TREASURE ISLAND, Fla. — The newly released murder mystery novel “Trouble on Treasure Island” takes place on the Pinellas County island and features local hot spots, according to author Seth Sjostrom.

What You Need To Know

  • It's the first book in a new series titled “Beach House Mysteries” 

  • Author Seth Sjostrom says he wrote half the book at Caddy's

  • Caddy's is featured in the book

  • “Trouble on Treasure Island” is Sjostrom's 15th novel

“I want these books to be fun for tourists who come to visit these destinations and pick out landmarks that are very obvious,” said Sjostrom, 51. “I also like to weave in some things that the locals only know.”

Sjostrom said it’s the first book in his new series titled “Beach House Mysteries.” The plot centers around a beach house stager, Kate Harper, who witnesses the prelude to a murder and the chase that ensues.

“It’s the killer trying to track her down, and she’s trying to find the killer before he finds her,” said Sjostrom. “We can follow Kate from beach house to beach house around beautiful beach locations around the country and if I have any hand in it, I get to visit them, too.”

The author said he wrote about half of the book at Caddy’s on Sunset Beach, and that the waterfront restaurant is almost like another character in the book.

“There’s a few scenes that happen at Caddy’s specifically and then so much of it takes place on this beach,” he said. “I try to make settings in these books as much of a character as the characters themselves.”  

Sjostrom said last August, he moved to Hernando Beach from Camas, Washington.  

“I stayed out here while I was doing work and I just fell in love with it,” he said. “Great weather, beautiful beaches, it’s just an outstanding setting.”

“Trouble on Treasure Island” is the 15th novel Sjostrom has written, and the book was released on April 1. Sjostrom had a book-signing event at Caddy’s in Treasure Island on April 2.