The Devil's Finger [Paperback]

William Ungerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 28, 2004

Myles Rawlings and Lon Grainger are hunters of men. Trained snipers, they have demonstrated their mastery of the one-shot kill on every corner of the globe. But their new contract takes them to the remote hell of Zapata, Texas--where a vicious drug lord terrorizes and kills all who oppose him.

But what begins as just another job becomes a personal mission of redemption and vengeance as Rawlings and Grainger fight to catch the drug kingpin in their crosshairs--while they themselves are being hunted by the bloody demons of their past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This gory page-turner from Ungerman, an ex–Special Forces operative, replays the Seven Samurai along the Rio Grande—but with only two samurai, ex–Delta Force snipers Myles Rawlings and Lon Grainger, who've been hung out to dry after an interagency snafu in Beirut led to the deaths of the wrong people. In Washington, D.C., Richard Stoneman, whose life was saved by the Delta Forcers in Mogadishu, is trying to unravel the mystery behind the Beirut incident. Meanwhile, Rawlings and Grainger are finding that Zapata, Tex., is full of both friends and foes. Friends include the local priests, who are trying to keep their church open as the last bastion of decency; Sloane Nadine McKenzie, a deep-cover DEA agent; and the two teenage boys who ran the ad that brought the shooters to Zapata in the first place. Chief among their enemies is Estaban Rios, drug lord and consummate thug, who's supported by a Cuban super sniper, a Santeria witch and a small army of well-paid and well-armed muscle. Needless to say, virtue triumphs, but the battle is plausibly long and bloody, while the secondary characters (not to mention the weapons) are drawn with abundant and often original detail. The graphic scenes of rape and torture may limit this contemporary thriller's appeal to a mostly male audience.
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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Jove (September 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 051513841X
• ISBN-13: 978-0515138412
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,054,890 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars shoot-em-up magnificent two crime thriller, September 29, 2004

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Finger (Paperback)

Drug lord Esteban Rios runs the border town of Zapata. He controls the police chief, the city council, and the only bank. He builds clinics and playgrounds while running drugs across the border where he owns and operates brothels. His reign of terror extends to the monthly games; these events enable incarcerated Mexican men an improbable chance of freedom if they remain alive long enough. The only institution not controlled by Rios is the church where a priest has just answered an ad in New Breed magazine.

Lon Grainger and Myles Rawlings used to work for Uncle Sam as contract killers, but when the former missed a target the work dried up. They came to Zapata not knowing what is going on, but quickly learn about Rios' stranglehold on the town. They plan to start a mini-war with the objective being to kill Rios and his associates. Rios also prepares for battle because he will never give up his power without a fight.

Fans of action thrillers with plenty of gore will want to read THE DEVIL'S FINGER. At first Lon and Esteban seem like identical twins, but the American mercenary has a social conscience and even tries to keep collateral damage to a minimum while his adversary turns good things into evil and does not worry about innocents. Lon seeks redemption for the accidental death of a child in Zapata he sees the a way to do good. William Ungerman grips the reader's attention with this shoot-em-up magnificent two crime thriller.

Harriet Klausner

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Action Packed Adventure Novel!, April 30, 2005

By 

Melvin Hunt (Cleveland,, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Devil's Finger (Paperback)

Myles Rawlings and Lon Grainger are former Delta Force snipers who have become contract killers.They are in Beirut on a
contract job to assassinate a Middle East terrorist leader.The
shot does not go as planned.All of a sudden the two contract hit
men cannot find work.They decide to answer an add in a military
magazine.
Their new assigment is in Zapata Texas.Here they have to take on a drug lord named Estaban Rios.Rios has an army made up of a
Cuban super sniper,a Santaria witch as well as plenty of hired
goons.Rios is also a sponsor of an event called "the games".
An individual is paid to run for his life to see if he can avoid being shot by hunters who pay for this sport.Rios is the
epitome of evil.
The two contract killers go to war with the forces of Estaban Rios.There is one gun battle after the other.This story could not be told without a showdown between the Cuban super sniper,
Montezuma and American super sniper Lon Grainger.To say the least this is an exciting book that will provide excitement.You
will find this book hard to put down.I can hardly wait for the next William Ungerman book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a great B movie, March 30, 2005

By 

John Bowes (Oxford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Devil's Finger (Paperback)

This is really a cowboy tale, gunslingers and bad guys and no holds barred. Delta sniper teams are the modern day reference for this much older story. It's been done before, but a tale well told is always appreciated.