Restless Waters: A Rachel Porter Mystery (Rachel Porter Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jessica Speart (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
In Speart's lighthearted ninth Rachel Porter mystery (after 2004's Blue Twilight), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent, now stationed in Hawaii, stumbles across an international illegal exotic reptile smuggling ring and a conspiracy to skirt regulations banning the sale of shark fins. Porter's initial investigative steps put her at odds with her horrible boss, who personifies every stereotype of a bureaucrat more interested in preserving his position than in doing his job. An informant refers darkly to a high-level political connection to the conspirators, and Porter's legwork brings her face to face with a mobster from her past. While Porter's rash choices in life-and-death situations lack credibility, Speart does manage a nicely cynical ending.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
In Speart's tenth Rachel Porter book, the intrepid federal agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been transferred to Hawaii. To her chagrin, she finds her new boss insufferable and the work utterly boring. But a chance meeting with a teenager trapping chameleons in the forest soon leads her to uncover an illegal animal-export business. Rachel quickly discovers that the business is linked to a "shark-finning" operation that's making millions for its owners. When she attempts to discover who those owners are, she receives strong hints that she should stick to her paperwork. But, in genre fiction, that's like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Fresh, irreverent writing and a fast-paced plot combine with a sassy heroine and vibrant descriptions of "the real Hawaii" to give this environmentally conscious thriller multiple levels of appeal--especially for animal lovers and surfer dudes (and dudettes). Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Avon (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060559551
• ISBN-13: 978-0060559557
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #924,929 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Worth 3 1/2, January 16, 2006

By	Kara J. Jorges "Avid Reader" (Minneapolis) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Special Agent Rachel Porter of the US Fish and Wildlife Service is back, this time posted in Hawaii. She brought longtime love, FBI agent Jake Santou, along, but kept extraneous characters to a minimum. Rachel and Jake are living with Jake's surfer friend Kevin in a shack off the infamous North Shore, and Rachel and Kevin share an uneasy relationship.

Rachel spends less time on the home front than in the last book in the series, instead conducting two intriguing investigations. The first is into illegal reptile breeding, which is decimating several native species in Hawaii, and then she looks into the gruesome practice of shark finning, wherein a shark's fins are cut off its still living body to be made into soup, the rest of the doomed animal cast back into the water to die. The practice had been banned in Honolulu, but Rachel meets an informant who convinces her it's still going on, with political protection going all the way to the top. Though she receives several warnings, Rachel won't give up her investigation, believing too much is at stake. Naturally, her snooping turns up a number of murders, one of which is very nearly her own.

It's very obvious Jessica Speart believes wholeheartedly in her conservationist cause, which is a noble endeavor. She does have a tendency to be preachy about it, though, delivering one side of the argument, and not missing an opportunity to tout a cause, be it conservation, racism, or welfare. While some may agree wholeheartedly with her, it's a bit off-putting. Her voice and message would be more clear if she pared it down a bit, like she has done with excess characters. It would be unfortunate if politics turned away some mystery lovers who otherwise might have learned something.

All that aside, this was a pretty good mystery, where Rachel Porter's investigation into one illegal activity blows the lid off of something much bigger. Though not as amusing or engaging as some of her earlier work, it was a big improvement over her last effort, Blue Twilight. This series is still worth reading.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great book, October 2, 2005

By	ceilthegreat - See all my reviews

I don't know where J. Speart gets her ideas or the energy to put out one great book after another, but clearly she puts a lot of research into her work. I love that she incorporates her research into her story so I don't feel like I'm reading fact sheet on endangered species. I like to think that I came away from the book not only having been entertained, but a little more knowledgeable about our world.

3.0 out of 5 stars Message of conservation included in mystery, July 24, 2008

By	John S. Geary (Vancouver, B.C., Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was my second Jessica Speart novel, and while I didn't enjoy it as much as "Bird Brained", it was still an enjoyable read. I love the way she weaves conservation issues into the fabric of her stories; it's also cool the way Speart moves the story locales around to different parts of the country, with different conversation issues in them. This time, it's about invasive reptiles species and shark fins in Hawaii, as we find Rachel Porter stationed on Maui, and again, she is trying not to totally alienate her boss while still doing battle against the forces of wildlife evil.