Original fiction from The Black Salon
BOOK 1 AVAILABLEA dead dockworker. A weighing recorded thirty-seven minutes too late. An investigator told to look only at the crates.
Read the first six chapters for free, then discover the complete novel in PDF and EPUB.
An investigation begins / 01
Cotonou, February 2027. Nora Soglo has been asked to assess damage from a handling accident. But two times in the file do not add up. To an insurer, it may be a data-entry error. To Jonas Agbo’s sister, it is the last trace of a man. Following a weighbridge ticket, Nora discovers the cost of asking a question nobody wants to hear.
EPUB excerpt ↓“Are you coming about the crates?”
“They’re what I was sent for.”
Once an economic intelligence analyst, Nora now investigates losses for marine insurers. She knows how to read a file. She is still learning how to protect the people it conceals.
Ghost Meridian
Book 1 is available. The following nine novels are in preparation.
Cotonou · Lomé · Geneva
In Cotonou, a dockworker dies and a container changes weight. For marine insurance investigator Nora Soglo, a weighing recorded after his death is reason enough to reopen a case others would rather close. From Lomé to Geneva, she must decide whom to trust with the evidence—and how far to go to protect the people behind it.
Abidjan · Dakar · Bissau
A coastal protection scheme promises to save entire villages. Its contracts may be the greatest threat they face. Between Abidjan, Dakar and Bissau, Nora follows a climate guarantee whose figures keep changing whenever a witness is left out of the room.
In preparation
Trieste · Ljubljana · Vienna
Grain trains stop, prices climb, and everyone cites safety. One engineer believes the danger was manufactured on paper. From Trieste to Vienna, Nora asks who profits when an entire trade route is taught to be afraid.
In preparation
Muscat · Sohar · Istanbul
A ship’s crew waits for protection that never arrives. An insurance policy covers almost everything except the truth. Along the shipping routes of Hormuz, Nora discovers that fear can be sold twice: to those making the crossing and to those waiting for them.
In preparation
Casablanca · Las Palmas · Seville
A desalination plant runs short of parts, a city rations its water, and a consortium has already priced the losses. In Casablanca, Las Palmas and Seville, Nora finds an old analysis bearing her own name inside the forecasts. Someone has learned to turn her warnings into orders.
In preparation
Tallinn · Helsinki · Hamburg
Twelve independent sources predict the same danger. One analyst says they are all the same source. Between Tallinn, Helsinki and Hamburg, Nora and Elias investigate an industry that manufactures certainty—and makes life precarious for anyone who knows its price.
In preparation
Singapore · Batam · Surabaya
After a cargo ship fire, the verdict seems settled before the hearings begin. An officer who saved lives stands accused of causing the disaster. From Singapore to Surabaya, Nora tries to recover a story the survivors have already lost to the contracts written around them.
In preparation
Batumi · Tbilissi · Istanbul
Aid waits on the quays while a border closes one risk alert at a time. A logistics coordinator refuses to sign the map that would strand her convoy. Between Batumi, Tbilisi and Istanbul, Nora investigates who gets to declare a crossing too dangerous for everyone else.
In preparation
Panama · Colón · New York
A new marine debt issue promises impeccable returns. Its collateral bears the names of disasters Nora knows too well. From the Panama Canal to New York, an old disappearance threatens both the investigation and the fragile trust between Nora and Elias.
In preparation
Cotonou · Geneva · Brussels
By following the warnings, Nora has found the people who sell them. Now she must prove how they work together. From Cotonou to Geneva and Brussels, witnesses from ten investigations take part in a final confrontation: bringing the evidence into the open without sacrificing the living.
In preparation
Book 1 has 283 pages in this PDF edition. EPUB pagination varies by device.