Richard Wickliffe

By: Sharon Aron Baron

Award-winning author and Coral Springs resident Richard Wickliffe has just published a new novel inspired by real crimes involving Miami Russian mafia – with a bit of literary license.

“Eyes of Poseidon” is a follow-up to his last award-winning novel,“Storm Crashers,” which was also inspired by unique Florida crimes.

In Wickliffe’s new novel, a successful Miami doctor leaps from a cruise ship in the dead of night. His devastated wife, along with an FBI agent who works organized crime, unravel his fate. He had been lured to Miami by a tempting new organization who promised wealth and success. But after threats and extortion, he knew there was no way out. His family would never be safe. What his wife and the ruthless Russian assassins discover next changes everything.

The concept was inspired by real crimes outlined in Wickliffe’s published article, “The Russian Mafia: A Rising Threat of Fraud and Violence,” including details from FBI arrests involving bogus medical clinics and alluring girls who’d drugged and robbed tourists along South Beach.

Florida residents may enjoy the novel’s local references, including South Beach, Little Havana, Coral Gables’ Biltmore, Fort Lauderdale’s Mai Kai Restaurant, Joe’s Stone Crab, Key Biscayne’s Rusty Pelican as well as locations set in the Bahamas.

A 42-year resident of Coral Springs, Wickliffe graduated from Coral Springs High School, then went on to graduate from Florida Atlantic University. He continues to live in the city with his wife and three children.

In 2017, Wickliffe won gold in popular fiction at the 11th Annual Florida Book Awards. He also has a passion for art and photography, and works by him have been exhibited in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Art Guild and in Forbes Travel Magazine.

Wickliffe’s last book was optioned by Twentieth Century Fox, so he’s already written the screenplay for Poseidon –just in case.

Watch a video trailer of the book on YouTube.  Order a book at  www.RichWickliffe.com