Precious Cargo

In Ford's undistinguished second Charlie Noble thriller (after 2005's Red Herring), Noble has found a second career as a PI in Eagle Harbor, Wash., after his promising career with the Coast Guard was cut short by his refusal to doctor a report. Noble sets aside plans for a romantic getaway with his significant other, Kate Sullivan, his first major relationship since the death of his wife, after deciding to accept a new assignment. Marvin and Angela Baynes, who have been haunted by the decades-old disappearance of their only daughter, are horrified when a dead girl is pulled from the bottom of the sound by their boat's anchor. The couple hire Noble to identify both the victim and her killer. Aided by Raven, a skilled diver, Noble soon finds two other corpses and begins to probe the victims' link to a brothel. Readers should be prepared for routine prose (""Damn relationships... I hate 'em and I love 'em"") and a by-the-numbers plot.