Shell Games: A John Marquez Crime Novel - Softcover

Kirk Russell lives in Berkeley, California.

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"...A large part of the considerable strength of Kirk Russell's first mystery novel (along with his clear and pungent writing,especially about the primal weirdness of life along the Mendocino coast) comes from the way he makes us quickly believe in Marquez and his cause-- mostly by letting us watch as the Fish and Gamers get frustrated, pushed around and generally shut out by the FBI and local police agencies. One of Marquez's bosses points out that the country's 'post 9/11 gear-up' is a lot like the way the FBI responded to the Cold War communist threat of the 1950s: 'They spent a lot of money and threw a lot of agents at the problem and our enemies just adapted.' Marquez, of course, isn't about to sit back and suck up the punishment, but he has to be extra careful--especially with a newly pregnant team partner, a wife wondering whether to go on with their shaky marriage, and the scary Kline floating around out there, holding on tight to an old grudge."
-Chicago Tribune

"You know as you read this one that you are on tosomething good. Kirk Russell comes out of the gate with a story brimming withfresh characters and artful prose. Shell Games announces the start of what Ithink will be a great career."
-Michael Connelly

"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