[John Marquez 03] • Dead Game

Third in the series of crime novels featuring what Booklist called "far and away the most inventive new detective hero," California Fish and Game warden John Marquez's latest investigation begins with Marquez on the phone to a confidential informant as she's mysteriously abducted. 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 sturgeon poachers (who may have something to do with the kidnapping) and tangling with both the Russian mob and the FBI along the way. And you thought your job was tough.