Mapping the Glades

by David Burton

A stolen million. A gangster who wants it back. A reclusive writer who doesn't give a damn.

Mapping the Glades is a fast paced thriller set in the Everglades. Harrison Park, an ex-DEA agent, now a successful writer, is pitted against a desperate California gangster.

Harrison Park is an ex-DEA agent and now a successful writer who has lived in virtual seclusion on the edge of the Everglades for three years since the suspicious death of his wife. Trouble arrives with his step-son, Pauly, who Harrison believes was involved in his wife's death. With Pauly is his girlfriend, Tracy, who has stolen money from a California gangster, Raul Geoshay.

As Harrison is drawn in to protect Pauly and Tracy from Raul, he is helped by Carmen, a Cuban woman whose family he helped rescue years ago. When Carmen's beautiful younger sister is attacked, and her boyfriend murdered by Raul, the search for the gangster becomes personal. As Raul's actions and Harrison's search for him become more intense, Harrison learns the awful secret of his wife's family and how she really died. He and Carmen grow closer. In the final confrontation with Raul in the Everglades he finally sees her as the attractive, strong woman who can help him live a full life again.

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2009

About the author

David Burton is an American writer living in sunny Southern California. He traveled by motorcycle through Mexico, US, Canada and Alaska. From motorcycles he turned to the ocean, building and sailing his own boats to Mexico, Tahiti, Hawaii, and through the Panama Canal to Florida. He spent a lot of time reading while on the water, so he decided to write books he would have wanted to read at sea.

Having swallowed the anchor he now mops floors and collects trash for money, writes for a living, and has become a (temporarily?) unrequited sailor.

He can be contacted at dcburtonjr@gmail.com

Reviews

[Stefan Vucak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tracey Manning, a high-priced hooker, gets involved with Raul Goeshay, a nasty character involved with an interstate car theft ring. After a night of drugs and debauchery, she steals $1.2 million from Raul and a little black book full of crime contacts – there is always a secret black book – and flees with her boyfriend, Pauly Allister to his friend’s place in the Everglades. Raul must deliver the money to a crime boss or he is dead, and sends out men to find Tracey and recover the stolen loot. Harrison, a former Drug Enforcement Agency operative, and now a famous fiction author, inadvertently gets involved in a very messy business with men who don’t hesitate to kill. He knows how to take care of himself, which forces Raul to personally go after Tracey, not only to recover the money, but to kill her, Pauly, and Harrison for daring to interfere in his business. There are shootouts and bodies everywhere, but does Raul recover the money and survive the encounter? Readers will have to find out for themselves.

‘Mapping the Glades’ is a straightforward yarn of a young woman who seizes an opportunity to make something of her life with a man she loves, and someone who will stop at nothing to revenge himself against her. She is out of her depth and does not realize the consequences of her theft, but manages to overcome challenges thrown her way. David Burton spins an action-packed story with enough realism to make readers feel they are participants rather than observers. There are enough twists and turns to keep the story moving, despite a large cast of characters who sometimes muddle the plot. An entertaining book that will leave readers satisfied.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins with Tracy stealing a briefcase of money from a bad dude, Raul Geoshay, that deals in crime and stolen cars. Tracy rushes home to her boyfriend Pauly confessing about her theft and informing him to pack. Desperate for a place to hide out, they head to the Florida Everglades to the home of Pauly’s stepdad, Harrison Park, a writer who has basically led a life of seclusion since his wife died 3 years earlier. As expected, not long after Pauly and Tracy arrive at Harrison’s house, complete hell busts loose with Raul’s people trying to track down the money and an important black book that Tracy had stolen. From there on, it’s one killing, raping and shooting after another as the story progresses with Raul trying to reclaim his money and everyone else trying to outsmart and kill Raul.

Again, I was not able to put this book down until I finished it, and was literally sucked in after the first page. However, there are A LOT of characters and A LOT of subplots in this novel. This is one of those times where I’m compelled to pull out the bullet points regarding characters…

Harrison Park: writer, ex-DEA agent, Pauly’s stepdad, was married to Pauley’s mom, Lara
Pauley: complete map geek who had finally gotten his dream job in L.A. when his call-girl girlfriend steals millions and a “little black book” from a bad guy
Tracy: Pauley’s girlfriend that stole from Raul Geoshay, thus starting all of this mess in the first place
Teddy: beautiful, 17-year-old Cuban girl that is Harrison’s part time housekeeper
Carmen: Teddy’s older sister that is in love with Harrison
Carlos: Teddy and Carmen’s Dad, friends with Harrison
Simone: mysterious girl that Harrison meets, hits it off with her, she has secrets
Sylvia: Pauly’s aunt, doesn’t get along with Harrison, knows what “really” happened regarding Lara’s death, also has secrets
Mullet, etc: local law enforcement that is the first of several to get injured/killed/maimed in some way
There are several other characters in the novel, but you get the basic idea of the key players. Regarding the numerous subplots, in my opinion, they all worked well with the overall story, without anything standing out as irrelevant or ridiculous in any way, however, there were times where I was wondering how many more people were going to be in this story and how were they going to be involved. Nevertheless, I found Burton’s writing perfectly descriptive without going into too much detail, and was completely engrossed in the plot being surprised several times thinking I had reached the climax and conclusion, when actually, I had not.

Positives are the characters of Harrison and Carmen and the creativity of the setting and the plot. There was a perfect amount of suspense and surprises that kept me guessing the entire time. And there are definitely some shocking and somewhat troubling revelations as the novel progresses, most of which I NEVER saw coming. Unfortunately, I do have some negative feedback and that is regarding the lack of realism. I felt like people were being shot up, stabbed, etc. then home in their beds an hour later only to end up injured again before the end of the night. Perhaps it was the lack of clarity regarding days and times, but I kept wondering what emergency room in the world could patch up gunshot wounds quickly enough so that someone could go out and be shot or stabbed again before bedtime. I know that our ERs here will leave you waiting a few hours even if you’re bleeding from the eyes so that part was a stretch for me. However, I am not familiar with the area in which the novel was set, so maybe there isn’t a lot of ER traffic there?

For all of you mystery/suspense/thriller fans out there, I suggest getting a copy of “Mapping the Glades.” It was different and unique, but still embodied the great qualities of this genre of writing. Despite the few little issues I had with the novel, remember that I was completely sucked in and absolutely unable to put this down until I finished!

*Thanks to the author for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Vigilant Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mapping the Glades
David Burton
Genre – Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
81,520 Words and 290 pages
Rating - 4 stars out of 5

Harrison Park is the main character in Mapping the Glades. The story is set in Florida where he lives in self-imposed isolation. Harrison is an ex-undercover DEA agent turned crime writer. Throughout the story we learn of the guilt, hate and shame he has fought after leaving the DEA and since the death of his wife.

Pauly Allister is Harrison's stepson who returned home after living several years in California.
Tracy Manning is Pauly's lovely stripper, prostitute girlfriend who lives wild and crosses the wrong man.

Raul Geoshay is the wrong man to cross; he's pure evil and the perfect antagonist in the plot.

What I liked in this story is the interesting storyline that moved almost non-stop. The action was intense and the winning side switched back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball in a tournament.
The characters are developed so the reader knows exactly who and what they are. It's done over time of course, because it's not all presented in an info dump.
Undercurrents of past loves and deeds linger in the background as a multitude of characters attempt to position themselves for the love or revenge they crave.
The story is well written with infrequent editing errors

What I didn't like about Mapping the Glades is the way several scenes ran together without separation.
There were also several outright errors in the writing. At one point a woman is handcuffed with her arms behind her and around a large post, and then she wipes her hair out of her face.
At the scene of an accident on a bridge a man slides off the elevated deck, into the water with a black book in his hands. Nothing was mentioned of it being ruined by the water or how Pauly and Tracy took possession of it.
The name Spencer was substituted several times for the character Simone, simply a poor editing oversight.

Readers who are offended by depictions of frequent sexual situations, extreme violence, rape, incest, torture and cursing should take note that it occurs often here.

Overall, I enjoyed Mapping the Glades and recommend it for hardcore crime and mystery fans.

This review was provided in exchange for a free book.
Vigilant Reader Book Reviews.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**SPOILER FREE**


Holy crap... watch out for this author... I think he will be putting out more books that will snatch your butt by the seat of your pants just as this book did me! Fast paced.. It will keep you right from the start with the characters and the plot. What you think you know, this author throws you in a twist right at the perfect moment!

*Received for an honest review*