Night Game (John Marquez Crime Novels) [Hardcover]

Kirk Russell (Author)

Book Description

Series: John Marquez Crime Novels | Publication Date: October 21, 2004

The tough, caring, and distinctive John Marquez is back. Booklist lauded him as "far and away the most inventive new detective hero." The San Francisco Chronicle raved "readers may find themselves wanting to buy this guy Marquez a drink just to keep him talking." And The Chicago Tribune gave high praise to the way author Kirk Russell "makes us quickly believe in Marquez and his cause." In this gripping new crime novel, former federal drug agent Marquez again pushes the boundaries of safety and politics when he takes his team of Fish and Game officers on a dangerous operation in pursuit of bear poachers. Night Game hits hard and moves fast toward a finish that ricochets through wilderness, backwoods towns, and the darker recesses of love and greed. A second novel that delivers -- and firmly establishes a great series.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Russell introduced a highly original detective, an officer in the California Department of Fish and Game, in last year's Shell Games. The return of the Fish and Game officer, John Marquez, this time working forests rather than the shore, proves the debut was no fluke. This episode's focus is on trafficking in animal parts, specifically bear bile, which is prized as an alternative medicine. Marquez's covert-operations unit flushes out part of a trafficking ring, which^B captures bears and then catheterizes them to remove the bile. The traffickers up the ante by murdering a geology student, who is a member of the Bear Initiative. Marquez, an ex-DEA agent, is a real grown-up, not one of the embittered loners who too often populate procedurals. Russell writes of the wilds with deep knowledge, making his story achingly credible. Connie Fletcher
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Splendid second outing in a procedural series (Shell Games, 2003) about a tough-as-nails California Fish & Game investigator busting a cabal of bear poachers . . . Superb suspense, culminating in an exhausting but satisfying series of chases, showdowns, and bitter glimpses of justice denied. --Kirkus Reviews (Starred review)

Russell introduced a highly original detective, an officer in the California Department of Fish and Game, in last year's Shell Games. The return of the Fish and Game officer, John Marquez, this time working forests rather than the shore, proves the debut was no fluke. Russell writes of the wilds with deep knowledge, making his story achingly credible. --Booklist

"With its complex plotting and tough yet honorable protagonist, this exciting outdoor crime series is just the ticket for fans of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett and Joseph Heywood's Grady Service." --Library Journal

"Genuine evil and heart-stopping action are not reserved solely for the gritty inner city, but flourish as well in Kirk Russell's rural California settings in his second John Marquez outing, Night Game. This is a series, and an author, to hitch on to." --C.J. Box, author of Trophy Hunt

"Kirk Russell writes with the clarity of a mountain stream. He has captured a fascinating subculture and peopled it with characters deep enough to drown in. The story flows through the brain with an exhilarating rush." --Nevada Barr, author of High Country

"Night Game is an engaging, harrowing, and at times heart-breaking tale told with crisp but evocative prose. Author Kirk Russell guides us through a world of ruthless bear poachers and organ harvesters, with an unerring eye for how the marginalized mandate of wildlife protectors opens up into a much larger story of who we are and how we live. A bracing, convincing, and heartfelt read." --David Corbett, author of The Devil's Redhead and Done For a Dime

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First edition. edition (October 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081184112X
• ISBN-13: 978-0811841122
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,844,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kirk Russell is the author of five crime fiction novels. Shell Games (2003), Night Game (2004), Deadgame (2005), and Redback(2011), feature John Marquez, head of a California Fish and Game undercover team and a character Booklist described as, "far and away the most inventive new detective hero." His fifth novel, A Killing in China Basin, launches a new series with San Francisco homicide inspector, Ben Raveneau. Russell has two children, Kate and Olivia. He lives in Berkeley, California with his wife Judy Rodgers, chef and co-owner of San Francisco's Zuni Café. For more visit kirkrussellbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compelling, Fast-Paced Read, December 9, 2004

By 

P. McGraw (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Night Game (John Marquez Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the second installment in the John Marquez crime fiction series. Intelligent characters, well-paced plot, an insight into a world I knew nothing about, the illegal trafficking in bear bile (just as the first Marquez explored the world of abalone smuggling, another world previously unknown to me) - plus, to top it all off, good writing. One could hardly ask for anything more, except a third installment. As to that, I understand one is on the way, one focusing on caviar and sturgeon trafficking, with a special appearance by Russian mobsters. I'm looking forward to it already. In the meantime, though, check out Night Games. You won't be disappointed.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous thriller, January 7, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Night Game (John Marquez Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

California Department of Fish & Game Special Operations Chief Lieutenant John Marquez and his undercover team investigate poachers using torturous devices to capture, and slaughter bears to sell body parts to healers. The violators are organized, professional, and one step ahead of the game wardens because they hacked into the law enforcement computers. No one interferes with this shadowy group's lucrative business and if threatening the wardens and their families fails, murder will follow and may have already occurred.

Meanwhile as he struggles to do his job without endangering his loved ones, John investigates disgraced game warden, Bill Petroni at the same time that homicide detective Jack Kendal suspects Bill for murder of a camper last year. The link is Bill's live in lover Sophie Broussard, who has ties to bear poaching and other illegal activities. Could Bill have provided insider information to a deadly group intent on keeping their profits the envy of the Fortune 500 firms?

The atmosphere is incredible as the picturesque Northern California Mountains come across as sinister and dangerous as any urban noir scene. John is terrific with his ethics pulled in several directions due to concern for his family, his team and their family, the bears he is supposed to protect, and doing his job. The enemy is the key as they are shadowy yet successful, which leads to intrigue balanced against cruelty and cynicism from government officials whose vision is a paraphrase from the Eisenhower administration that what is good for business is good for the USA. This is a fabulous tale in which justice and morality struggles against making a buck at any cost (as long as someone else pays the tab).

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Playing For Keeps in "Night Game" by Kirk Russell, October 3, 2006

By 

Kevin Tipple (Plano, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Night Game (John Marquez Crime Novels) (Hardcover)

In this sequel to "Shell Games" John Marquez returns and this time he is on the hunt for bear poachers. Marquez runs a Special Operations Unit within the California Department of Fish and Game. Trafficking in bear parts and products of bears, such as bear bile, is very illegal and as such, can be very lucrative. To stop such actions, undercover operations are needed and take considerable time to build cases under intense risk to personnel.

Marquez along with his team have been undercover working a case built from a tip Marquez does not entirely trust. Clearly, somebody is trafficking in bear parts and could be connected to a bear farm and Marquez has managed to gradually work his way into a shadowy network of paranoid sellers. At the same time, he doesn't trust the snitch who gave him the tip as some of the pieces of information he passed on simply don't add up.

Along with bear trafficking, El Dorado County California seems to be having a bit of a murder problem. A couple of years ago a murder occurred and Detective Jack Kendall was unable to solve it. Now, another murder has happened and there are links between the two cases. This time a geology student, known for involving himself with pro bear support groups against bear farming, bear poaching and the like while working on his thesis was killed and his body was found in the area known as the Crystal Basin, behind Barrett Lake. Kendall wants to know everything Marquez has in case there is overlap with his case.

What follows is a strong and increasingly complex mystery much in the mode of the books written by C. J. Box. While the locations are different, the issues confronting the game wardens involved are the same. Politics also soon becomes an issue as the heard headed Kendall is much more concerned with his murder case than what Marquez and his team are doing.

As the cases lead back and forth through the high country of California, around Lake Tahoe and through Western Nevada, Marquez and his team quickly become more than characters in a book. They take on a flesh and blood substance as they work to solve a case with far reaching implications while juggling the demands of their personal off the job lives.

While occasionally a little slow in spots, the overall read is good with strong character development, multiple storylines and plenty of action moving the work forward. Readers new to this series should definitely start with the first book "Shell Games." Not only does it set up the characters, several events including how that case was resolved, are explained in detail in this novel.


Kevin R. Tipple (copyright)