In the Everglades town of Cape Hope, Florida, the tensions between the Chasers--townies with small businesses and jobs that depend on the tourist season--and the Collective--the wealthy hotel owners and elite who want to either buy up or downright steal the Chasers' businesses--are simmering to a boil. Noa's family's Surf Shack is one of the few Chaser-owned places left standing, but after Noa's brother took off and left just Noa and her dad to run the place, their finances are increasingly strained. There could be a way out of it, however, if Noa can finally pin down the Collective's role in a decades-old mystery involving a dead socialite, a missing Chaser, and a vanishing island. To do this, she must find the mysterious Rum Runner Island, and she'll need a sturdy, functioning boat, so she's going to have to enlist her ex-boyfriend Jamie, a Collective kid who broke her heart last summer but seems eager to help now. Things take a turn when a dead body washes up on the shore and later two guys with guns show up, making it clear Noa and Jamie are onto something that might take the Collective down for good. Skillful writing evokes the treacherous allure of the Everglades, making it perfectly plausible that an island could simply disappear in this wild place where predatory gators lie in wait and the air is so oppressive it would surely muffle any cries for help. Less plausible are the incongruent plot beats that rely too heavily on leaps of logic and a deus ex machina in the form of a strangely knowledgeable but unknown relative. Fortunately, the dual narration between Jamie and Noa keeps the pace lively and lays out the emotional stakes well enough to keep readers engaged.

Direct fans of Lockhart's We Were Liars series (BCCB 6/14, et al.) here for another look at beautiful places with dangerous secrets. KQG.