Bardo by the Sea

When Izzy Brown, an anxiety-ridden sixteen-year-old, receives a scholarship to the prestigious Bardo Academy, her family trades their trailer for a seaside villa in Florida's most exclusive and secretive community. With a new house, new school, and cute new boyfriend, life is good—for once. But then dreams of becoming a journalist prompt Izzy to join the school newspaper and investigate the murder of a former Bardo Academy football star. With the help of Elton Jones-Davies, a gentle giant with autism and secrets of his own, Izzy uncovers forbidden romance, shady business deals, and political corruption reaching all the way to the State Capitol. As the case heats up, Izzy's life unravels when she turns to opioids to relieve her anxiety. But she presses on, risking everything to bring the killer to justice. Set in 2008, at the precipice of the housing market crash and the height of Florida's prescription opioid epidemic, Bardo by the Sea is Book 1 of the Izzy and Elton Mystery Series.