Jeremiah “Hawk” Tate runs a tour guide service into Yellowstone. Been doing it for a number of years. Started as part of his recovery from an unspeakable act against his family while he worked a particularly nasty branch of the DEA.
It’s the end of the season, but a woman, with a bit of an Eastern European accent, wants Hawk to take her into the interior to look for her brother who has yet to do his weekly check-in. Against his better judgement (and influenced by a very fat fee) Hawk takes her to a remote campsite. Upon seeing the lost brother, the girl pulls a hand gun, kills the camper and turns the gun on Hawk. The shots are blocked by the buckling system of his pack, but still knock him into the neighboring lake.
Hawk calls on former skills to avoid showing his face until the shooter starts back out of the wilderness. On his way out, he comes across her body, partially devoured by the permanent residents.
The dead camper reminds Hawk of an old case so he calls out to his former boss now polishing a chair in a DC office. Both head to San Diego’s DEA office only to find out that a Mexican cartel has been taken over by some Russians who are setting up a distribution network for the newest designer street drug call Krokidil.
To keep this vicious new drug from breaking ground in the US, Hawk will need to cut off supply at the source, meaning Russia, and that means some redemption and revenge for his murdered and tortured family.
Interesting that I have two consecutive books that involve a high octane chase. While not as roughshod as Blown, it still hustles right along at maybe 80mph, still pretty good. One of my favorite tidbits of this book is that Hawk’s former boss uses movie quotes from the old western Jeremiah Johnson (my all time favorite western movie), in deference to his first name. And they pop up at some of the oddest place.
After enacting some revenge, Hawk is asked, “were it worth the trouble, pilgrim?” He replied appropriately, "Ah? What trouble?"
East Coach Don
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