Malice in Paradise
(2026)(The eighth book in the Detective Matt Deal series)
A novel by Stephen Bentley
Retirement was supposed to mean peace. But for Matt Deal, peace is just another illusion.
Now a private investigator in sun-soaked Destin, Florida, ex-detective Matt Deal spends his days chasing cheating spouses and lost pets—until a widow walks into his office with a story that reeks of murder.Her husband, a wealthy real estate developer, supposedly drowned in a freak accident at sea. The police closed the case. But she’s convinced he was killed—and Deal’s instincts tell him she’s right.
As Deal digs deeper, he uncovers a web of corruption, greed, and betrayal woven through the Gulf Coast paradise. Crooked politicians, cartel-linked investors, and dirty cops all have something to lose. When the body count rises and the threats close in, Deal realizes he’s stumbled into something far bigger than one suspicious death.
Now the hunter has become the hunted. And to expose the truth, Deal will have to face old demons—and risk everything one last time.
Malice in Paradise is the gripping eighth book in the Detective Matt Deal Thriller Series—a taut, atmospheric crime thriller packed with danger, moral conflict, and heart-stopping twists.
For fans of Michael Connelly, Don Winslow, and David Baldacci—Matt Deal is back, and retirement has never been deadlier.
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