Shell Games

by Kirk Russell

Overview

The discovery of thousands of empty abalone shells and two murdered divers sends Lieutenant John Marquez's poaching investigation in a new—and very risky—direction. Former DEA agent and now head of a special operations unit of the California Department of Fish and Game, Marquez learns he himself has been targeted as the next victim. Stalking him is Kline, a vicious drug smuggler turned abalone smuggler who has a vendetta against Marquez.

John Marquez is supposed to protect wildlife, not solve murders, but the only way he can break the multi-million-dollar abalone-smuggling ring, as well as save his own life, is to find and stop Kline. A fast-paced crime novel set along the majestic Northern California coastline, Shell Games introduces a tough, complex, and appealing hero and a masterful new series.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940153997117
Publisher:	Kirk Russell
Publication date:	02/01/2017
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	852,348
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Kirk Russell is the author of numerous thrillers and crime novels, including "Shell Games," "Redback," and "One Through the Heart." His book "Dead Game" was named one of the top ten crime novels of 2005 by the American Library Association. Russell’s novels have had numerous starred reviews. Among them, Library Journal referred to his "Counterfeit Road" as “an addictive police procedural on speed.” Russell lives in Berkeley, California.

Editorial Reviews

With his first novel, Kirk Russell drops readers directly into the action on the craggy North Coast, carving a new niche in crime writing with an environmental edge....Once hooked by Shell Games, readers may find themselves wanting to buy this guy Marquez a drink just to keep him talking.

San Francisco Chronicle

Russell should walk off with the award for far and away the most inventive new detective hero.... A first-rate start to a projected series.

Booklist

A large part of the considerable strength of Kirk Russell's first mystery novel (along with his clear and pungent writing . . . comes from the way he makes us quickly believe in Marquez and his cause.

Chicago Tribune

A special squad of undercover endangered-species investigators goes after poachers and ends up taking on a nightmarish international killer and the FBI. Lt. John Marquez, head of the California Fish & Game Department's Special Operations Unit, stumbles upon a grisly torture-murder while investigating a multimillion-dollar abalone poaching operation. Something stinks, and it's not bad shellfish. Ex-DEA agent Marquez can't help but notice the similarities between this torture killing and the darkest moment from his fed dope-sleuth period in Mexico. His nemesis, the man who took out his entire DEA crew and said he'd get him later, is back. The local homicide investigator and FBI don't want Marquez poking into the case. Meanwhile, he has much of the detective genre's DNA: he's moody, struggles with his demons by night, his ex-DEA undercover bio subs for the usual Vietnam vet résumé, and though he's not divorced, his marriage is on the rocks thanks to the old struggle between the job and the family. Throw in a few more flashbacks and he'd fit right in at James Lee Burke's Robicheaux Dock & Bait Shop in Louisiana. But to first-novelist Russell's credit, Marquez doesn't chase Scotch with jazz or slam his badge and gun on the boss's desk. This is not a cliché fest. The story is loaded with atmosphere, as the SOU team races through clogged California traffic up and down the moody coast from Fort Bragg to San Francisco. It's also made unself-consciously relevant with timely references, such as contrasting the mortally wounded California state budget and the whatever-it-takes blank check given federal agencies in the name of post-9/11 national security. The SOU crew includes a variety of believablecharacters, not a one from central casting. The bad guys are as colorful as Elmore Leonard's cast of wise guys, but with ex-hippie and surfer dudes subbing for Leonard's thugs and made men. Russell could, and should, take Marquez and this crew out again. Agent: Philip Spitzer

Kirkus Reviews