Following on the heels of his successful 2022 military crime novel Fair Winds of Death, author B.R. Wade continues the story of the Naval Investigative Service’s top investigator, Lieutenant Commander Marcus Colt, with his latest novel - Fair Winds of Deceit.

It’s 1971, and the Naval Investigative Service, or “NIS” as it’s better known, is nothing like the NCIS of present-day television. There are no cell phones, desktop computers, DNA, or the Internet. Logic, investigative skills, and street savvy are the tools the Navy and civilian personnel working for this specialized unit use to get the information they need. The work is often dangerous, and sometimes, good old-fashioned luck is the real key to sending the criminals to the brig.

Fair Winds of Deceit finds Colt handed a cold case; he must find a missing scientist critical to a defense project. With the CIA, FBI, and local law enforcement failing to catch a lead some months ago, Colt is the go-to agent who frequently pulls miracles out of his hat. He creates a task force consisting of his NIS Internal Affairs team, including a newly-minted Ensign, and agents from the other NIS offices.

Distractions and frustrations abound as a series of murders and assaults stretch his team thin. And as the lies and complexities build around the missing scientist, Colt and his new partner-in-training, Ensign Wendy James, are drawn to Italy and quickly become targets of an even deeper plot.

With help coming from unexpected corners, Marcus Colt just might have what he needs to succeed with his case – if he can keep his team alive long enough to solve it.