Reynosa Rising is my current work in progress. It is a novel that takes a light-hearted, and sometimes laugh-out-loud look at the growing drug problem and related violence plaguing the U.S./Mexican border. I’ll be sure to let you know when it has been released, but, in the meantime, here’s a quick look:
Jimbo Simmons, a reluctant New York City cop—now in exile—lands in McAllen, Texas, where he must beat the notorious Los Zetas drug cartel, located just across the Rio Grande River in Reynosa, Mexico, to a mysterious missing package that holds the key to the cartel’s fortunes and, ultimately, his country’s security. Jimbo’s anger management issues are pushed to the limit when the Dumpster-diving duo of Sally Nordstrom and Javier Sanchez find the package and, not understanding the significance of what they possess or who to trust, do their best to prevent anyone from having it, and to just stay alive. They are in way over their heads. They jeopardize everyone they come in contact with. Their chances of survival decrease with each passing day. And they’re really pissing off Jimbo.
Through a sheer will to survive, and with the help of Russell Hunter, a local produce truck driver, the two fugitives manage—at least for a while—to stay one step ahead of the vicious killers and Jimbo, all of whom will stop at nothing to find the cartel’s property. And Bobby Alvarez, the contradictorily religious, half American/half Mexican, who feverishly denies his south-of-the-border heritage–proclaiming to be “Texan first, and American second”–isn’t helping. A wild ride in a 1975 Winnebago (known lovingly as the Bull Lodge) through the border towns of South Texas and Northern Mexico will test the grit—and in the case of Jimbo, the patience—of all involved. Murder, beatings, kidnappings, and for Bobby, a terrifying trip to Hell on a wooden cart, will ultimately throw this gang of misfits together in a quest to save each other, and countless others from unspeakable dangers.
Reynosa Rising jumps head first into the timely issues of our somewhat tumultuous relationship with our neighbors to the south (Mexico, not Georgia). The story is told with a Texas-sized helping of good humor, while also remaining respectful to the tragedies that occur on a daily basis on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.
EBook Escape 