About Mangrove Bayou

Mangrove Bayou is a small gulf coast Florida town located someplace south of Naples and east of the Moon and in the midst of the Ten Thousand Islands / Everglades National Park region.

Troy Adam is police chief and head of a small department. For such a small and remote town, Mangrove Bayou seems to be a hotbed of crime, both major and trivial. Troy and his small band of officers deal with it all, assisted or hindered by a collection of residents who redefine the term character.

Stephen Morrill writes about Mangrove Bayou in a series of police procedural mystery novels with a twist, as the Mangrove Bayou police force is small and the location remote. The books combine humor, weird characters, occasional social commentary, and serious police work, all taking place in a unique setting.

Try before you buy! Read samples from the Mangrove Bayou / Troy Adam police procedural mystery novels set in southwest Florida. It's not necessary to read the books in order but there are some minor story lines that run through them. 

Read. Enjoy. Buy. Enjoy more.

While this is the first book in the series,
there is no need to read the books in order.

The town council of the gulf coast Florida town of Mangrove Bayou hires Troy Adam, on probation, as their new police chief, mainly because there weren't any other serious candidates and despite the fact that Troy had just been fired from his previous police job.

No sooner does he arrive than a prominent citizen is found dead. The medical examiner classifies this as an accident but Troy thinks it's murder. The town council doubts that Troy or his small department can handle the case but Troy carries on regardless.

As a hurricane arrives, Troy and his small department deal with that homicide and other crimes. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

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Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

When a college student on vacation goes missing in the small gulf coast Florida town of Mangrove Bayou, police chief Troy Adam has to deal with overwhelming press attention, a town council doubtful that he can solve the crime, and a powerful judge.

Toss in the usual lesser crimes that keep on coming, and he and his small police force are stretched to their limits.

Accused early on of being 'soft and squishy on the inside' Troy proves in the end to be capable of utter ruthlessness. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

CLICK HERE to read a sample

Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

While this is the second book in the series,
there is no need to read the books in order.

While this is the third book in the series,
there is no need to read the books in order.

When a skeleton turns up in a car long-submerged in a drainage canal, Troy finds himself entagled with wealth, politics, and a governor's race.

As usual, on his way to solving the murder, Troy has to take care of a few side-problems as well, including encounters with a military school that looks like a Mussolini pep rally, and a gang leader with a degree in Shakespearean drama. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

CLICK HERE to read a sample

Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

When day workers start vanishing from assembly places near home repair stores around Lee and Collier counties, Troy smells a serial killer. Then he learns the killers are living in Mangrove Bayou. Last, he learns just how perverted they can be.

Along the way Troy deals with a rape, online and real-life protestors, a wandering ambassador's wife, a Hollywood actor he uses as bait, and, of course, Martha Sizemore's prized plantings. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

CLICK HERE to read a sample:

Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

While this is the fourth book in the series,
there is no need to read the books in order.

While this is the fifth book in the series,
there is no need to read the books in order.

When Mangrove Bayou mayor Lester Groud finds an amputated hand in the mangroves, Chief Troy Adams tries to find the owner. Instead, he stumbles into a cocaine-smuggling operation gone bad, and some very annoyed drug trafficers.

Add in a loner teenager with a gun, a feral child in a house filled with cockroaches, a whorehouse with standards and a mailing list, and a salesman with machineguns and tanks to sell, and Troy and his officers are having a busy few days. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

CLICK HERE to read a sample

Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

Mangrove Bayou police chief Troy Adam investigates vampire murders. No, the vampires aren't killing people; someone is killing them and draining away their blood. (And they're not your usual fictional vampires, Troy discovers that there really are people like that.)

Along the way Troy has to deal with the usual mix of policing issues, including a Muslim teenage girl converting to Christianity, a homeless veteran falsly accused of theft, and a family of old Florida crackers armed with guns, a speedboat and their friendly sheriff. Life is never dull in Mangrove Bayou.

CLICK HERE to read a sample

Available in e-book from Sorcet Press.
CLICK HERE to buy a book.

While this is the sixth book in the series
there is no need to read the books in order.