happens to me-- it's Evan. Promise me you'll take Maya and run. Promise me." Letty hits the road in Tanya's Mercedes with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya, a "go-bag" of cash and a big honking diamond ring but only one clue: a faded magazine story about The Murmuring Surf Motel in the Florida beach town of Treasure Island. The Surf is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds. Letty and Maya settle in, try to unravel Tanya's shady past, and dodge the owner's son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. -- adapted from jacket

"After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya's ex, sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic, Letty heeds her late sister's warnings: 'If anything bad happens to me--it's Evan. Promise me you'll take Maya and run. Promise me.' So Letty grabs her sister's Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece, Maya. Letty is determined to outrun Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a 'go-bag' of cash and a big honking diamond ring--but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at the Murmuring Surf Hotel. The no vacancy sign is flashing and the sharks are circling...And that's the good news. Because the Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and downright hostility. As Letty settles into the motel's former storage room, she tries to heal Maya's heartache and unravel the key to her sister's shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner's dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn--or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it's a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past"--Back cover.

"After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya's ex, sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic, Letty heeds her late sister's warnings: 'If anything bad happens to me--it's Evan. Promise me you'll take Maya and run. Promise me.' So Letty grabs her sister's Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece, Maya. Letty is determined to outrun Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a 'go-bag' of cash and a big honking diamond ring--but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at the Murmuring Surf Motel. And that's the good news. Because the Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and downright hostility. As Letty settles into the motel's former storage room, she tries to heal Maya's heartache and unravel the key to her sister's shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner's dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn--or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it's a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past."--