This second volume of Opening Shots is a collection of twenty-three first stories published by prominent mystery and crime writers. Some of these offerings are remarkably mature, professional work. Others are more obviously early works, before the writers' skills reached full maturity. But every one of them is a pleasure to read, and in each can be seen the seed of the writer's craft. "Each writer has included an introduction worth the price of admission all by themselves," observes Block. "Writers, it seems to me, are never more eloquent or more interesting than when they reminisce about their early days, and recalling one's first success seems a spur to anecdotage for most of us." Following on the heels of the successful first volume of this series, the stories in this stellar field include: "Final Rites" by Doug Allyn; "Don't Kill a Karate Fighter" by William Chambers; "Entrapped" by Harlan Coben; "Yellow Gal" by Michael Collins; "Together" by Jeffery Deaver; "The Rough Boys" by Harlan Ellison; "Tole My Cap'n" by Joe Gores; "Layover" by Ed Gorman; "A Bunch of Mumbo-Jumbo" by Jan Grape; "The Cure" by David Handler; "Till Tuesday" by Jeremiah Healy; "Village of the Dead" by Edward D. Hoch; "Chalk" by Evan Hunter; "It's a Wise Child Who Knows" by Stuart Kaminsky; "Who Killed Cock Robin?" by H. R. F. Keating; "Medford & Son" by Dick Lochte; "Thieves' Honor" by John Lutz; "Not All Brides Are Beautiful" by Sharyn McCrumb; "Manslaughter" by Joyce Carol Oates; "You Don't Know What It's Like" by Bill Pronzini; "The Disappearance of Penny" by Robert J. Randisi; "A Victim Must Be Found" by Henry Slesar; "Blue Rose" by Peter Straub; "A Bad Night for Burglars" by Lawrence Block

.Lindsey Chamberlain battles modern-day pirates and a hurricane during a dive for sunken treasure and uncovers a four-hundred-year-old murder mystery.

In 1558 a Spanish galleon headed for the New World with supplies for the Spanish colonies was severely damaged in a storm and sank off the coast of Georgia. Now, inside one of the largest cofferdams ever built for the purpose of archaeology, Lindsay Chamberlain is excavating the site on the ocean floor. The new head of the division of anthropology and archaeology at the University of Georgia, Francisco Lewis, is staking his reputation on the success of the project; and John West, Lindsay's friend, is risking his future and his construction company on the safety of the cofferdam. For Lindsay, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand a past history that unfolded at sea, not on land. At least one passenger survived to tell the tale of the ship's voyage and destruction. His diary, written in code in a mix of Latin shorthand and archaic Spanish, reveals details of the voyage and describes his life at sea in the sixteenth century, a treasure of information for the archaeologists now recovering the remains of the ship. The pages tell of sea monsters and of another lost ship-a galleon on its way to Spain loaded with a vast treasure of gold, silver, and precious jewels. The diary also reveals that a murder occurred on the journey. Lindsay discovers the remains of the victim, a skeleton crew of suspects, and the diary-all the clever scholar needs to solve a crime that occurred more than 440 years ago. Anxiety takes its toll on the archaeology crew with the ocean and its pounding waves only two bulkheads away. Modern-day pirates are on the horizon anxious for the archaeologists to find the treasure, and a hurricane is headed their way. Adding to the troubles, one of the bidders for the construction of the cofferdam is found dead along with a beach bum who had found an emerald-encrusted gold cross. As tensions and trouble escalate, Lindsay must solve the murders. Everyone is a suspect. After all, who can resist the temptation of so much gold?