1723—Spider John is almost home, free of the horrors of the pirate life, free of the violence, free of the death. The wife and baby he left behind almost a decade ago are almost within reach.

But then a murder aboard Minuet uncovers a deeper conspiracy, and soon Spider and his friends—curmudgeonly Odin, swashbuckling young Hob and alluring Ruth Copper— find themselves in the midst of flintlock smoke and bloodshed.

The violence follows Spider ashore to Nantucket, where the loving reception he’d dreamed of turns out to be something utterly unexpected. Soon, Spider is running for his life and confronting cutthroats and thieves — while hiding from islanders who think he left a man dead on a widow’s front step.

The solution? Find the killer. The consequences? Those could change Spider John’s life forever.

“Steve Goble’s Pieces of Eight is a stormy gem of a historical adventure, featuring a colorful and violent band of eighteenth-century misfits. Peril on every page, and brimming with heart, gore, and passion. You won’t put this down. Impeccably researched and richly detailed, Pieces of Eight is an entertaining jag that recalls the Odyssey in a most clever way...if Odysseus had been a pirate.”

—James W. Ziskin, author of the Anthony and Macavity award-winning Ellie Stone mysteries

“Bodies and blunderbusses abound as Spider John and his motley crew of friends are back in fine form!

—Dan Stout, author of Titanshade

“A riveting great read with all manner of cliff hanger plots twists and unexpected turns, Pieces of Eight by Steve Goble is the most recent of the author's Spider John mystery novels. A deftly crafted, inherently absorbing, narrative driven story that will keep and hold the reader's total attention from cover to cover.”

—Midwest Book Review