South Florida has a reptile dysfunction. Tens of thousands of huge, feral Burmese pythons have taken over the Everglades and the suburbs of Miami and are decimating the wildlife, eating house pets, and terrorizing the populace. Sam Dalton, formerly of NCIS, is still tormented by the suspicious death of his wife and son in an car crash nearly a decade ago. He is recruited by his best friend Phil Everett to join him as a special agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to investigate wildlife crimes, including reptile smuggling, perhaps the main cause of the python explosion. Their main suspect is Bruno Zimmerman, the owner of World of Reptiles, the largest reptile retailer in Florida. Also investigating Zimmerman is the ruthless and hedonistic investigative reporter Diana Ventura, who is undercover as the spokesperson for Save Our Snakes, an organization controlled by Zimmerman. As the investigation draws them closer together, sparks fly between Dalton and Diana. Unbeknownst to the investigators, outside of Everglades City, chemical engineer and honorary redneck Big Ink-so named for his outrageous tattoos-runs the Manatee Fish Meal Plant, a cover for a crystal methamphetamine production facility funded by moneyman Bone Mozell, the distributor of the fish meal and other products for Florida chicken farmers. Mozell's silent partner in the meth operation is Bruno Zimmerman, and they make a good pair, since they are both sociopathic killers. They plot to take out Big Ink because of his meth addiction. When the two rogue Florida wildlife agents try to destroy all the pythons with a GMO snake virus, a wildlife disaster ensues and sparks dangerous encounters with ruthless reptile smugglers, murderous meth makers, and devious assassins in a tale of vengeance, violence, and sexual intrigue.
About the Author: Dave DeWitt is a food historian and one of the foremost authorities in the world on chile peppers, spices, and spicy foods. He has more than 50 published books to his credit. Dave is also the producer of the National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show, the trade/consumer show for the multi-billion dollar Fiery Foods and Barbecue industries, now in its 30th year. Education: --B.A. University of Virginia, 1966 --M.A. University of Richmond, 1967 Professional Affiliations: --President and CEO, Sunbelt Shows, Inc. --Founding Board Member, The Chile Pepper Institute, New Mexico State University --Member, Governing Board of Regents, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces, 1999-2017 --Associate Professor, Adjunct Faculty, College of Agriculture and Home Economics, New Mexico State University --Producer, Scovie Awards Competition, a contest for hot & spicy and BBQ products. --Publisher and editor, the FieryFoodsCentral.com --Publisher, Burn-Blog.com Dave has appeared on a number of national TV shows, including "American Journal," CNN, "The Today Show," "Home with Gary Collins," "Scientific American Frontiers," "Smart Solutions," "CBS Sunday Morning," "Mythbusters," "Extreme Conventions" (Travel Channel), the Martha Stewart Show and many appearances on The Food Network Recent Books Published: 2006. Da Vinci's Kitchen: A Secret History of Italian Cuisine. Food history. Dallas: Ben Bella Books. Sold in 12 languages 2007. Avenging Victorio: A Novel of the Apache Insurgency in New Mexico, 1881. Albuquerque: Rio Grande Books 2009. The Complete Chile Pepper Book: Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking. With Paul Bosland. Portland: Timber Press 2010. The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin Revolutionized American Food. Food history. Chicago: Sourcebooks 2010. 1001 Best Hot & Spicy Recipes. Reference/cookbook. Chicago: Surrey Books 2011. The Southwest Table: Traditional Foods from Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Food history/cookbook. New York: Lyon's Press 2012. Dave DeWitt's Chile Trivia. Humor. Albuquerque: Sunbelt Media 2013. Growing Medical Marijuana. Gardening. Ten Speed Press 2014. Precious Cargo: How Foods From the Americas Changed World. Food history. Counterpoint Press 2014. Dishing Up New Mexico. Food history/cookbook. Storey Publishing 2017. First Skin 500 Squirrels: Eyewitness Accounts of Barbecue History. Food history. Sunbelt Editions 2018. The Big Squeeze. Thriller. Sunbelt Editions