Dartboard

by J.D. Gordon

1776: An English payroll ship loses sight of its convoy and wrecks on the shoals of a small, remote Caribbean island during a terrible storm, marooning its crew and a small group of soldiers. After rescuing the gold and burying it on the island, they are overrun by a tribe of cannibals, leaving the treasure hidden... Today: Jimmy Quigley, a small town cop, inherits a boat and a treasure map from his Uncle Jackson, a renowned world explorer. He hooks up with Evelyn Quinn, who also received a small inheritance from his uncle. He heads to the Caribbean with Evelyn and her friend, Kristin, and his friend, Rick, for some fun in the sun and a possible treasure hunt. When the boat is ransacked by thieves not once, but twice, Jimmy wonders if his uncle's warning to watch his back has more to it than he first thought. With his friends' safety and the fate of the Lorraine gold in mind, Jimmy heads off into the biggest adventure of his life...

248 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Firefighter and paramedic-turned-author Jimmy (J.D.) Gordon was born and raised in Chicago where he developed a taste for the finer things that the Windy City has to offer - pan pizza, live blues and the Cubs.

Jimmy dropped into the world of literature, literally. After falling off a train and breaking his knee Jimmy had to spend quite a bit of time recuperating. While visiting the firehouse his peers asked what he planned to with all that time away. This when Jimmy said the words that he now claims to have changed his life. "I should write a book."

Despite some skepticism from his peers ("You don't even use punctuation on your run reports!"), he completed a novel, Island Bound, and made it a point to use punctuation throughout.

Another injury, sustained on the job, ended his career in the fire service. Aside from writing Gordon spends his Spring and Summer as an umpire for high school and youth baseball. He now lives with his wife and children in Glen Ellyn IL, a suburb of Chicago.

Reviews

[Randy Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

During the long, cold winter months, when the icy winds whip at my face, burning my dry, Midwest-pale skin, when I've trudged home through knee-high snowdrifts, I want nothing more than to plop down on the sofa recliner with a cup of hot cocoa, a wool blanket and a book. Not just any book, though. I crave a book that lifts me out of the winter doldrums and drops me in a place that might inspire a Jimmy Buffett song.

Thankfully, J.D. Gordon has come to my rescue once again. Gordon, who penned the Eddie Gilbert tropical adventure series featuring "Island Bound" and "Caribbean Calling," is back with a new protagonist but the same winning formula.

Gordon's latest, "Dartboard" (The Little Things Publishing), begins in 1776, when a British payroll ship, the HMS Lorraine, goes down in a Caribbean storm. The story quickly jumps forward to present day, when small-town sheriff Jimmy Quigley inherits Dartboard, a classic motor yacht moored in the Florida Keys, from an uncle he barely knew.

From there the adventure sets sail, with Jimmy soon discovering that his Uncle Jackson, a real-life Indiana Jones working for the Field Museum in Chicago, has passed on to him a treasure map that leads to the gold that went down with the HMS Lorraine. But Jimmy also comes to learn that he has inherited plenty of trouble as well. As it turns out, he's not the only one on the hunt for the lost treasure. A modern-day pirate adventure ensues, filled with danger, exotic locales and colorful characters.

Unlike most of those spinning tropical tales, Gordon doesn't hail from Florida or similar warm, sunny climes, he resides in Chicago - and he brings into his writing plenty of Midwestern charm. If you're looking to escape the winter blues, set your target on "Dartboard."

[Jon Miner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A twisting romp through the Caribbean featuring kidnapping, pirates and (of course), buried treasure. A nice quick summer read.