Mangrove Underground

USA Book News "Best Books 2011" Award finalist in literary fiction Mangrove Underground is part Florida eco-mystery and part coming of age narrative that subverts the expectations of both genres. Haunted by his mother's sudden death when he was young, Ben Gates spends his life trying to be a hero, but can never seem to get it right. When wildfires rage through the Everglades, destroying natural habitat and creeping close to homes, folks around Cypress City suspect somebody's lighting them. Ben, now an idealistic park ranger, believes he's the man to find the arsonist. Trouble is, folks also think he might be the culprit. Rumor gives way to conspiracy theory gives way to local legend as Ben races to save the town, and himself, while confronting his own secret past with the mysterious Mangrove Underground.