The Shellfish Grift

Frantic Antics By The Sea

I love novels with a strong sense of place, and apparently Mike Rose, author of ââ?¬Å"The Shellfish Grift,ââ?¬Â? feels the same way. The coast of North Carolina has not been graced with a Savannah or a Charleston, and I sense the residents there are perfectly fine with that. Leave the three-million-dollar condos and twelve-dollar lattes further south, and meanwhile enjoy the ocean breezes, the lunches out on the balcony of the local fish house, and the thriving fishing and oystering businesses. He paints a very seductive picture of life on the edge ââ?¬" on the edge of the state, that is, with the open Atlantic filling the frame to the east.

We meet Matt, his brother, his other brother, his ex-girlfriend, and the police chief, on the one hand, and a violent meth-head, a moron, another violent meth addict, and various sleazy local politicians, on the other. What the people in the second group don�t realize is that the people in the first group were actually, many years ago, a crack team of con-men and -women themselves. Stupidity, greed, and drug-fueled mania are no match for brains and planning.

The author was an elected official for thirty-five years and clearly knows his stuff. A lot of the plot revolves around arcane budgetary shenanigans Team Greedy is trying to push onto the little beach town where Matt, our main character, now finds himself. After giving up con life, Matt has settled down as the City Manager. There are a lot of details here that only an elected official would know, adding to the bookâ��s verisimilitude. This is the wrong guy to cross â�" not only does he know budgets, procedures, and bylaws, but he has a nose for a con. And hereâ��s a big fat one slapped down onto his desk, involving dredging rights, no-bid contracts, and, just possibly, buried treasure.

Time to get the band back together!

This is a lot of fun and gives us a sense of life in a laid-back beach town. It even manages to squeeze in a little fun at the expense of pickleball players. (An elderly lady who leads the church choir is upset that some people are not following the official rules of pickleball, ââ?¬Å"hitting the ball all willy-nilly with no respect for the sanctity of the sport.ââ?¬Â? The city manager reasonably points out that, as long as they arenââ?¬â?¢t being destructive or threatening, thereââ?¬â?¢s not a lot the city can do. ââ?¬Å"You can use the police to arrest the little bastards,ââ?¬Â? she says, turning on her heel.)

Although the bad guys were drawn a little cartoonishly for my tastes, the combination of complex caper and salt-soaked atmosphere was tough to beat. The way the different generations in this story understood each other was most welcome. ââ?¬Å"The Shellfish Griftââ?¬Â? is book one in Mike Roseââ?¬â?¢s Coastal Cowboys Series. I look forward to Roseââ?¬â?¢s next book and hope the adversaries are a little more worthy in that one.