Tushhog: 2 (Scotland Ross)

Its 1981 in Fort Myers Florida. Scotland Ross hasnt given up drinking but he has sworn off of trouble. At a waterside tavern the day the Pope got shot Scotland drank to cloud the memories of his dead infant son on an anniversary such as this. Distraction comes when the bar owner needs his help. Despite his vow of living within the law Scotland soon finds himself tangling with a redneck clan a Cuban gang a connected crew from New York and the very friend he set out to help. Crimes of violence drugs and theft pale in comparison to the failure of self-restraint in this humid town on the Gulf coast. When Scotlands activities involve his girlfriend he kicks himself into a higher gear. He didnt know until it was too late that shed been involved long before they even met. Hes not fully prepared for the ramifications of that but there is no time to waste. Can Scotland save his girlfriend clear his name get justice for being screwed over and stay out of jail? Tushhog is dark noir set in the state of sunshine. A story of crime and compulsion and the depths to which people rise or sink. Praise for TUSHHOG: In Tushhog Jeffery Hess has created a wicked lean follow-up to Beachhead. The remarkable Scotland Ross is back for another go-round sadder maybe but no wiser which means that he gets himself into all sorts of entertaining trouble. An excellent sophomore entry in what promises to be a long-running series of bruising bare-knuckle crime novels. --Pinckney Benedict author of Miracle Boy The Wrecking Yard and Town Smokes Anti-hero Scotland Ross is back and Jeffery Hesss prose is better than ever in this Sunshine Noir follow-up to last years unputdownable Beachhead. With tight pacing snappy dialogue a grungy edge and a whole lot of attitude Tushhog brings us another classic crime caper complete with our hard-nosed protagonist still trying to walk the razors edge between right and wrong and a colorful cast of troublemakers and rabble-rousers each intent on stretching Scotland Ross to his limits. In the tradition of Elmore Leonard Tushhog is a no-holds-barred noir you wont soon forget. --Steph Post author of Walk in the Fire In Tushhog Scotland Ross returns and though hes determined at the outset to re-envision his life according to his rules its his personal code that ultimately lands him at the center of a masterfully spun cycle of mayhem. --Tracy Crow author of Coopers Hawk and Eyes Right: Confessions from a Woman Marine Tushhog is Jeffery Hess follow-up to Beachhead and the return of Scotland Ross. The action starts on page one and does not let up offering the reader a one-two punch of quick rapid-fire wit punctuated by grisly cant-look-away action. Hess prose is all Florida all the time. Look out Carl Hiassen...Jeff Hess is coming for your crown. Youll trust no one in this story but that wont keep you from turning each and every page because Hess gives this story his all. --Eryk Pruitt author of Dirtbags Hashtag and What We Reckon Tushhog is spellbinding driven reckless and authentic. Constantly cinematic this novel catches you in its violent slyly funny hair-raising grip and never lets you go. Jeff Hess has written a terrific novel that captures crime and all its gruesome and subtle consequences. --Fred Leebron Professor of English Gettysburg College