What do you think?
Rate this book
Jack Marsh
Key West Bounce
The Key West Bounce. A pure adrenaline rush of hard hitting, hard talking characters caught up in a chase for a fortune in gold locked inside a U.S. C-130 Aircraft that has been sitting on the floor of the Florida Straits for over fifty years. Jack Marsh is pulled into the hunt for the treasure by an old East German Stasi agent who knows where the plane is and how it got there. Always looking for easy money, Marsh recruits his friend Tommy Hicks, Captain of their salvage and dive boat, The Island Queen. Soon the three men are locked in a seesaw battle among themselves, a gang of Jamaican cutthroats, the Cuban DGI Secret Police, and a group of Cuban expatriates from Miami who claim the gold as theirs and need it to continue their fight against Castro. The fight is waged across and under the waters of the Straits as the hunt is narrowed to a small strip of palm-covered sand called Crab Cay and its surrounding waters. The clear tropical waters are soon red with blood and thousands of gold coins. Marsh and Hicks are soon fighting for their lives: vessel to vessel, gunwale to gunwale, and hand to hand as treachery and duplicity is played out. It finally comes down to two men, face to face, one will live, and one will die…the gold the prize.
There is enough action and suspense in this story to satisfy the most hardened of thriller readers.
There is enough action and suspense in this story to satisfy the most hardened of thriller readers.
241 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 5, 2012
49 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 21, 2017
Jack Marsh is an easy going guy. Owns a bar in Old Town Key West. Has a former hooker as a manager and a kid on parole to take care of it. He also has a friend with a really neat boat and they seems to like going out on adventures. In this one they are going after millions of dollars in gold coins that got ditched Big Blue during the Bay of Pigs. There are all sorts of bad guys around and some good guys that might actually be bad guys. Some you know for sure and some you have to guess about. That is part of what makes this such an enjoyable read.
July 25, 2019
Looking forward to more adventures
Hard to Stop reading so glad to see good guys win! Well developed Characters - with Capital C. The word visuals are excellent. Can’t wait to start the next one
Hard to Stop reading so glad to see good guys win! Well developed Characters - with Capital C. The word visuals are excellent. Can’t wait to start the next one
June 23, 2021
Key West Gold
Very well written, wanted to just keep reading. Author very knowledgeable about the area and boats! I would recommend this to any adult who like excitement and the Caribbean.
Very well written, wanted to just keep reading. Author very knowledgeable about the area and boats! I would recommend this to any adult who like excitement and the Caribbean.
June 2, 2018
Exciting
I am going to read the series because it is somewhat real and a great story for a old guy to imagine his younger days in the Florida Keys
I am going to read the series because it is somewhat real and a great story for a old guy to imagine his younger days in the Florida Keys
Read
June 20, 2021Really good story. loved the characters and is about adventure in the keys so i what could be better
October 16, 2012
Key West Bounce is one of a series of books in the Jack Marsh Action Thriller. I think it is the second book, "Smackdown" being the first and I don't know if any more are planned in the future but my guess would be "yes" since two books make for a very limited series plus the ending of this book hints at another thrilling adventure of the main character, Jack Marsh. The reason I am making you aware of this is because I did not read the first book so my review is on "Key West Bounce" as a stand alone book.
Jack Marsh is the owner of the Sand Bar in Key West. Jack being an honest man is offered a side job that will either be the death of him or make him very rich. Maybe it was due to his past Marine experience in Kuwait and Baghdad that keeps him wanting some sort of adrenaline rush from danger or maybe it is as simple as pure greed but Jack chooses to take the side job of finding and bringing out some sunken gold from the Florida Straits. He knew it would not be an easy job because of the Cuban DGI and others would claim the gold as theirs and have no problem killing him for it.
The author, Mike Pettit, gives a gradual introduction to the main character and the major plus minor characters. I thought the characters were well developed and this was not done all at once which would have boggled down the story with all these details. Instead, the background of the characters were worked into the story at the appropriate time giving just enough information to make sense of what was going on at the time. Although there were a lot of characters throughout the story those that played minor roles were not developed to such detail that it filled pages of unnecessary information about their backgrounds. Again, the author provided just enough information on them to make sense of their roles in the story without bogging it down.
Usually the beginning of a story where the introductions to the characters and the setting is described is a slow spot in the book and at times boring but that is not the case here. I was never bored or really found any stalling of the story. It always progressed forward and that usually meant someone was about to kill or be killed (or at least try). There was enough kidnapping, killing, stranding, beating, and betrayal to satisfy my action craving. The story itself was a fast-moving, action packed adventure. (Can we hope for a movie or TV miniseries?)
The settings were described in such detail that it felt like I was there and watching the action taking place. I am not talking about just one major event lost among the pages, I mean that with just about every turn of the page something was going on. Some of it was serious in that it was a matter of life and death and many did die, but at times it was amusing with some of these characters and their actions. I really had to laugh at the way the cook fished and the feast he prepared. It was believable at most points as there really could have been sunken treasure (still can be) and adding to that believability was the fact that the author mixed real history with it. I did notice a few editing errors however, they were not that distracting.
At no time did I feel I was at a disadvantage by not reading the other book in the series. Key West Bounce does stand on its own and I highly recommend it.
Jack Marsh is the owner of the Sand Bar in Key West. Jack being an honest man is offered a side job that will either be the death of him or make him very rich. Maybe it was due to his past Marine experience in Kuwait and Baghdad that keeps him wanting some sort of adrenaline rush from danger or maybe it is as simple as pure greed but Jack chooses to take the side job of finding and bringing out some sunken gold from the Florida Straits. He knew it would not be an easy job because of the Cuban DGI and others would claim the gold as theirs and have no problem killing him for it.
The author, Mike Pettit, gives a gradual introduction to the main character and the major plus minor characters. I thought the characters were well developed and this was not done all at once which would have boggled down the story with all these details. Instead, the background of the characters were worked into the story at the appropriate time giving just enough information to make sense of what was going on at the time. Although there were a lot of characters throughout the story those that played minor roles were not developed to such detail that it filled pages of unnecessary information about their backgrounds. Again, the author provided just enough information on them to make sense of their roles in the story without bogging it down.
Usually the beginning of a story where the introductions to the characters and the setting is described is a slow spot in the book and at times boring but that is not the case here. I was never bored or really found any stalling of the story. It always progressed forward and that usually meant someone was about to kill or be killed (or at least try). There was enough kidnapping, killing, stranding, beating, and betrayal to satisfy my action craving. The story itself was a fast-moving, action packed adventure. (Can we hope for a movie or TV miniseries?)
The settings were described in such detail that it felt like I was there and watching the action taking place. I am not talking about just one major event lost among the pages, I mean that with just about every turn of the page something was going on. Some of it was serious in that it was a matter of life and death and many did die, but at times it was amusing with some of these characters and their actions. I really had to laugh at the way the cook fished and the feast he prepared. It was believable at most points as there really could have been sunken treasure (still can be) and adding to that believability was the fact that the author mixed real history with it. I did notice a few editing errors however, they were not that distracting.
At no time did I feel I was at a disadvantage by not reading the other book in the series. Key West Bounce does stand on its own and I highly recommend it.
December 10, 2012
Key West Bounce is the second book in the Jack Marsh Action Thriller Series. I did not read the book titled Smackdown, which is Mike Pettit's first book in the series. This book review is of Key West Bounce as a single book, not as part of the series because I have yet to read any other books in the series.
Jack Marsh, an adventurous Key West bar owner, and his best friend, Tommy Hicks, the owner of a well-equipped boat, and a former secret agent, are in search of a sunken airplane in international waters between the United States and Cuba. The airplane is said to be full of gold currency that is meant for Cuba's liberation during the Bay of Pigs Incident in the 1960's.
Jack and Tommy are adrenaline junkies, who know this is not going to be an easy job, but are still ready to find the gold for themselves, even though there are others out there with the same intention, and will kill anyone who gets in their way.
All the characters are built up in a way that you can clearly tell who the good guys are versus the bad guys. Jack, Tommy, and Alfred have big hearts, with enough cleverness and wit that make them so easily liked. While the other guys are only out to kill anyone who gets in their way and ever aspect of them is evil.
This is just your average mystery book with enough thrill to keep you turning the pages and excited for more. This was my time reading a book written by Mike Pettit but if his other books are as easy and fun as Key West Bounce, then I will be very interested in starting the others.
The only complaint I have about this book is the grammar and spelling problems. It distracted me from the story because I was constantly having to re-read certain sentences to figure out what was initially intended to mean.
I give this book 3/5
www.stuffedshelves.com
Jack Marsh, an adventurous Key West bar owner, and his best friend, Tommy Hicks, the owner of a well-equipped boat, and a former secret agent, are in search of a sunken airplane in international waters between the United States and Cuba. The airplane is said to be full of gold currency that is meant for Cuba's liberation during the Bay of Pigs Incident in the 1960's.
Jack and Tommy are adrenaline junkies, who know this is not going to be an easy job, but are still ready to find the gold for themselves, even though there are others out there with the same intention, and will kill anyone who gets in their way.
All the characters are built up in a way that you can clearly tell who the good guys are versus the bad guys. Jack, Tommy, and Alfred have big hearts, with enough cleverness and wit that make them so easily liked. While the other guys are only out to kill anyone who gets in their way and ever aspect of them is evil.
This is just your average mystery book with enough thrill to keep you turning the pages and excited for more. This was my time reading a book written by Mike Pettit but if his other books are as easy and fun as Key West Bounce, then I will be very interested in starting the others.
The only complaint I have about this book is the grammar and spelling problems. It distracted me from the story because I was constantly having to re-read certain sentences to figure out what was initially intended to mean.
I give this book 3/5
www.stuffedshelves.com
October 14, 2012
Key West Bounce is a really good story about the uncomfortable collaboration between Jack Marsh, an adventurous Key West bar owner, his best friend, Tommy Hicks, owner of a very well equipped salvage boat and a former secret agent to find a sunken airplane in international waters between the US and Cuba. The sunken airplane full of gold currency intended for Cuba’s liberation went down the 1960s, during the Bay of Pigs incident between the US and Cuba. The Haitians and anti Castro Cuban expatriates join in the hunt which results in murder, mayhem and betrayal in the Caribbean. Is the gold at the bottom of Crab Cay waiting to be recovered? What will each faction do to try to reach it first? This story is fast paced and compelling with a great deal of both intrigue and humor in it but Clive Cussler can get a good night’s sleep without worrying too much about competition. The book is fun, even compelling in some ways, but unfortunately, Key West Bounce is so poorly edited that the grammar mistakes really distracted me from a smooth, easy ride with these adventurers.
July 8, 2016
The second book in the Jack Marsh series. Over 50 years ago a C-150 went missing near Cuba loaded down with gold coins. With the release of secret files from the Bay of Pigs fiasco, a double (triple?) agent knows his days are numbered. He looks to Jack and his friend Tommy to help him locate the gold coins. But he's not the only only who knows the coins exist. A Jamaican gang, Cuban secret police, and Cuban ex-patriots all are claiming rights to the gold. Toss in a storm and a bit of hoodoo/voodoo and you are in for a wild ride!
September 3, 2015
Key west bounce
Better than the first one of the series and better than most of the other books read in the last few months. Kind of casual in regard to the violence and killing that kept going on through out the story. The criminals were always more intelligent than the"good guys" and often were more moral.
Better than the first one of the series and better than most of the other books read in the last few months. Kind of casual in regard to the violence and killing that kept going on through out the story. The criminals were always more intelligent than the"good guys" and often were more moral.
Read
January 28, 2013good
Read
January 14, 2015excellent story
June 24, 2016
Loved the setting and story moves quickly. Would love to hang out at the Sand Bar on Duval street with the lead character. Looking forward to reading all these in this series.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews