Chris Kohler
Chris Kohler, Ph.D., is a professor emeritus of fisheries, aquaculture, and aquatic ecology at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He has published extensively in the scientific literature, including co-editing a popular college textbook, Inland Fisheries Management in North America, first and second editions. The international focus of much of his research and development work thrust him in exotic locales throughout much of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. One of his more memorable endeavors occurred in the colorful and mystical island nation of Haiti. Cracked Island, his first novel,draws upon his personal experiences, stories conveyed by friends and colleagues, and fragments of story lines gleaned from the many fine books and articles written about Haiti, its people, and its rich culture. Chris lives in Florida with his adorable wife, Charlee Sue, and two precious house cats.
Tim James has lost everything: his wife, his purpose, and most days, his sobriety.
Stranded in grief and bitterness after a diving accident in Haiti, Tim becomes easy prey for Vinny Berkowitz—a fast-talking fraud masquerading as a respected island attorney. Vinny offers him a way out: pose as an anthropologist and help recover supposedly pre-Colombian artifacts from Haiti’s remote outer islands.
But Vinny is lying.
The artifacts are not simply historical curiosities. They are gold. And Tim is not the only pawn in Vinny’s scheme. Soon, an idealistic missionary nurse, Madeleine McCoy, and a wary peasant farmer, Ti Bon Baptiste, are pulled into the hunt, forming an unlikely crew bound by secrets, desperation, and mistrust.
Their journey carries them through turquoise waters, suffocating jungles, Vodou temples, hidden caves, and villages still reeling beneath the shadow of a devastating earthquake. But someone—or something—is following them: a sinister bocor, a priest of the underworld, whose motives may be darker than greed.
As danger closes in, Tim begins to see Haiti through new eyes: through Ti Bon’s loyalty, Madeleine’s compassion, and a truth about himself he never expected to face. But every step deeper into the island forces another lie to the surface.
On an island many believe is cursed, treasure is the least dangerous thing buried.
Wry, atmospheric, and packed with betrayal, mystery, romance, and adventure, Cracked Island is a Caribbean thriller about broken people, ancient secrets, and the fragile hope of redemption.
