Hat Check

There's a killer on the loose in the sleepy South Carolina island town of Pawleys Island.

A roguishly handsome yet reluctant hero and a cast of the most memorable characters you’ll ever meet collide in this zany and raucous tropical thriller by David Berens.

Rambling beach bum, Troy Bodean, is the new owner of an outback tea-stained, straw cowboy hat with a colorful peacock plume. He found the unlucky hat in an abandoned aluminum fishing boat and decided the smell of Old Spice and lack of an owner made it his for the taking. Little did he know that a misplaced cashier's check was hidden inside.

Unbeknownst to our hero, he'd attracted a whole bevy of killers out to kill him when he put the hat on his head. From Daisy Mae and Ellie Mae Gallup, the mothers of Troy's alleged love child, to the bumbling New Zealander assassins, Darren The Body McGlashen and Man'Ti, to the most Böhring, yet shady mill CEO in the business... they all have one thing on their minds—get that hat.

And Troy has no idea why. Laugh, ache, and groan as the chase for Troy and his hat leads him on the wildest ride on and around Pawleys Island, South Carolina, in history. Who knows where it will all end?

Hat Check is a fast-paced coastal crime thriller (Book 1 of the Troy Bodean Tropical Thriller series) set in Pawleys Island, South Carolina. If you like protagonists who are reluctant but resourceful, seaside small towns with close-knit and quirky characters, murder mysteries with dark humor and vivid dialogue, and twisty investigations that mix suspense and comedy — this is for you. Fans of Carl Hiaasen, Elin Hilderbrand’s darker work, or Janet Evanovich’s lighter suspense will feel right at home here.

Publisher - Berens Books

Language - English

Perfect Bound

Contributors

By author

David Berens

Published Date - 2026-08-02

ISBN - 9605898000036

Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.7 cm

Page Count - 308