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Diamondback
A disgraced cop who's quick to kill. A truckload of dead bodies (literally). An army of violent radicals. A beautiful woman who can't be trusted. And oh, yeah . . . snakes.Written in the 1980s for a line of men's adventure novels that was cancelled before any of the books ever saw print, DIAMONDBACK has never been available until now. This novel by acclaimed mystery author James Reasoner is full of gritty action, and its plot still resonates today. This edition includes an introduction by Bill Crider and a new afterword by the author.
182 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 7, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2011
Tom Sloane is a dedicated cop, until his dedication leads him into an action that costs him his job and puts him at the wrong end of some hit men. That might sound bad enough, but it's nothing compared to what happens when he runs afoul of human traffickers and a murderous paramilitary army led by an insane mother and son. Fortunately for Sloane, he's hell on wheels with a gun or his fists, and there are a couple of lovely ladies willing to help him out of more than just the predicaments he gets into.
Men's adventure with a Texas Twist. I highly recommend it.
Men's adventure with a Texas Twist. I highly recommend it.
November 22, 2025
A proposed first entry in a series that never came to fruition.
It has some good parts, but you can see why it never happened. Not sleazy enough for the 70's. No 80's gun porn. A wishy washy plot.
A good try, but almost a fish out of water. A lemur out of a tree? That might be a better analogy.
It has some good parts, but you can see why it never happened. Not sleazy enough for the 70's. No 80's gun porn. A wishy washy plot.
A good try, but almost a fish out of water. A lemur out of a tree? That might be a better analogy.
October 12, 2024
Eighties action thrills
Ex-cop tracks migrant murders
Kills dozens of creeps
Ex-cop tracks migrant murders
Kills dozens of creeps
March 6, 2011
Written in the early eighties, this was to be the first book in a men's adventure series. The whole thing collapsed before it could get going and the manuscript languished. With the rise of the e-book market, Mr. Reasoner did some fine tuning on it up and offered it to readers.
Tom Sloane was a Dallas cop known as Diamondback for his snake quick speed. When he breaks up a heroin smuggling racket, attempting to arrest the five men unloading the plane, they open up on him and he's forced to defend himself. That's when he finds out he's stepped into it. One of the dead men is the Chief of Police's nephew and the man moves quickly to cover it up, threatening Sloane to get him to resign and promising a manslaughter charge if he didn't. He's also blackballed from police work.
Sloane manages to let a newspaperman know he's being forced to resign without going into details.
In the next couple of weeks, two attempts are made on his life by hit men. He knows the Police Chief is responsible, but can't prove it.
Then a new offer comes from one of the richest men in Texas: Big Jack Higham. He wants to set Sloane up with a P.I. license and work for him on occasional jobs. The sort of work he has in mind is for the betterment of Texas, nothing purely for his own benefit. He can also quit anytime he feels things are leaning away from that proviso.
His first assignment is to find out who is murdering illegals coming up from Mexico, murdering them in large numbers. A truck with forty bodies ruthlessly gunned down has been found in the middle of the desert. It made no sense that the traffickers did it. That might dry up their business and, after all, money is their driving motive.
Sloane uncovers a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the state capital!
Tom Sloane was a Dallas cop known as Diamondback for his snake quick speed. When he breaks up a heroin smuggling racket, attempting to arrest the five men unloading the plane, they open up on him and he's forced to defend himself. That's when he finds out he's stepped into it. One of the dead men is the Chief of Police's nephew and the man moves quickly to cover it up, threatening Sloane to get him to resign and promising a manslaughter charge if he didn't. He's also blackballed from police work.
Sloane manages to let a newspaperman know he's being forced to resign without going into details.
In the next couple of weeks, two attempts are made on his life by hit men. He knows the Police Chief is responsible, but can't prove it.
Then a new offer comes from one of the richest men in Texas: Big Jack Higham. He wants to set Sloane up with a P.I. license and work for him on occasional jobs. The sort of work he has in mind is for the betterment of Texas, nothing purely for his own benefit. He can also quit anytime he feels things are leaning away from that proviso.
His first assignment is to find out who is murdering illegals coming up from Mexico, murdering them in large numbers. A truck with forty bodies ruthlessly gunned down has been found in the middle of the desert. It made no sense that the traffickers did it. That might dry up their business and, after all, money is their driving motive.
Sloane uncovers a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the state capital!
February 4, 2013
Action packed excessively bloody adventure novel.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews