Take a trip through the South Texas terrain through the eyes of drug runner, Toño Garcia. His distinctive South Texas slang adds a unique charm to this dark story, but the appeal and originality doesn’t stop there. This guy knows more about style than Carrie Bradshaw, which adds massive flavor and a whole new twist to a tale about “crime as a way of life” in South Texas. Toño sets the mood of every scene by describing the sagebrush and cactuses, the 100-degree heat, the dusty roads, and winding rivers. He sets the mood, too, cluing us into memories, his history. These tales—from the time he had to smuggle prize-winning horse jizz across the border, to the 55-gallon tanks that serve as human caskets for his “colleagues” the Bass brothers when drug deals go wrong—come together to show us that Toño is trapped, but surviving the best he can. Toño puts on his favorite Bed Stu boots for this particular job—he must kidnap the girlfriend of El Commandante, in order to save his own life. Toño killed the one of the cartel’s son’s six months back in self-defense with his lucky tanto blade. You see, ain’t nobody better with a knife than Toño, expect maybe his uncle, El Maestro, the man who ordered this job. Toño can’t go this alone. He calls on his crew: Rigo and Paco, and Jay—a bigtime ex con, old school drug runner, retired now, most of the time. Loyalty and self-preservation are everything to these guys. After all, that’s all they’ve got, well, that and drug running. But things don’t go as planned. The girl they kidnap is not “the girlfriend.” It appears the whole job is a setup. Toño must go off the grid, in order to save his bros, his crew, his own life. Just another day in South Texas. EXCERPTS My eyes open and I can feel the heat of the day. The air in South Texas is like a hot skillet, pressing you down into the dirt. It’s all we can really count on in South Texas, the heat. I grab both Glocks and the two mags, all loaded up with seventeen rounds apiece. My cold steel fila and berretta .25 cal. are tucked in my boot, and my cover knife is secure on my belt. Everybody, from the cops to the crooks, always takes my belt knife but they usually miss my cold steel knife with the Tanto blade, which is my best weapon. If you have a gun at your waist and I have my knife, you will never clear leather. My tio’s right hand guy, El Machete, took him, barely alive, to a tree where he tied him up, cut a hole in his stomach, pulled out about four feet of guts, and tied those to a stake. That way, the dude could see what the coyotes were having for dinner. I pull up to my crew’s digs. “I see you, joto. Don’t try to flank me, and I can see Paco on the roof. Why do you guys do this every time? Paco,” I yell up, “don’t wear your hunting camo on a tin roof. I saw you when I hit the hill behind your house, pendejo.” We picked the package up at the Cadillac Bar in Nuevo Laredo from a horse trainer. He explained the ice chest had horse semen from some famous racehorse. It was worth a lot of money, and we had a timeframe of six hours before it would be worthless. Sounded easy, turned into a shitstorm—but we pulled it off. Can you imagine going to jail in Nuevo Laredo Mexico for trafficking horse love juice? Embarrassing. “Untape her mouth.“ Rigo does, and I ask her name. “Loraine, motherfucker!“ “Orale, Loraine. Bit of a fucked up name for a Mexican chick, but okay.” I’m all focus, deep breathing and everything. Good thing I got my yoga in. Then I notice it: she’s wearing Versace jeans, a Vera Wang top, and a badass A. Lange & Sohne 18-karat red gold watch. Something’s not right. That isn’t a gift you give any girlfriend…. Loved the book! I love the way the author paints pictures so vividly with just words. Everything he described brought the image to mind. The language and dialogue were spot on. Interesting characters, good, strong plot and a story that just flowed . A real page turner. I hope there is a sequel or even a prequel. Should be very interesting since I am strangely bonded with the characters. I want to know more about them. ~Norma ... first effort at writing fiction and it is extremely good. Not only is his story telling accomplished...but the book is also well edited. ~Larry Wattson Suspenseful development of a likable character. Plot twists and ironic turns keeps the reader engaged and turning pages to learn what happens next. A very good read! ~Amazon Reader I couldn't put it down. This book is filled with suspense asthe reader is immersed in the seedy culture of the south border drug trade. Theauthor creates vivid characters who jump to life and have you on the edge ofyour sea t. This book is a real page turner. Highly recommended! ~Rick Wade What an absolute blast this book was to read. It isdifferent from anything else out there and so engaging. You can't help butadmire, and respect this crew of funny, complex, and very real criminals . DeepSouth Texas is truly a worl