SHELL GAMES BY KIRK RUSSELL
QUESTIONS TO POSE AFTER READING
SHELL GAMES BY KIRK RUSSELL
Shell Games, the first of Kirk Russell's John Marquez novels, takes place along the northern California
coast and features a unique sleuth: an ex-DEA agent who now heads a special investigative unit of the
California Department of Fish and Game. The scope of the majestic north coast is a major character
in this gripping tale.
Characters:
John Marquez, head of a special operations unit of the Department of Fish and Game and a former DEA agent
Katherine, wife
Maria, step-daughter
Sue Petersen, Special Operations Unit colleague
Mark Davies, diver and informant
Tran Li, poacher
Mark Heinemann, dope peddlar and poacher
Ed Keeler, Deputy chief of Fish & Game
Al Fields, detective
Eugene Kline, bad guy
* Kirk Russell writes in the acknowledgements of one of the Marquez books, “I’ve written
three Marquez novels with the belief that if I wrote a good enough story I could help
those who have devoted so much to saving open country and the wildlife in it. I hope in
some small way I’ve done that.” Do you think he accomplished that in Shell Games?
Did he make you, the reader, care about the abalone?
* Russell says he wanted to create a hero in Marquez who is strong, fair and gentle.
How did you feel about John Marquez? Would you trust this man? Is he a different
kind of male detective hero?
* John Marquez is grappling with some personal issues in Shell Games, e.g. tensions
in his marriage to Katherine and worries about his step-daughter Maria’s possible eating
disorder. Did knowledge of his personal life influence your views of him as a character?
* Russell looks at abalone poaching from two sides – the criminal networks and then
poachers such as Tran Li, a Vietnamese immigrant who has already been arrested once
for poaching. Marquez seems to differentiate between the two sides. He clearly empathizes
with Tran Li and tries to help him. Do you perceive a difference between the two different
kinds of criminals? Do you think it is appropriate for Marquez to treat them differently?
* The SOU detective is a unique kind of detective for crime fiction. We learn in Shell
Games that the Fish & Game agents are paid one of the lowest salaries in law
enforcement. After learning more about the work of an agent, do you think we should
make it a bigger priority to pay them more?