Customer Reviews

Shell Games: A John Marquez Crime Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My book club selected this book for last months meeting. It was quite a different topic than we are used to, but since we have two biologists and all of us enjoy cooking exotic foods we thought it might be of interest. One of our members saw the author at a book signing, and came back raving. I generally do not read hard boiled detective stories, but prefer the Janet Evanovitch variety, those fun, fast reads. This is quite different. It took me a few chapters to get into the story, and get the characters straight, but after that, I was hooked! This is far more satisfying. I was introduced to a field, the Fish and Game Department, which was new to me, and learned something about animal poaching in the US. I previously thought that was a problem in Africa or Asia, but not here. John Marquez, a Fish and Game warden, becomes involved in an abalone smuggling ring that evolves into a drugs, and murder. The female wardens are real career women juggling pregnancy with undercover work. We all liked the fact that the female characters were strong, and not just fluff on the edge of the plot, and that the family situation, with a troubled teenage step-child, anorexia issues, etc. all seemed very realistic. The writing is excellent, and face paced. There are few books we read as a book club that our husbands will read, but this is the exception. I am looking forward to the next book. It's great to find a new series that my husband and I can both be excited about.

I liked it not just as a suspense/crime novel, but also as a "Novel Novel". Solid character with believable interior life and family problems (but not some bizarre Neurotic Impediment or cutesy Attribute), nice observations, interesting setting, and not much bloated detail, which sometimes infects novels by first time authors. (I've seen too many sentences like "She gingerly withdrew a pale pink facial tissue from the box imprinted with a pattern of violets and daisies." So for whom did the detail matter?) The hero's professional and personal relationships are not chummy, but there's an arms-length respect that rings true to the rest of his character.

I also appreciate that the chief villain is basically bad but believable, a hardened professional criminal and not a "psychopath" or serial killer; far too many mysteries, even by experienced and talented writers, fall back on that to excuse a lack of interior character development. (Maybe they should look at Simenon's crime novels, or maybe Elmore Leonard's.)

Nice job all around. I'll be looking for his next novel.

What a great book! I began reading it on an airplane, and had to stay in the airport after I landed just to finish those last incredible pages! Living on the Oregon coast, I am interested in books that take place in this environment. The author captures the beauty and wildness of the Northern California coast, and I especially enjoyed learning more about the poaching problem. It is a rare thing to read an exciting mystery, and also learn about current issues. California Department of Fish and Game Lieutenant Marquez begins a search for abalone poachers which leads to former drug smugglers. I had no idea that abalones were such a high cash item. My confession: after reading this book, I am dying to actually taste an abalone!

When he see the bodies of the murdered poachers, California Fish and Game Lieutenant John Marquez can't help notice the resemblance to a torture and assassination technique he ran into while still with U.S. DEA. Everyone knows the mysterious killer is Marquez's bugaboo, but that doesn't mean that he's wrong this time. Using a web of informants every bit as noxious as the men they are informing on, Marquez and his small team of covert Fish and Game investigators try to get to the bottom of the mystery--and discover who is raiding the last of California's once vast abalone reserves. When it looks like he's getting close, however, the F.B.I. steps in and forces him to back off.

Marquez's home life is a wreck. His wife has separated from him and his stepdaughter has developed an eating disorder. His department is being crimped by California's budget crisis, and one of his best officers has announced that she's pregnant. For Marquez, this is the worst time for a big case, especially a case that puts him in conflict with the FBI and where his best lead is an ex-Navy Seal who may be the killer.

In his first novel, author Kirk Russell spins an intriguing tale of death and seafood. Because smuggling endangered species has become big business, even attracting drug smugglers and the criminal organizations that grow from the illegal and profitable. Russell's prose is dense but engaging, delving into Marquez's character and into the details of smuggling and game enforcement.

It's exciting to discover a new mystery talent and Kirk Russell is that. Check this one out and then keep an eye open for any more novels by Russell.

California Fish & Game is a department whose budget has run dry. Warden Lt. Marquez, running his team in & around the San Francisco Bay area must handle his dwindling resources & still cover a huge area.

Following clues & interogating informants, Marquez keeps hearing the name of an old nemsis. One who very nearly killed him a long time ago. Now Kline is back & abalone are being poached & drugs run.

When the FBI starts breathing down his neck offering tools his team needs & ordering cooperation, Marquez keeps working the angles, shifting the shells, watching the shadows.

Rebeccasreads recommends SHELL GAMES as rich in the details of day-to-day investigation, inter-agency conflicts, & stalking strategies. It is a good mystery that will reward you for the money you shell out.

Climbing a suspenseful ladder, Marquez leads readers on a journey, taking on with passion and some assistance, the ongoing California poaching problem. This book brings real environmental issues to the center stage. Kirk Russell 's story stays foccused, and close to the heart. Or at least to us Californians, concerned with what our children with be left with or without, tomorrow.Marquez is constantly trying to keep a balance, and readers will begin to feel his emotions, and embrace his goals as their own
Hats off to Russell, for taking on social and environmental
concerns that has gone unnoticed , or misrepresented to the majority of us. It's very refreshing to find someone like Marquez! Looking forward to the next book.....

Very strong suspense/procedural type novel.

I liked it not just as a suspense/crime novel, but also as a "Novel Novel". Solid character with believable interior life and family problems (but not some bizarre Neurotic Impediment or cutesy Attribute), nice observations, interesting setting, and not much bloated detail, which sometimes infects novels by first time authors. (I've seen too many sentences like "She gingerly withdrew a pale pink facial tissue from the box imprinted with a pattern of violets and daisies." So for whom did the detail matter?) The hero's professional and personal relationships are not chummy, but there's an arms-length respect that rings true to the rest of his character.

I also appreciate that the chief villain is basically bad but believable, a hardened professional criminal and not a "psychopath" or serial killer; far too many mysteries, even by experienced and talented writers, fall back on that to excuse a lack of interior character development. (Maybe they should look at Simenon's crime novels, or maybe Elmore Leonard's.)

Nice job all around. I'll be looking for his next novel.

With the story set in my own San Francisco Bay Area, I very much enjoyed the locations and appreciate manner in which he presented the problems of the Dept. of Fish and Game. I would never have guessed abalone smuggling could be more profitable than drugs. However, even with all the bodies and climatic encounter with Kline, I never felt the suspense of this book or a real involvement with the characters. All the bits were there-plot, dialogue, setting--but, somehow, I just did not have a visceral connection to the story.

As a diver, NorCal native and committed conservationist, I was captivated from the start by this potent, believable tale. Russell's characters are completely real, coping with difficult work, complicated families, career decisions--hey, a lot like the rest of us! His eye for subtle details and capacity to project the plight of the characters onto the canvas of California's fragile resources make the story at once relevant and engaging. This is a promising first effort, and I can't wait to devour the next in the series.

This first-time novel is crime/mystery involving a former DEA agent and special operations unit of Fish & Game Department in California. Gritty, realistic crime drama set along the northern California coastline. As tense as some of the scenes get, it's difficult to believe this is Russell's first novel.