"With a light touch and a cast of brilliantly eccentric characters, MOUNTING THE WHALE is a wild caper with a heart that beats the truth about what it really means to find someone." -- Kristen Valentine, Author of Gone Cold and Reviews Editor at Black Heart Magazine "Mounting the Whale is an amazing and funny book: think Wes Anderson meets Arrested Development " -- Lindsey Testolin, Award Winning Artist and Animator The self-made and affluent Pierce family is hurled into a seamy kidnapping plot when they receive a text message from Janine-the most troubled of all the Pierce children. "Cartel got me, tell mom" The siblings, drowning in their own problems, are forced to focus on the task at hand: a half-cocked rescue mission that involves a borrowed yacht, a favor from a notorious drug kingpin, and a shocking reunion none of them expected. When the family decides to sneak into Mexico, mother Cybil is forced to deal with a rival CEO whom she's developed feelings for in secret. Her only son, Tom, is willing to risk bodily harm to save Janine while his other sisters, Carlyle and Valerie, suspect that the kidnapping is less than legitimate. The long sea voyage tests the limits of the family's already frail bonds. Dark secrets of infertility, drugs, gambling and extreme taxidermy begin to float to the surface. But nothing compares to what they begin to learn about their missing sister. If they're going to make it out alive, they have to recognize they're fighting the same battles and facing life's greatest challenges: love, loneliness, and the struggle to find a place in the world. Amidst all the chaos, the Pierce family is brought face-to-face with the ugliness of Janine's addictions, the truth about their mother's fortune and the most terrifying question of all: Can you really save someone who doesn't want to be saved?