Palmetto Publishing Releases Marali Sargent-Smith's Alaska Thriller Buried Gold Set in Bristol Bay

The third installment in the acclaimed Alaska adventure series follows two resourceful women caught in a deadly treasure hunt in one of America's most remote villages, now available from Palmetto Publishing.

CHARLESTON, S.C., Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Palmetto Publishing has released Buried Gold, the new suspense novel by Marali Sargent-Smith. Set in the remote village of Egegik near Bristol Bay, Alaska, the book is the third installment in a series that began with Crossing Shelikof and Where Eagles Gather. It follows two longtime friends drawn into a lethal conflict over gold buried by Russian explorers nearly two centuries ago.

In Buried Gold, Loren, an adventurous artist from Homer, Alaska, travels to Egegik to help her injured brother clear out a massive warehouse stuffed with a motley assortment of items left behind by their recently deceased uncle. She expects a summer of hard work and quiet days in a landscape of tundra, salmon rivers, and endless evening light. Her best friend, Belle, a newly certified Village Public Safety Officer, flies her single-engine plane into the region anticipating paperwork and adventure. What they find instead is a community simmering with secrets and a charred body in a burning building.

A second murder follows, striking closer to the two women. They discover that a ruthless local pair has spent years searching for gold hidden somewhere near Egegik by Russian explorers. As the hunt for buried treasure becomes a hunt for human prey, Loren and Belle find themselves trapped in a perilous battle of strategy in a place too remote for backup and too dangerous for trust. Their survival depends on the bond they forged through past ordeals and on instincts sharpened by the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness.

Marali Sargent-Smith stated, "I wanted to bring readers into a part of Alaska that most people will never see, a place where the land itself shapes every decision you make. Bristol Bay is real, Egegik is real, and the history of Russian exploration in this region is fascinating and largely untold. I hope readers feel the isolation, the beauty, and the danger that define life in these remote villages."

The novel is positioned for readers of character-driven regional suspense with strong female protagonists. Fans of Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series, Sue Henry, and Christine Carbo will find familiar ground in Marali Sargent-Smith's vivid Alaskan settings and layered mystery plotting. The book blends treasure-hunting intrigue with themes of friendship, survival, and small-town secrets, appealing to adult readers and older teens alike. As interest in fiction set in wild, isolated landscapes continues to grow, Buried Gold arrives at a moment when readers are seeking stories grounded in real places and cultures.

Buried Gold is available for purchase online at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. For more information about the author, please visit any of their social media platforms.

About the Author: Marali Sargent-Smith is the author of Crossing Shelikof and Where Eagles Gather, the first two books in her thrilling Alaska adventure series. With Buried Gold: Bristol Bay Alaska, she delivers a heart-pounding third installment that plunges readers into a deadly treasure hunt set against the wild backdrop of Bristol Bay. Her fiction blends suspense, historical intrigue, and a thread of spiritual truth that resonates with readers from older teens to adults.

A lifelong Alaskan, Sargent-Smith draws on deep personal familiarity with the state's remote villages, vast wilderness, and resilient communities to craft stories that feel authentic down to their bones. Her writing brings to life the beauty and danger of places most people will never visit, from the Kenai Peninsula to the shores of Bristol Bay. Her characters, resourceful women navigating perilous situations in unforgiving terrain, reflect the strength and ingenuity that Alaska demands of those who call it home.

When she is not writing, Sargent-Smith pursues her passion for the visual and tactile arts, working in stained glass, paint, fiber, and clay from her home on the Kenai Peninsula. This multidisciplinary creativity infuses her prose with vivid imagery and a keen eye for detail that makes her settings as compelling as her plots. Follow Marali Sargent-Smith for updates on new releases.

About the Book:

Title: Buried Gold
Author: Marali Sargent-Smith

Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
Publication date: August 11, 2026
ISBN-13: 9798318844416, 9798318844423
Available for interviews: Author, Marali Sargent-Smith

SOURCE Palmetto Publishing