RELEASE BLAST: The Poseidon Project by E. William Podojil (Excerpt)
Title: The Poseidon Project
Series: The Herb Society Mysteries Book #1
Author: E. William Podojil
Release: August 26, 2024
Genre/Tropes: Mystery; Suspense Thriller; LGTBQ/MM Romance
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213070731-the-poseidon-project
Blurb:
Molly Halloran and her friends have a secret past. Their bucolic retirement is suddenly upended when Molly’s husband is abducted and held for a steep ransom. Now she, her friends, her tech executive son, Lukas and his Air Force pilot boyfriend must race against the clock and travel halfway around the world to meet the kidnappers’ demands. But when they learn why her husband has been abducted, they realize how high the stakes truly are. Molly and her friends now must face their past in order to save the future. But not only their futures; the world’s.
Buy Links:
Universal: https://mybook.to/ThePoseidonProject
Amazon US: https://bit.ly/3WLeVlC
Amazon CA: https://bit.ly/3wOqHRB
Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/3UQeNyC
Amazon AU: https://bit.ly/4au68aS
Excerpt:
It was a map of currents in the Persian Gulf. Taylor studied the map and asked everyone to move closer so they could see the screen. “Okay, so this is the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. There’s Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and up here toward the point is Dubai,” Taylor explained.
“That’s the Strait of Hormuz, right?” Donna asked.
“Yep, and right next door is Oman. Dubai is closer to Oman than it is to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE,” Lukas pointed out.
“So what does this have to do with John?” Linda asked. “Other than showing us where Dubai is located, what are you suggesting?”
“Not suggesting anything right now, but wanted to show you something,” Taylor replied. “Lukas, can you click the animation on this map?”
Suddenly the arrows within the map started to move as Taylor studied it. “See how the currents churn counterclockwise? That’s pretty consistent from what I remember. The current is affected by salinity and water temperature, so as it churns, it creates a system of lower pressure in the middle…more or less a gyre.”
Lukas pointed his finger to follow the current. “So if Dad’s boat was found off the coast of Palm Jumeirah, his paddle and life vest would have likely circled this gyre and ended up right back where they started.” Taylor nodded.
Molly jumped in. “The search is supposedly focused on where they found the kayak, but Taylor, you’re saying the boat had probably traveled a bit. John would have only been missing hours by this point, not days. How could his kayak still be relatively close to Dubai?”
“I’m going to take a stab here,” Taylor jumped in. “If currents were relatively predictable and there were no storms, which I don’t imagine there were since John probably wouldn’t have ventured out. But let’s assume it was normal, in thirty-six hours, John’s boat would have been closer to the coast of Iran than to Dubai.”
“The search was focused on the waters off Dubai. That’s what the embassy told me,” Molly responded.
“Mom, add that question to your list when you call the embassy. Ask them where the search has been conducted and where it will go next.”
Molly jotted that down. A question had been on her mind. “Isn’t the Persian Gulf pretty crowded with ships? I read there are traffic jams going through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Taylor nodded. “You have hundreds of oil tankers from the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia going in and out of the gulf every day. It’s a prime target for terrorists and also disputes between Oman, United Arab Emirates, and Iran. Iran has threatened to shut off the Strait due to sanctions imposed by the Americans.”
“So it’s a pretty busy place,” Molly confirmed.
“And a disaster waiting to happen,” Donna commented.
“Which is why it’s so heavily patrolled,” Lukas added. “I read that about twenty five percent of the world’s oil passes through the Strait and Persian Gulf every day.”
“Molly,” Taylor asked, “Lukas said the kayak was found by a pleasure boat out on a fishing trip, correct?”
Molly nodded. “That’s what the embassy told me.”
“Fishing areas usually begin about forty miles offshore. I wonder why the boat that found the kayak was closer to shore…five miles wasn’t it?” Taylor asked.
“Maybe it was more like a booze cruise,” Linda commented.
“Mom, I think that could be another question for your call tomorrow,” Lukas added.
It was already ten p.m. and Molly and her guests were fading. “I’ve got my alarm set for three a.m. tomorrow so I can speak with the embassy during their business day. We spent so much time talking we didn’t have time to check flights.”
“We can do that tomorrow,” Linda answered. “I’m way past my bedtime.”
After cleaning up, Linda and Betty boarded Donna’s golf cart. “No way I’m walking home tonight,” Betty said. “Too many coyotes out. We’ll see you tomorrow, Molly. I hope the embassy has some good news.”
Lukas walked Taylor to the door. Molly gave him a big hug. “Thank you for talking to us tonight. You sure know a lot about the world. I feel more informed, but there is something that doesn’t add up. You touched on it, Taylor, and it’s been nagging at me.”
“And what part was that?” Taylor asked.
“The paddle and the life vest. Why wouldn’t everything be in roughly the same place; the kayak, paddle, and the life vest, regardless of whether John’s body was in it,” Molly pointed out. “I can’t understand why search and rescue has not turned up anything else.
“I don’t know, Molly. I thought about that, too. The search and rescue part of me is wired into my DNA.”
“Well, good night and I hope to see you again, Taylor.” Molly returned back into the house leaving Lukas and Taylor alone on the front porch.
“Well, you are a bountiful supply of information,” Lukas thanked him. “Thanks for engaging my mom and her friends. That was sweet of you. I think you gave my mom a bit of hope.”
Author Bio:
E. William Podojil is an international business executive and novelist. He has traveled extensively and visited over sixty countries while based in Europe and the USA. Podojil works as an executive business advisor, strategist and coach while also pursuing his love of storytelling and writing. His second novel, The Poseidon Project, will be published in 2024 by The Wild Rose Press, and is the first in a series of adventure thrillers. Podojil writes personal, humorous stories of his life and travels with his husband and three sons in his blog at www.ewpodojil.com.
Social Media Links:
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https://www.linkedin.com/in/e-william-podojil-7857332
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