He crouches beside me, his breath a misplaced weather. I let him cup a handful of the sea into my hair and wring it out. The smallest of pearls — and all for you. I open my eyes. His face between my hands, wet as a cut. Ocean Vuong

There's something happening in the Outer Banks. Something mysterious. Dangerous. It's in the air that something bad's been going on. And Dylan Jennings can't shake the feeling out of her bones.

Who would've known the ordinary island that was the Outer Banks would be the front page for a murder. Scooter Grubbs was found dead in the marsh, skin blue and white, his body washed up after a storm; a Grady White sunken to the bottom of the water not too far away. It raised questions.

1. Who killed Scooter Grubbs?
2. What was their motive?
3. What did he do to deserve this?

It's a known fact that Dylan Jennings was interested in the world of crime since she was a kid. Her father was a lawyer. It ran in the family. The closest she ever gotten to her dream was solving the many murder mystery games her mom got her for her birthday. (She was damn good at it, too.) But Logan and Ainsley Jennings tried to steer their teenage daughter away from the gory and violent dream of hers. She was young. She needed to be focusing on other things like having the best Summer of her life before she became a junior.

The Outer Banks was paradise on Earth. It's exactly what you see in the movies. Surfing, boat rides, jet skiing, fishing in the marsh, smoking blunts from sun up and sun down — every day was the same. But Dylan loved her life. Especially when she had her friends by her side. The Pogues were notorious for getting into trouble on the island. Dylan, who earned the nickname DJ by JJ Maybank, all the time wondered how she ended up with them.

Maybe it was because she'd been best friends with John a since she was a baby. Or because JJ somehow magically got stuck with them in the third grade. Or because Pope needed a little excitement in his life and that's what they brought to the table. Or because Kiara was all things sunshine and good vibes and she was the perfect piece to their puzzle.

Whatever it was, they were best friends. Ride or dies. They loved each other. They'd die for each other. They just didn't know how much that proclaim would come true one day.

When the Pogues discover the Grady White the same day as Scooter Grubbs's body's discovered, the group of friends just can't help but get involved. It would be the adventure of a lifetime. Who wouldn't want to go on a murder mystery? Especially when you're a Pogue and you live in the slums like the boys did.

      (Not like Kie and DJ, who have the unfair advantage of being stuck in the middle. Rich girls with poor friends. A teeter totter.)

      But then more questions start to rise the deeper they get into the investigation. A Grady White. A motel key. A gun. A compass that belonged to John B's missing (presumed dead) father that leads them to searching for the lost Royal Merchant gold.

1. Is it all linked to the killer?
2. Why are the police hiding that they don't know?
3. Could this be linked to Big John's disappearance?
4. How far were they willing to go before they were killed?

Dylan had one last Summer before her junior year. Before college started. Before she was ready to start a new life. There was 500million dollars worth of gold on the line. It was all a race to see who would get it first: the Pogues or the Outer Banks.

Taylor Russell   Dylan 'DJ' Jennings
XVI. Libra. Yellow. Future Detective. Frank Ocean. The Backseat Lovers. The Ocean. Mangos. Tan Lines. Summer Walker. Pearls. Seas Shells. Lauryn Hill. The Sun. Criminal Minds. Pope Heyward

Jonathan Daviss   Pope Heyward

Jude Law   Logan Jennings

Gabrielle Union   Ainsley Jennings

Dallas Dupree Young   Braxton Jennings

Treasure hunt for gold + crime loving oc? golden

Warnings for this book include language, mentions of death and blood, family issues, and kidnapping. Read at your own risk!

Pope and Dylan are the ultimate childhood best friends to lovers and I love them so much