Rain Dogs - Hardcover

Birtcher, Baron R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1579623182 ISBN 13: 9781579623180

Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co, 2013

Synopsis

The year is 1976, and the first shots are being fired in the narcotics and human trafficking war that is still being waged today. Colt Freeman and his partner, known only as Snyder, want only to preserve their small piece of the marijuana trade. This modern-day Butch & Sundance ply their trade with proficiency and stealth. And, when necessary, deadly force.

Hundreds of miles away, along the border between the US and Mexico, a law-enforcement task-force patrols the desolate no-man's land that separates misery and prosperity, seeking to curb the unspeakable violence that feeds off the ever-growing river of humanity who find themselves at the mercy of the ruthless coyotes they have employed to guide them on their desperate crossing. Some distance further southwest, an elegant hacienda is nested behind the protective walls of an isolated ranch on the coast of the Sea of Cortez. Beyond those well-guarded gates, Miguel Zamora has placed himself at the center of a powerful circle of corrupt Mexican officials on the cusp of establishing ties with the Colombian cartels. Driven by avarice and steeped in paranoia, Miguel begins to seize control of his world with a singular and savage brutality that threatens to unleash a firestorm of bloodshed on both sides of the border.

Snyder and Colt decide to cash in on one last harvest, one final run down the coast before leaving their outlaw lives behind. But when their meticulously planned scheme comes undone, it forces them into a rash and hazardous escape from the law and directly into the crossfire of an internecine narcotics war that no one had seen coming.

About this title

About the Author

BARON R. BIRTCHER spent a number of years as a professional musician, and founder of an independent records label. His first two mystery novels, Roadhouse Blues and Ruby Tuesday were Los Angeles Times and IMBA Bestsellers. Angels Fall, the third installment in the critically-acclaimed Mike Travis series, was nominated for the Left Coast Crime Award (the "Lefty") for Best Law Enforcement/Police Procedural novel of the year. Rain Dogs is his first stand-alone novel, and was a Claymore Award finalist.

Review

"A top-class thriller."   ---San Francisco Book Review

"A gritty, wide-angled modern noir, with a taut, powerfully controlled narrative. Birtcher (author of the Mike Travis series) pulls no punches."   ---Kirkus Reviews

"Birtcher combines a gritty, action-filled thriller with a nuanced, almost contemplative character drama... Thoroughly entertaining."   ---Booklist

"Combining vivid scenes, sympathetic characters, and graphic descriptions, Birtcher catapults readers to the center of the action."   ---Entertainment Realm (2013 Summer Book Picks)

"Rain Dogs is a is a thriller with genuine shocks and chills. A combination of gritty realism and lyrically descriptive prose draws the reader in. The danger is plausible and palpable. But an anchor of humanity remains...  a novel that keeps [you] enthralled and uncertain from beginning to end."   ---Cafe Libri

"Rain Dogs proves to be a taut and exciting read. Overall, you can't ask for a better thriller than this..."   ---Thinking About Books

White-knuckle tension and crisp, clean prose distinguish this outstanding standalone from Birtcher (Angels Fall and two other Mike Travis mysteries). In 1976, Colombian and Mexican criminals are turning cocaine smuggling into a major industry, while the U.S. war on drugs is beginning to produce serious casualties. The nameless narrator is running a small-scale marijuana operation in California s Humboldt County, until bandits raid his farm and a shiftless kid rats him out. The narrator flees to a small Mexican town, where he collides with the schemes of local drug lord Miguel Zamora, who s spiraling out of control as he feeds his coke addiction and who foolishly plots to rip off both the Colombians and his partners in the government. Meanwhile, two corrupt border cops discover that they re way over their heads in their dealings with Zamora. Unable to trust anyone around them, the two must learn how far they can trust themselves. Many books call themselves thrillers, but this is the real deal. --Publishers Weekly Starred Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Permanent Pr Pub Co
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1579623182
• ISBN 13: 9781579623180
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288