Mermaids in the Pacific — M.L. Hamilton

Peyton thought working for the FBI would bring new adventure and intrigue into her life. Certainly being assigned to the Ghost Squad promised such things, but reality is often different than the dream. Everything is wrong. Her new boss, Radar, thinks she's angling for his job, her personal life is in shambles, and her once over-crowded house has become an empty shell where she and her dog, Pickles, wander about, longing for what was lost. With Marco in a battle for his life, Peyton feels sidelined, until a mermaid is found floating off Natural Bridges State Beach. Beyond the media frenzy looms the very real possibility that Peyton and her team may be sucked into a standoff between the federal government and an elusive cult known only as Horizon. And Radar fears, there will be blood.