Dead in the Water: The Real Story of Nathan Carman

The gripping inside story of Nathan Carman's crimes from the maritime lawyer who solved his multimillionaire mother's disappearance at sea and his even wealthier grandfather's shooting death in bed.

When Nathan and Linda Carman were a week overdue on a fishing trip out of Point Judith, Rhode Island, few thought they would still be alive. Even the Coast Guard had called off its search. So it seemed miraculous when Nathan was spotted--on a life raft, 106 miles south of Martha's Vineyard--by the Chinese freighter ORIENT LUCKY.

But was it more than luck? Nathan survived but his mother did not. Then news broke that Nathan was the primary suspect in his grandfather's murder three years before, though the case chilled from a missing firearm. The last person to see both victims alive, twenty-two-year-old Nathan was now in line for a $10 million inheritance!

Or was Nathan, evidently on the Autism spectrum, plain unlucky to have lost the only two people close to him? As he claimed on national TV, was the focus on him as the "the lowest hanging fruit" just prejudice?

With no witnesses, no charges in his grandfather's shooting, and no body for his mother lost at sea, both cases might have gone cold...except that Nathan made an insurance claim for his lost boat. Enter maritime attorney David J. Farrell, Jr. who ties together Nathan's evil and greedy scheme.

Follow the author's team dissect Nathan's final voyage, extract exclusive testimony, and assemble evidence from around the world. In Dead in the Water, you'll pull up a seat inside the federal court trial to see if Nathan's dream of drifting away with millions of dollars comes true.

Author: David J. Jr. Farrell
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 03/31/2026
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.95lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.10w x 1.20d
ISBN: 9798895653500

About the Author
David J. Farrell, Jr. received his primary maritime education and initial Coast Guard licensing in Chatham, Massachusetts. He graduated from Belmont Hill School, Williams College, Columbia University, and Duke Law School.

For forty years Attorney Farrell has been a maritime casualty trial lawyer, eight years in Seattle and afterwards on Cape Cod. A past president of The Maritime Law Association of the United States, he received the U.S. Coast Guard Commandant's Distinguished Public Service Award. A titulary member of the Comité Maritime International, he served as a legal advisor to the U.S. State Department and U.S. Coast Guard at UN International Maritime Organization meetings.

A frequent speaker and author on maritime law and public policy issues, Attorney Farrell has written hundreds of non-fiction briefs during his career. Dead in the Water: The Real Story of Nathan Carman is his first nonfiction book.