Missing

by Frank Principato

Ariana Tate is dying to escape Miami, Florida. She's sick of her dead-end job of clerical work at the Miami Police Department, her mother's disapproval, her loser ex-boyfriend, Eric, who won't take a hint, and the repressed memories of a terrible incident that occurred years ago near the Bermuda Triangle. When her best friend and roommate suggests a summer in the Everglades, full of alligator and crocodile-spotting, bird-watching, hiking on boardwalks, kayaking and canoeing through the waterways, fishing, camping, and absolutely no WiFi whatsoever, Ariana's on the first airboat out. To fund all this, Ariana takes a job as a ranger. From the outside, these flooded grasslands and savannas are perfect. But then, Ariana meets her partner, Jonah, whose icy stare and demonic laughter make clear to Ariana that he's troubled, haunted by something too horrible for words. Then, she begins to receive threatening messages and disturbing gifts. But it's not until she barely escapes a harrowing experience that she realizes her life may depend on figuring out who's the terrifying stone-cold killer behind Eric? Jonah? And why? And every once in a while, in a crowd, she sees a face she hasn't seen in years—the face of a girl who died long ago. The face of a dying girl she only sees in her dreams! Ariana suspects everyone, even the one person she thought she could trust. In a chilling game of lies, secrets, manipulations, and deadly freaks, it would seem that Ariana's summer of fun in the sun has turned into a summer of horror with panic and paranoia shadowing her every move—one she'll never forget . . . if she survives it at all!

72 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 7, 2025