Cenote: An AA McCay Novel

by Carleton Prince

An offbeat mystery adventure in an exotic and romantic setting. Two people thrown into a sinkhole of lies, deceit, and death. He's looking for great locations. She's looking for her missing brother. In the end, they find what they were looking for – but lose their dreams, their innocence, and almost their lives in the process. Adam Alexander McCay is a photojournalist on assignment in the Yucatan Peninsula to shoot exotic locales, including the underwater caves known as cenotes. He meets Amber Deveraux, a school teacher from Boise looking for her twin brother, who disappeared in the area two months ago. Drawn together by circumstances and the voids in their own lives, Adam and Amber soon find themselves sinking into an alluring and dangerous world. They scuba dive in the warm Caribbean waters near Cozumel, visit the ancient Maya ruins at Chichen Itza, descend into the forbidding darkness of the Caves at Balankanche, and discover the claustrophobic secrets of the cenotes. They also find themselves caught in a web of relationships, including two unlikely buddies from Texas (and their equally unlikely wives), a temptress from Columbia, a plastic surgeon from Brazil, and an ensemble of other characters as intriguing and colorful as the Yucatan itself, including the gregarious owner of Hacienda Bolontiku, hiding secrets that reach back centuries. Adam and Amber both find what they were looking for – but they end up paying a price far higher than they ever thought possible.

286 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2014

About the author

Carleton Prince was an advertising copywriter, creative director, and agency president before working in executive management in the mortgage banking and financial services industries. He studied physics and film at UCLA, earned a BA in philosophy at UC Berkeley, and worked on an MA in film at San Francisco State. He has two grown daughters, one in Los Angeles and one in San Francisco, and lives with his wife in Surprise, Arizona.