John Marquez Series

Die Off

Book 5

It’s been a while since I’ve written Marquez and it was good to pick up with him again. In real life the California Department of Fish and Game is now the Department of Fish and Wildlife. In Die-Off Marquez’s story is also evolving. There’s plenty happening in this novel but for Marquez it’s a continuation from Redback and finding a role where though no longer running the SOU he’s still enfranchised and effective. He has a new job title—not that he would ever care about what he’s called. In the new role he takes on some of the more elusive unsolved cases where the evidence and leads are too thin to commit the SOU. He often works alone. He takes the same risks he always did, but he knows more now. Knows more but he’s also older, so maybe more vulnerable and the traffickers are more global and organized. It’s a tough world out there but he’s still a pretty good guy to have alongside you when you head off down a dirt road a little bit worried about what’s up ahead.

Redback

Book 4

Fourth novel in the highly-acclaimed John Marquez crime series—Eighteen years ago, Special Agent John Marquez was forced to watch as his informant, Billy Takado, was gunned down, the victim of a set-up by criminal mastermind Emrahain Stoval. In the fallout from the affair, Marquez lost his job. Now, working for California’s Department of Fish and Games, John is contacted by a former colleague. Ted Desault is determined to take Stoval down, but to do that, he needs Marquez’s help…

From Kirk: Redback starts in the last days of Marquez’s DEA career so there’s more back story, but I wouldn’t call it a prequel. More of an evolution to where at the end of this one he’s temporarily attached to an FBI task force. The first three novels centered on poaching plots in California. This story gives him more latitude to roam. In the right circumstances it’s credible he could fit into another operation in another place. Or quietly run one. Does it work? If you read the book, let me know.

Dead Game

Book 3

There’s only one reason for the illegal killing of so many sturgeon—caviar. And behind the highly profitable trade in caviar is the Russian mafia, dealing in things much more dangerous than fish eggs.

John Marquez is closing in on the sturgeon poachers when his key confidential informant disappears. Marquez and his understaffed team—which is slated for shutdown by top brass—search frantically for the informant in their remaining weeks, while also pursuing the poachers and tangling with the Russian mob and the FBI.

Fast-paced, thought-provoking, and vivid, this eco-thriller pushes the tough but sensitive Marquez to the limit. Dead Game is a tale of unforgettable action and complex human emotions.

Night Game

Book 2

Tough, caring, and distinctive John Marquez is back. A former DEA agent who is now the head of the special operations unit of the California Department of Fish and Game, Marquez brings gritty investigative techniques and a clouded past to his role in enforcing the poaching laws of California.

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. A murdered student, a missing game warden, and threats to his own family draw Marquez even more deeply into the tangled world of international traffickers and local thugs. At the center of his investigation is a wildly attractive and highly unreliable woman who sets some traps of her own.

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.

Shell Games

Book 1

The discovery of thousands of empty abalone shells and two murdered divers sends Lieutenant John Marquez’s poaching investigation in a new—and very risky—direction. Former DEA agent and now head of a special operations unit of the California Department of Fish and Game, Marquez learns he himself has been targeted as the next victim. Stalking him is Kline, a vicious drug smuggler turned abalone smuggler who has a vendetta against Marquez.

John Marquez is supposed to protect wildlife, not solve murders, but the only way he can break the multi-million-dollar abalone-smuggling ring, as well as save his own life, is to find and stop Kline. A fast-paced crime novel set along the majestic Northern California coastline, Shell Games introduces a tough, complex, and appealing hero and a masterful new series.

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