What would you risk to uncover a secret buried for over 150 years? “A diverting adventure with historical depth… a masterclass in suspense.” — Kirkus Reviews — GET IT Winner — PenCraft Book Awards — Winter 2026 Best Thriller Winner — Literary Titan Gold Book Award Finalist — BestThrillers.com 2025 Book Awards From multi–award-winning author David R. Leng comes the next pulse-pounding installment in the Echoes of Fortune series. His debut novel earned the 2025 PenCraft Award for Best Thriller and a 4.4-star Goodreads rating —now the adventure continues with a brand-new novella that plunges deeper into history’s deadliest secrets. When historian Jack Sullivan , Smithsonian curator Emma Wilson , and former Navy SEAL Steve Johnson set out for a Thanksgiving dive off Cozumel, they expect warm waters and forgotten wrecks. Instead, they discover a Confederate ghost ship that vanished in 1865—along with a secret powerful enough to rewrite history. But they aren’t alone. A black-hulled yacht shadows their every dive. Mercenaries close in from the deep. And someone is willing to kill to keep the past buried. From brilliant Caribbean reefs to the back alleys of Veracruz, Jack and his team are thrust into a deadly game where history isn’t past— it’s a weapon. Some secrets want to be found. And some will kill to stay hidden. Editorial Praise for Shadows Over Cozumel: “Moves fast, hits hard, and lands every shot.” — BestThrillers.com ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - ”Adrenaline-fueled, thrilling, and cinematic… a must read novella .” — Anthony Avina ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - “Unrelenting pacing—the story doesn’t just move, it races.” — Literary Titan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - “Nail-biting novella of dark secrets, history, and danger in the deep.” — Publishers Weekly / Book Life ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Perfect for fans of: Steve Berry • Clive Cussler • Dan Brown • James Rollins Shadows Over Cozumel delivers nonstop action, historical intrigue, underwater danger, and a mystery that spans centuries. ★★★★★ The Bottom Line: Leng's world of sunken secrets moves fast, hits hard and lands every shot. The second installment in David R. Leng's Echoes of Fortune series deepens the mythology of lost American Civil War secrets while plunging its characters into far more perilous waters. What begins as a Thanksgiving dive vacation for three Americans quickly turns into a deadly struggle against history itself. Shadows Over Cozumel finds historian Jack Sullivan, Smithsonian curator Emma Wilson, and Navy engineer Steve Johnson reunited for a Caribbean dive. But when their dive to the Del Rio, a Confederate blockade runner lost in 1865, the trio finds something far more dangerous than treasure. Inside the ship's sealed captain's quarters, Jack retrieves a brass tube containing documents so explosive they could rewrite the past: operational orders for a Confederate government-in-exile, references to assassination plots against Union leaders, and evidence of Swiss gold accounts that bankrolled post-war empires still powerful today. A sleek black yacht shadows their every move. Aboard are operatives under the command of Colonel William Hathaway, a descendant of Confederates whose generational wealth funds a private army of special forces. Hathaway's mission is to erase the evidence and anyone who's seen it. Leng doesn't waste time getting too deep into Hathaway's future ambitions, but we get just enough to feel the urgency of the moment at hand. What follows is a relentless chase from the reefs of Cozumel to the rooftops of Veracruz. It's safe to say that no character, no matter how central to the series, is truly safe. Leng's underwater sequences shimmer with claustrophobic beauty, while his command of pacing turns every page into a tightening coil. The chemistry between Jack and Emma remains the series' emotional anchor. Steve's steady pragmatism grounds the chaos, giving the team the texture of a found family forged under fire. While The Search for Braddock's Lost Gold introduced Jack's obsession with lost treasure and lost love, Shadows Over Cozumel; confronts the cost of knowing too much. Leng layers action with questions about legacy, power, and the ethics of uncovering buried truths. The result is both an expansion and an evolution: higher stakes, deeper emotions, and a faster pace. A quick, fast-paced read, Shadows Over Cozumel sets the stage for the series' third book BestThrillers ★★★★★ The Review For such a short novella, the author packs a lot of history and world-building into this narrative. The author expertly weaves mystery and intrigue into the modern-day adventure story, with a pacing that speaks to the story's natural rhythm, keeping the reader on the edge of their seat and the tension on the page rising as these characters delve deeper into the mystery. The imagery in this story was so cinematic in its delivery, with details that brought the vibrant blues and greens of the ocean depths and the haunting shipwrecks to life effo