Dos Equis: A Russell Quant Mystery #8
ISBN 13: 978-1-55483-067-1
After a year-long, self-imposed exile, ten whispered words on a cryptic telephone message change everything. Returning to his life as a prairie private eye, Russell Quant comes face to face with the greatest horror of his career.
Finding the body wasn’t the worst of it. Realizing it belongs to someone he knows, thrusts Russell Quant into his most personal and dangerous case. Risking everything, including the lives of those he loves, Russell fights to right a wrong at the hands of a nameless, faceless killer.
Up against a Machiavellian villain, Russell recruits his entire entourage of family and friends in an unforgettable caper that races from the frigid winterscapes of Saskatchewan to the pristine beaches of Mexico’s Costa Grande, in a tale of love, loss, lies, and coming home.
Chapter 1
"I was on Errall’s expansive balcony when I heard those ten words that brought me back to life...
The night was achingly beautiful, as most were in Zihuatanejo. The sun had long ago found another place to smile, the temperature hovered near perfect, and somewhere, in the distance, someone was murdering the lyrics to the ubiquitous Guantanamera."
Chapter 1
"Errall was so impressed during her first visit, she immediately packed her bags...
...and left Ixtapa for a place on Playa la Ropa. She had found her “spot”. Once there, before the margarita salt had time to encrust her lips, she’d purchased a fractional ownership with stunning beach views, at the Canadian-owned Club Intrawest condos.
Chapter 1
"We’d just returned from a late dinner at Bandidos...
...next to the church on Calle Cinco de Mayo, where they make to-die-for fresh salsa right at your table."
Chapter 1
"On the Mexican Pacific Coast, known as Costa Grande...
...just two-hundred-and-thirty kilometres northwest of Acapulco, she found Zihuatanejo. It was a Mexican diamond in the rough."
Chapter 8
"Flint...
...is a long, narrow, sleek, big-city type place with cool cocktails and hip servers."
Chapter 9
"...the storm...
...is really getting wicked out there. The roads will be a mess."
Chapter 9
"Annabelle proved herself worthy against a buffeting wind...
...harbinger of a swarthy winter storm, set to arrive in the city by nightfall. By the time I pulled into the garage at the back of my lot, darkness had fallen on the City of Bridges. Snow had started to swirl around her like a crazy cyclone."
Chapter 10
"The wind was howling...
....There wasn’t another soul on the streets. Not a single vehicle was moving within eyesight."
Chapter 12
"We passed the hotel zone...
...and headed towards the marina."
Chapter 13
"Like many Mexican houses that live on the beach or near water...
...this one was made up of a sequence of integrated interiors and exteriors that casually flowed from one to another."
Chapter 13
"Later that evening we gathered on the balcony of Errall’s condo...
...for a welcome dinner and to review our plot."
Chapter 13
"It gave the place a unique look; as if the apartments are cascading down the slope...
...Each building has a different colour scheme that coordinates perfectly with its natural surroundings. Smoky violet. Sandy maize. Rusty orange. Chilled avocado."
Chapter 13
"The condos are an open air design, with hand-cut tiles and river rock flooring...
....Palapa roofs hang lazily over large decks, and tactile fabrics cover the chairs and beds. Local artisans handcrafted each piece of furniture, which included great wooden chests and tables, and wide, well-padded lounges for the deck."
Chapter 13
"...passengers descended a set of rollaway stairs directly onto the tarmac....
...It was at this point, when the first waves of glorious, radiant heat, tasting of sunshine, saltwater, and desiccated vegetation would caress their sun-starved skin as they disembarked...
Chapter 14
"Tentaciones...
...was an elegant, fine dining establishment perched atop a hill in the Zihua
Chapter 16
"Like most of the waterside restaurants here, Beccofino’s is split in two...
...divided by a sidewalk that runs the length of the marina. One half of the restaurant is indoors, the other—outdoors—was made to look as if you were sitting on the deck of a boat floating in the marina waters."
Chapter 16
"Although it didn’t look it, Ixtapa Marina is Mexico’s largest...
...It has two large basins, with capacity for over six hundred boats."
Chapter 17
"That evening, when we were finally done...
...I began what would become a nightly tradition. I headed down to the Ixtapa Marina."
Chapter 17
"Errall and I were already seated at a candlelit table. The setting, La Marea beachside restaurant at The Tides
..., was exquisite. The sand, the candlelight, the sound of the ocean crashing not twenty metres away. Much more suitable for a cozy, romantic dinner, than what we were there for..."
Chapter 18
"At one end, a miniscule cocktail lounge serves up first-rate martinis...
....Next to the lounge is an open-style kitchen, under the control of one of a long list of famed guest chefs anxious for the opportunity."
Chapter 18
"It’s a cozy, unusual space...
...Glass trinkets hang low from tree branches and umbrellas stands, meant to scare off birds."
Chapter 18
"They were standing next to each other, near the far end of the infinity pool...
...where the water seemed to pour over the edge into vast nothingness."
Chapter 18
"Amuleto is a breathtaking boutique hotel created by architect, Enrique Zozaya...
...He used boulders, bamboo, tree trunks, and palm fronds to create this aerie high above Zihuatanejo Bay."
Chapter 18
"Like Toraidio Garza’s home, not far away...
..., the place has a spectacular view of the roaring ocean, calming itself as it kisses the sister beaches of La Ropa and Las Gatas."
Chapter 18
"The hotel offers only 6 suites...
...each exquisitely decked out with furnishings and decorations of elemental stone, ceramic, and wood, and its own small infinity plunge pool."
