Washed Up

A missing weatherman. A stolen hurricane forecasting system. And a Category Four storm racing toward Florida's Gulf Coast.

When private investigator Gumbo Malone is hired to locate a popular television meteorologist who has suddenly vanished during hurricane season, the case appears straightforward. The station manager wants answers. The public wants forecasts. And the storm developing in the Caribbean doesn't care about either.

But the deeper Gumbo digs, the stranger the disappearance becomes.

The missing meteorologist isn't running from debt, scandal, or trouble. He's hiding aboard a converted shrimp boat with a brilliant former government scientist who may have stolen a revolutionary hurricane forecasting system capable of predicting rapid intensification days before official models catch up.

Now a powerful federal contractor is searching for the technology.

A hurricane is gathering strength in the Gulf.

And the woman who built the system may hold information that could save thousands of lives—if government agencies, corporate interests, and approaching floodwaters don't destroy everything first.

As evacuation orders spread, storm surge forecasts worsen, and a dangerous game unfolds between scientists, bureaucrats, investigators, and people willing to bend the rules for what they believe is the greater good, Gumbo finds himself caught in the middle of a race against time that could determine the future of an entire coastline.

Set against the backdrop of Florida's Gulf Coast during hurricane season, WASHED UP combines quirky Florida characters, sharp dialogue, small-town charm, government secrets, scientific intrigue, and high-stakes suspense in another unforgettable Gumbo Malone mystery.

Packed with eccentric locals, atmospheric coastal settings, unexpected twists, and the unique blend of humor and mystery that readers have come to expect from the Weird & Whacky Florida Mystery series, WASHED UP is a fast-moving adventure about truth, loyalty, science, and the storms that change everything.

Perfect for fans of Florida mysteries, private investigator novels, coastal thrillers, humorous crime fiction, Carl Hiaasen-style adventures, amateur sleuth mysteries, hurricane stories, Gulf Coast fiction, quirky crime novels, and character-driven mysteries filled with suspense and heart.

Keywords: Florida mystery, Gumbo Malone, private investigator mystery, hurricane mystery, coastal thriller, Florida crime fiction, weather mystery, Gulf Coast mystery, missing person investigation, humorous mystery, amateur sleuth, hurricane season thriller, scientific conspiracy, NOAA mystery, meteorologist mystery, maritime mystery, Florida suspense, small-town mystery, quirky mystery, storm thriller, government conspiracy, island mystery, weather forecasting mystery, Southern mystery, beach read, crime caper, atmospheric thriller, Florida adventure, mystery series, Carl Hiaasen-style mystery.