“Believable dialogue, an engaging hero, and lots of Virginia backcountry ambience suggest a strong series in the offing from this talented first novelist.”

— Mary Frances Wilkens, Booklist, May 1, 2008

When Greg Parnell returns to Great Bridge, Virginia, he’s hoping for a little quiet time after an adrenaline-packed undercover operation with the Fish and Wildlife Department.

He is quickly disappointed when a dead body turns up floating in the Great Dismal Swamp. And not just any dead body. Ashley Myrtle was the wife of a prominent local politician. Greg soon discovers that Ashley, an apparent drowning victim, may have been murdered. Unfortunately, no one wants to believe him.

The mayor, the woman’s husband, an old boyfriend and even her co-workers seem eager to rule her death an accidental drowning. With help from a reluctant FBI agent, Greg follows a trail of small town secrets and lies to discover what really happened on that cold spring day. Refusing to give up, he discovers a vital clue deep in the swamp that leads to the killer. But justice won’t be served until he can prove it was a case of murder.

Patrick J. Balester has been a salesman, a wedding photographer, and a computer programmer. For several years, he happily lived a stone’s throw from the Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge in Chesapeake, Virginia, where he spent many weekends tramping about in the woods.

He currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri with his wife and daughter. But unconfirmed sightings suggest that he can still be found wandering in the Dismal Swamp, from time to time.

In the Dismal Swamp is his Patrick’s first novel.