Aristotle Socarides

Series · 8 books · 1991-2018

By Paul Kemprecos

Books in series

Cool Blue Tomb

1991

"Absorbing....Soc is an appealing, witty protagonist..and the Cape Cod locale is rendered with panache in this face-paced enjoyable yarn." Publisher's Weekly Life’s a Beach—Until Murder Rolls in With the Tide A 50-million-dollar salvage operation. An expert diver dead at the bottom of the sea. An elegant mermaid in a black Porsche—and an open invitation to dip into the troubled waters of her marriage. Cape Cod’s Aristotle “Soc” Socarides, part-time fisherman, part-time private eye, is swimming with the sharks. Only problem is, he’s the bait…and blood is beginning to boil to the surface. Soc didn’t think he could get in much deeper, but he’d better think again. A family debt of honor comes due—a debt only he can settle—plunging him into the middle of a lethal search for buried treasure. Now Soc’s about to discover how deadly the Cape’s currents can be. Snarled in a net of smuggling, treachery, and revenge, he’s finding out that no matter how far down you go, nothing’s harder to salvage than the truth. "Absolutely the best private-eye mystery I've read. I can't wait for the next one." Bestselling Author, Clive Cussler

Neptune's Eye

1991

“Former newsman Kemprecos delivers the where, why, what, when, and finally who in a whodunit strengthened by gritty dialogue and assured depiction of suspenseful dives.” —Boston Herald “Kemprecos . . . writes sharp, readable prose and certainly knows how to paint a portrait of the Boston/Cape Cod environs.” —Booklist “Absorbing . . . Soc is an appealing, witty protagonist and the Cape Cod locale is rendered with panache in this fast-paced enjoyable yarn.” —Publisher’s Weekly Underwater Underhandedness . . . A simple missing-persons case: Find Frederick Walther’s beautiful young daughter, who disappeared after a love affair turned sour. Simple, that is, until Leslie Walther’s lover turns up dead in a fishy place—the seal pool at the Woods Hole aquarium. Part-time fisherman—part-time private eye “Soc” Socarides finds the highly loathsome Tom Drake had a number of acquaintances, business rivals, ex-lovers, and an ex-wife—all with reason to want him dead. Soc’s investigation turns up so many knotted threads he could make a fishnet: a long-lost German U-boat, a cutting-edge underwater vehicle, corporate espionage, a shady munitions dealer, and a CIA spook from Soc’s distant past. Soc hopes the net will snare a murderer. But if he makes one wrong move, it could drag him down to a cold, wet, silent grave.

Death in Deep Water

1992

“Absolutely the best private-eye mystery I’ve read. I can’t wait for the next one.” — Clive Cussler Aristotle Plato (“Soc”) Socarides has got a business card as unusual as his name: he’s a private investigator, a diver, and a fisherman operating out of Cape Cod. But he’s definitely got the perfect resume when the owners of a marine park desperately need someone to prove that a suspect is innocent of murder—the suspect being Rocky, a ten-ton killer whale who’s the park’s star attraction. Soc goes undercover as an employee at the Oceanus Aquatic Park, which has been closed to the public since the death of animal trainer Eddy Byron. Picketed by animal rights groups and beset by sensationalist publicity, Oceanus no longer looks so attractive to the Japanese conglomerate that’s been eager to buy it. Soc’s employer’s, the owners of the park, want him to quickly clear the whale of suspicion, get to the bottom of why Eddy Byron died, and help convince the Japanese to close the deal. Easier said than done. Eddy Byron turns out to have been an unpleasant fellow, a heavy drinker who used outdated and cruel methods to train his animals. When another former employee dies hours before a scheduled meeting with Soc, it becomes evident that if Rocky’s the killer, he’s got a two-legged assistant on land. With a beautiful dolphin trainer assisting him in the water and out, Soc learns a few lessons—some quite painful—about the creatures of the sea and the people who care for them. “Former newsman Kemprecos delivers the where, why, what, when, and finally who in a whodunit strengthened by gritty dialogue and assured depictions of suspenseful dives.” —

Feeding Frenzy

1993

“Absolutely the best private-eye mystery I’ve read. I can’t wait for the next one.” — Clive Cussler For Aristotle “Soc” Socarides, diver, Cape Cod fisherman, and sometime private investigator, summer on Quanset Beach can have its irritations. The throngs of pushy tourists who converge on the town turn everyday events like parking and finding a seat at a bar into headaches, and the heat and humidity make fishing expeditions grueling tests of endurance. Still, for all his griping, this is home, and Soc likes it. Likes it, that is, until the day horrible screams shatter Quanset Beach’s calm. A swimmer is attacked and killed by a mysterious aquatic predator, his body viciously disfigured in a way that is unlike anything ever seen. The town goes into a state of complete panic, and when another swimmer is mutilated, and bodies start coming ashore, Soc knows there is no time to lose. Time is something Soc already has little of, though, for he has agreed to help beleaguered Tillie Talbot, the owner of the Quanset Beach Sailing Camp for children. The camp is set on prime waterfront real estate, and Tillie has repeatedly fought off aggressive developers looking to buy. But now sinister forces are at work to bankrupt Tillie and make her sell—forces that, Soc learns, have ominous levels of power in local and state government. And, as if Soc didn’t have enough to think about, his mother coerces him into trying to shake some sense into his cousin Alex, a spoiled young punk who has started running with a particularly nasty crowd. Add to that a messed-up love life and you have all the ingredients for a thoroughly rotten time. And then John Flagg shows up in Quanset, and Soc knows that things are about to go from rotten to surreal. A sinewy ex-commando with ice in his veins and a wicked mean streak, Flagg is an old friend who does odd, unsavory jobs for the CIA, and his sudden interest in the Quanset Beach attacks is definitely not a good sign. Other groups in Quanset are interested in the attacks as well, and some of them make the CIA look like Cub Scouts. As usual, Soc is in completely over his head; one false step on his part could jeopardize national security at its highest level and cause him to be very dead. So much for a quiet summer.

The Mayflower Murder

1996

Three centuries after the pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock, some Indians are still on the warpath. So when a workman is tomahawked to death at the replica of a three-hundred-year-old Pilgrim village, suspicion falls on Joe Quint, the Native American activist whose threats to hammer Plymouth Rock into gravel have cast him in the spotlight. The murder case seems open and shut until Cape Cod fisherman-diver-detective Aristotle “Soc” Socarides is asked to investigate by John Flagg, his Vietnam comrade turned CIA spook. With millions in Indian casino gambling profits at stake, Soc soon finds himself betting his life in a high-risk game that could end with a single roll of the dice. Soc must run the gauntlet between a federal agent with blood in his eye and the militant Indian Warrior Society, dive into the deadly waters of a mysterious underwater cavern, expose a trade in illegal Native American artifacts, and rescue a kidnapped hostage.

Bluefin Blues

1997

Off the coast of Cape Cod, a Japanese bluefin tuna buyer is found dead on another man’s boat, a harpoon shot through his chest. The dead man’s grandfather, a Japanese fishing tycoon, seeks out part-time private investigator Aristotle “Soc” Socarides to find those responsible for his grandson’s death. Soc is desirable because he’s also a part-time fisherman; because the man also knows that Soc is deeply in need of funds to repair his dilapidated fishing boat, he knows Soc’ll accept. Soc can’t shake an uneasy feeling about the way the old Japanese man found him and the way he persuaded Soc to take the job: “It was almost as if he knew me better than I knew myself.” This realization should trigger a warning light in Soc’s head. Maybe it does. But now Soc is curious. And he still needs the money. What starts out as a simple inquiry into a young man’s death to secure the peace of mind of an old man mushrooms into an excavation of the bluefin-fishing community. As Paul Kemprecos’s Shamus Award-winning p.i. is about to find out, it is a small, close-knit but competitive group, where the fact that a single tuna has a ten- to twenty-thousand-dollar price tag may inspire men to do evil.

Grey Lady

2013

The shiny new charter fishing boat financed with family money was supposed to launch a bright new career for Cape Cod fisherman, diver, and private investigator Aristotle “Soc” Socarides. But when the slip of a beer-oiled tongue brings the ire of a Russian KGB mogul down on his head, Soc finds himself drowning in a sea of troubles. As he looks for a foothold on the sandy shores of Nantucket Island, Soc discovers more than he ever bargained a deranged homicide suspect who thinks he’s Captain Ahab and Soc is his first mate Starbuck; a high-seas case of murder and cannibalism that still stirs up emotions; a Cold War secret; a missing whaling artifact with a bloody history; and cutting-edge underwater technology with deadly potential. As he gropes his way through the Nantucket fog that shrouds the lonely moors and beaches, Soc will soon discover that “the little, grey lady of the sea,” has a dark side the tourists never view, and that a single misstep can be fatal.

Shark Bait

2018

Nominated for 2019 Shamus Award, Best Original Private Eye Paperback Cape Cod has become the world’s hotspot for the Great White shark. In growing numbers, scores of the fearsome predators patrol local waters to hunt for their favorite prey among the crowded seal colonies. But, unlike JAWS, where a shark terrorized an island community, the beasts that have flocked to the shores of the world-renowned summer resort have been good for business. The spotter planes, shark warning pennants, beach closings, and occasional seal kills have created an air of excitement rather than fear. At least, that is, until Kirk Munson is found dead in Cape Cod Bay, and the suspected killer is a Great White named Emma. Part-time P.I. Aristotle “Soc” Socarides has been too busy trying to keep his charter fishing business afloat while attempting to avert a family crisis to pay much attention to all the shark fuss. But when he and his faithful old pickup truck become collateral damage in what should have been a routine oyster poaching case, he takes Munson’s place steering a boat for a film crew shooting a movie based on the legend of the reputed witch, Goody Hallett, and the notorious pirate, Sam Bellamy. As if things aren’t complicated enough, an old flame wants Soc to prove Emma is innocent. And a fading movie star Soc has admired for years requests his help dealing with a gang of murderous thugs acting under the orders of an international war criminal. It doesn’t take long for Soc to find himself swimming in dangerous waters, where he learns the hard way that the most dangerous ‘sharks’ are the two-legged species.

Author

Paul Kemprecos

Author · 11 books

My fiction-writing career owes it start to the bad navigation of an 18th century pirate. For it was in 1717 that a ship, the Whydah went aground, reportedly carrying a fabulous treasure. In the 1980s, three salvage groups went head-to-head, competing to find the wreck. The controversy over the salvage got hot at times and I thought there might be a book in their story. I was working for a newspaper at the time. I developed my own detective, an ex-cop, diver, fisherman, and PI named Aristotle “Soc” Socarides. He was more philosophical than hard-boiled. Making his first appearance in “Cool Blue Tomb,” the book won the Shamus award for Best Paperback novel. After many years in the newspaper business, I turned to writing fiction and churned out five more books in the series. Clive Cussler blurbed: “There can be no better mystery writer in America than Paul Kemprecos.” Despite the accolades, the Soc series lingered in mid-list hell. By the time I finished my last book, I was thinking about another career that might make me more money, like working in a 7-11. Several months after the release of “Bluefin Blues,” Clive called and said a spin-off from the Dirk Pitt series was in the works. It would be called the NUMA Files and he wondered if I would be interested in tackling the job. I took on the writing of “Serpent” which brought into being Kurt Austin and the NUMA Special Assignments Team. Austin had some carry-over from Soc, and another team member, Paul Trout, had been born on Cape Cod. The book made The New York Times bestseller list, as did every one of seven NUMA Files that followed, including “Polar Shift,” which bumped “The DaVinci Code” for first place. After eight NUMA Files I went back to writing solo. I wrote an adventure book entitled, The Emerald Scepter, which introduced a new hero, Matinicus “Matt” Hawkins. I have been working on the re-release of my Soc series in digital and print, and in 2013, responding to numerous requests, I brought Soc back again in a seventh Socarides book entitled, Grey Lady. My wife Christi and I live on Cape Cod where she works as a financial advisor. We live in a circa 1865 farmhouse with two cats. We have three children and seven granddaughters. To learn more about Paul Kemprecos, check out his website at http://www.paulkemprecos.com.