Wild Irish Seas by @BrendaKerrBooks is a Trick or Treat Bonanza pick #romanticsuspense #giveaway

Title: Wild Irish Seas: Legio Security Book 3

Author: Brenda Kerr

Genre: Suspense Romance

Book Blurb:

A gritty detective used to keeping secrets.

A brilliant analyst driven to find answers.

A terrorist plot with roots thirty years in the past.

From the author of Wild Irish Hearts and Wild Irish Flames comes the next exciting novel in the Legio Security series!

Thirty years ago, Dr. Mika’ele Kalainawai’s mother fled Ireland to escape the wrath of a monster.

Now, Mika must return to the land of her mother’s birth to pursue her own opportunities. After a lifetime cut off from her Irish heritage, Mika must tread carefully in a land where the barrier between the present and the past is thinner than she knows.

Tragedy forced Daren Dempsey to give up his career and settle down to raise his daughters. A chance encounter with a stranded dolphin and the beautiful and intriguing American scientist who helps with the rescue awakens desires he had long thought were dead.

Now Mika and Daren must forge a new path together. But in Ireland, the secrets of the past refuse to stay buried. Can the pair survive long enough to build a future together?

Excerpt:

“Red sky at morning, sailors take warning,” Mika chanted, then took a sip of her coffee. As the runabout rounded the point that held Broadhaven Lighthouse, the swell picked up noticeably. Padraig pushed the throttle forward, aiming the small craft south along the coast towards Eagle Island. Daren noticed that the ocean here was rougher than around Galway, where he had spent some time on the water filming video of Legio’s training. He mentioned this to Mika.

“Galway’s a sheltered stretch of coast, Daren. Here in County Mayo, there’s no such protection. The continental shelf is barely ten miles offshore, where the water depth drops by more than two thousand meters. The predominant wind pattern means that waves have a massive fetch to build swells before they hit the coast. Eagle Island, where we’re headed, was originally home to two lighthouses. One was destroyed by a storm, and the other was hit by a rogue wave that smashed the light in 1861. Bear in mind, the light was more than two hundred feet above the high tide mark, so it must have been a massive wave.”

Daren whistled softly. Getting up, he settled into the bow of the boat, aiming his camera to frame Mika seated on the wooden bench, with Padraig and Erin standing side-by-side at the control console behind her.

“Dr. Kalainawai, can you explain what ‘fetch’ is?”

Mika smiled as the boat bounced across the waves. “Fetch is a concept that is important to both sailors and surfers. It means the combination of wind speed, direction, and distance. A moderate wind blowing uninterrupted over a long stretch of ocean can produce waves even bigger than a hurricane blowing over a short distance. When I was surfing in Hawaii, we used to bookmark the data from weather buoys as far away as the Aleutian Islands so we could predict when the really big waves were going to arrive.”

“Really big waves, Dr. Kalainawai? What are the biggest waves you have surfed?”

“When I was on the pro circuit, I once had a day in Waimea Bay when the surf was pushing fifty feet.

That’s about the limit of what you can surf without towing in behind a jet ski.”

Daren turned to pan across the ocean. The skiff was riding up and down the long swells.

“How would you describe the ocean today, Dr. Kalainawai?”

“Today I would put it about a five on the Beaufort scale. The wind is blowing about twenty knots and the swell is running about eight feet. All-in-all, it’s a great day for kitesurfing.” She pointed over the bow. “Look, there’s Eagle Island.”

Daren turned and leaned back against the bench next to Mika, bracing himself. Through the viewfinder, he could see a low green island rising from the sea. Large waves crashed on the rocks, throwing spray far into the air. Several buildings in poor repair, their white paint faded and stained by the sea air, were visible on the highest point of the island. Padraig aimed the boat towards the narrow passage separating the island from the mainland. Once in the sheltered waters, he throttled back, allowing the runabout to coast to a stop.

“Dr. Kalainawai, I think this is the best place to start. I don’t really see anywhere for a walrus to pull out, but this is where the fishermen reported seeing it.”

The rest of the morning proceeded slowly. Daren shot video of the patient crew of marine biologists as they motored along the rocky coast and around the island, scanning the waters and the shoreline through binoculars. After many hours, Padraig turned to Mika.

“I think we’re out of luck today, Mika. The swell is building, and I think we need to head back.”

Mika nodded, reluctantly. “I think you’re right. The fisherman might have spotted one who was passing through the area. If the weather isn’t too bad tomorrow, we can search Broadhaven Bay.”

The dejected crew of scientists headed back towards the harbor. Daren noticed that the seas were much rougher than they had been on the way out towards Eagle Island. As they rounded the point into the sheltered waters of the bay, Erin gave a shout and pointed. On the sand beach below the Broadhaven lighthouse a large marine mammal was visible, tangled in a fishing net.

“I think we found our walrus, Padraig. Can you land us near it?”

Padraig nodded and ran the boat through the rising surf towards the beach. At the last moment, he cut the engine and Erin lifted the motor up, allowing the boat’s momentum to carry it up onto the sand.

Everyone hopped out into the surf and helped pull the skiff far enough onshore that it wouldn’t wash away. Daren moved up the beach and knelt in the damp sand, framing the boat with the NUI team as they approached the walrus.

“Oy, he’s a big bugger, ain’t he?” Padraig said.

“Actually, I think it’s a she,” Mika said, moving in a wide circle around the animal, who was struggling weakly within the confines of the net. “I would expect a male to have longer tusks. She is a mature one, for sure. I’m guessing she’s about a thousand pounds or so.”

Erin picked up the netting that trailed from the walrus back into the ocean.

“She’s been caught in a ghost net. I bet she swam until she was exhausted, then beached herself here.”

Mika approached the walrus carefully. The animal struggled weakly for a moment before collapsing on the sand.

“Padraig, go get the knife. Let’s see if we can’t free her from the mess she’s gotten herself into.”

Working as a team, the trio carefully sliced the synthetic fishing line and ropes wrapped around the walrus, taking care to give the animal’s tusks a wide berth. The fishing net left deep furrows in the animal’s hide, and she was bleeding from several places. At first, the animal struggled against them, but as they carefully sliced the lines imprisoning the walrus, she calmed down. It took almost an hour before the final pieces of netting were cut away. Daren moved around, filming from a variety of angles. With a last cut, Mika stepped back.

“Erin, will you please go fetch the yellow bag?”

Erin quickly retrieved the waterproof bag, and Mika opened it, removing a satellite tracker.

“Right, we probably won’t have a better chance to attach this. Let me show you two how this is done.” Mika instructed Padraig and Erin on how to attach the satellite tracker to the walrus’s back using a harmless waterproof glue.

“This one should stay bonded to her back for the next year or so before falling off. It’ll relay her position, the time and maximum depth of each dive, and water temperature––as long as the batteries last.” Mika pulled out a laptop and sat cross-legged on the sand. “The satellite is already tracking her position. We have a protocol in place for identifying the seals we’ll be tracking, but I think this unique lady deserves her own ID. Does anyone have a suggestion for something five characters long?”

Erin piped up. “Let’s call her Fiona.”

Mika nodded. “That’s a fine name, Erin. Fiona it is.”

She typed the name on her keyboard, then closed the lid.

“Other than the superficial cuts from the net, she appears to be healthy. Let’s give her some space. She’ll probably sleep for a while. She’s pretty exhausted.”

The three moved back from the walrus and towards the skiff. Daren took a final lingering shot of the freed walrus, now sleeping blissfully on the beach as the sun sank behind her.

Buy Link:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09YTLB7FD

If you could dress up as anything or anyone this Halloween, what or who would it be and why?

My costume this Halloween would be James Bond.

Explain why your featured book is a treat to read:

I don’t like romance novels with female protagonists who are damsels waiting to be rescued. I write novels with women who are equals, capable of rescuing themselves if necessary.

Giveaway –

One lucky reader will win a $75 Amazon (US or Canada) gift card.

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750191

Open internationally. You must have an active Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to be eligible.

Runs October 1 – 31

Drawing will be held on November 1.

Author Biography:

Brenda Kerr is a romance novel enthusiast who spends her days teaching in Las Vegas. When she isn't teaching or writing, she enjoys traveling. Hot Kona Nights is her latest series of steamy romances

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @BrendaKerrBooks

Instagram: brenda_kerr_books

website: brendakerrbooks.com

TikTok: @brendakerrbooks