It’s 1981 and Miami is under siege from the drug trade and the killings over control of the trade, but the bizarre murder of a businessman takes the violence to a new level. His mouth and nose had been sewn shut, and inside his stomach there was a tarot card- the king of swords.  Detectives Max Mingus and Joe Liston begin to follow leads when they make a gruesome discovery that the dead man’s entire family has been killed.

With rumors of black magic and more bodies turning up, the detectives have their hands full, but their problems mount when police corruption also threatens their investigation. With nowhere to turn Mingus and Liston trust no one, but will not stop until the killer is caught. The King of Swords: A Novel by Nick Stone is a gritty thriller mystery in a city on the verge of meltdown.