Redback

At the start of Russell's thrilling fourth John Marquez novel (after Deadgame), DEA special agent Marquez and an informant, Billy Takado, meet brothers Luis and Miguel Salazar, members of "the most violent cartel in Mexico," in a Baja California bull ring as part of an undercover drug operation. When Miguel executes Takado as a warning, Marquez takes the blame and is forced to leave the DEA. Two decades later, as an agent for the California Department of Fish and Game, Marquez discovers that wealthy poacher Emrahain Stoval was the ruthless criminal behind Takado's murder and is now the target of a special FBI task force. Even though the choice jeopardizes his family and stirs dark memories, Marquez becomes a temporary FBI agent to pursue the cunning predator. Meanwhile, he realizes that someone he knows and trusts must be leaking information to Stoval. The tension rises as the unpredictable plot skitters and jitters along, powered by smoothly understated prose. (Feb.)