The Scarlet Tide Murders
(2025)(Book 19 in the Maisie Meadows Cozy Mystery series)
A Story by Max Myka
MAISIE MEADOWS: THE SCARLET TIDE MURDERSBook 19 in the Maisie Meadows Mystery Series
When red sand falls from her classroom ceiling and the Gulf turns the color of blood, English teacher Maisie Meadows discovers that the deadliest weapons aren't always bullets—sometimes they're hidden in the tide itself.
Fresh off exposing a government mind-control conspiracy, Maisie Meadows thought she'd earned a quiet semester teaching Hemingway to teenagers. But when mysterious scarlet sand rains down during class and three 1962 "drowning victims" turn out to be murdered whistleblowers, she's pulled into her most dangerous case yet.
The victims tried to expose CRIMSON SHORE—a terrifying military project that weaponized red tide algae to create the ultimate area denial weapon. Now, sixty years later, someone's activated it, and the entire Gulf Coast has hours before the toxic bloom reaches catastrophic levels. With hospitals unprepared and evacuation impossible, Maisie and the indomitable Old Guard must race against chemistry itself to prevent mass casualties.
Armed with her tactical corgi Waffles, a getaway boat piloted by her diving instructor fiancé, and four septuagenarian women who've upgraded from smoke grenades to full chemical warfare defense, Maisie discovers the conspiracy reaches from abandoned canneries to the highest levels of government—including someone terrifyingly close to home.
As the red tide creeps inland and government assassins close in, Maisie must decode a dead poet's verses, infiltrate a crumbling military base, and somehow turn crop dusters into salvation. But with incomplete antidotes, a principal who's playing all sides, and the Old Guard making the ultimate sacrifice, saving the Gulf might cost more than anyone imagined.
A heart-pounding blend of environmental thriller and cozy mystery that proves the most dangerous secrets are the ones we dump in our own backyard. Perfect for readers who like their mysteries with high stakes, their heroines unshakeable, and their grandmothers armed with both chemistry knowledge and concealed weapons.
★★★★★ "I laughed, I cried, I immediately checked my pool chemicals. This series just gets better and more audacious with each book!"
★★★★★ "The Old Guard's sacrifice had me sobbing, while their creative use of Garden Club resources had me cheering. Emotional whiplash at its finest!"
★★★★★ "Maisie Meadows tackles environmental disaster with the same wit she brings to teaching teenagers. The scarlet tide scenes are genuinely terrifying, but Waffles in his tactical vest keeps it from being too dark."
★★★★★ "Pool chemicals save the world, grandmothers pilot crop dusters, and a corgi helps capture an assassin. This is why I read cozy mysteries—for the absolutely bonkers plots that somehow totally work!"
Warning: Contains aeronautical grandmothers, weaponized algae, suspicious pool chemical purchases, and emotional scenes involving self-sacrificing septuagenarians. Not recommended for readers who prefer their mysteries without environmental activism or their government conspiracies easily solved. May cause sudden urges to hug your grandmother and test your local water quality.
"In an age of climate fiction, Maisie Meadows shows us that sometimes the best person to save the environment is an English teacher who can't mind her own business, backed by retirees who refuse to go gentle into that good night."
Genre: Cozy Mystery
When red sand falls from her classroom ceiling and the Gulf turns the color of blood, English teacher Maisie Meadows discovers that the deadliest weapons aren't always bullets—sometimes they're hidden in the tide itself.
Fresh off exposing a government mind-control conspiracy, Maisie Meadows thought she'd earned a quiet semester teaching Hemingway to teenagers. But when mysterious scarlet sand rains down during class and three 1962 "drowning victims" turn out to be murdered whistleblowers, she's pulled into her most dangerous case yet.
The victims tried to expose CRIMSON SHORE—a terrifying military project that weaponized red tide algae to create the ultimate area denial weapon. Now, sixty years later, someone's activated it, and the entire Gulf Coast has hours before the toxic bloom reaches catastrophic levels. With hospitals unprepared and evacuation impossible, Maisie and the indomitable Old Guard must race against chemistry itself to prevent mass casualties.
Armed with her tactical corgi Waffles, a getaway boat piloted by her diving instructor fiancé, and four septuagenarian women who've upgraded from smoke grenades to full chemical warfare defense, Maisie discovers the conspiracy reaches from abandoned canneries to the highest levels of government—including someone terrifyingly close to home.
As the red tide creeps inland and government assassins close in, Maisie must decode a dead poet's verses, infiltrate a crumbling military base, and somehow turn crop dusters into salvation. But with incomplete antidotes, a principal who's playing all sides, and the Old Guard making the ultimate sacrifice, saving the Gulf might cost more than anyone imagined.
A heart-pounding blend of environmental thriller and cozy mystery that proves the most dangerous secrets are the ones we dump in our own backyard. Perfect for readers who like their mysteries with high stakes, their heroines unshakeable, and their grandmothers armed with both chemistry knowledge and concealed weapons.
★★★★★ "I laughed, I cried, I immediately checked my pool chemicals. This series just gets better and more audacious with each book!"
★★★★★ "The Old Guard's sacrifice had me sobbing, while their creative use of Garden Club resources had me cheering. Emotional whiplash at its finest!"
★★★★★ "Maisie Meadows tackles environmental disaster with the same wit she brings to teaching teenagers. The scarlet tide scenes are genuinely terrifying, but Waffles in his tactical vest keeps it from being too dark."
★★★★★ "Pool chemicals save the world, grandmothers pilot crop dusters, and a corgi helps capture an assassin. This is why I read cozy mysteries—for the absolutely bonkers plots that somehow totally work!"
Warning: Contains aeronautical grandmothers, weaponized algae, suspicious pool chemical purchases, and emotional scenes involving self-sacrificing septuagenarians. Not recommended for readers who prefer their mysteries without environmental activism or their government conspiracies easily solved. May cause sudden urges to hug your grandmother and test your local water quality.
"In an age of climate fiction, Maisie Meadows shows us that sometimes the best person to save the environment is an English teacher who can't mind her own business, backed by retirees who refuse to go gentle into that good night."
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Max Myka's The Scarlet Tide Murders