The Trail of the Griffon, the eighth book in the DB Murphy mystery series by Richard J. Thomas, will be launched at 2:00pm on Sunday December 3 at The Ginger Press. In this latest novel, it's 1927 and DB gets involved with an Owen Sound lawyer convinced that he has discovered the wreck of the Griffon, the first sailing ship built on the Great Lakes by Robert de LaSalle, which disappeared in 1679. Over the course of a week, DB discovers that nothing is as it seems with the search expedition.

As always, Richard's books combine accurate historical background with a fictional plot. Characters are named for those who have made donations to the Adult Learning Centre at the Owen Sound & North Grey Union Public Library; over $10,000 has been raised to date for this important community program.

In his Foreword to The Trail of the Griffon, Bill Murphy writes: "Most of us go through life not noticing what is right under our noses. We bypass fabulous local tourist spots until we have company, and then we wonder why we didn't go there before. The same is true of our local history...In Richard's books, Owen Sound and environs come alive for me in exciting ways, complete with murders, scams, shipwrecks, drinking, bootlegging and so much more. I'm hooked on the story, the mystery and the continued evolution of the life of DB Murphy."

Everyone is welcome to attend the book launch of at The Ginger Press in downtown Owen Sound. Autographed copies of The Trail of the Griffon ($24.95) can be reserved at (519) 376-4233.