Summary
On November 13, 2001, a group of three police officers, Ed Volz, Bill Jarmon, and Charlie Pudwill, watch a well-concealed scuba diving boat at the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest. All there are serving in the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, mainly investigating the cases of sea creatures poaching. There are many valuable targets for poachers in the Puget Sound, but geoduck – a large edible saltwater clam – is the most lucrative among these. According to the tip, the scuba diver on the boat is a long-time poaching suspect. However, the officers need to see his face and catch him in the act if they intend to build a decent case against him.
These hopes are seemingly shattered when the diver emerges from underwater empty-handed and strips of his diving suit as if suspecting he is being watched. The man on the boat launches the engine and pulls away quickly. Volz and Jarmon give chase in their car but lose the speedy boat. As if that was not enough, they cannot contact Pudwill, who is stationed at the shoreline, via radio due to static. Volz almost gives up when the boat appears once again and heads toward the shellfish-rich Wyckoff Shoal. Convinced that the suspected poacher has finally become reckless enough, the officers begin watching is once again, waiting for the suspect to commit an offense.
Seven years earlier, Volz and several other undercover officers watch their informant Dave Ferguson establish a contact with a potential buyer for illegally fished sea creatures. The advancements of free-market capitalism in the last decades of the 20th century caused a rapid increase in all kinds of illegal trading, and sea creatures are no exception. Police officers, who used to perceive poaching offenses in local terms, have to think globally now, and Ferguson is the evidence of such thinking. Upon arresting him for illegally fishing abalone, a type of edible sea snails, the police decide to turn him into an informant because uncovering smuggling networks is more important than prosecuting one small-time poacher. The gambit pays off, and Ferguson becomes a valuable and resourceful source, helping to uncover smuggling rings that reach far beyond Washington. However, just as Volz and his partner Harrington arrest one of the newly-found suspects, Ferguson suffers an accident that may well be an assassination attempt and makes it clear he wants out soon after. Thus, just as the two detectives prepare to work the case further, they find themselves deprived of their most valuable asset.
Evaluation
The prologue and first chapter of Shell Games offer a solid introduction to the story. The prologue is an exemplary hook, as it describes the state of things as the case that has been in development for seven years reaches its culmination and then cuts away before the decisive moment arrives. This pacing of the narrative provokes the intrigued audience with no choice to read further to learn what happens at the end. The first chapter is an effective introduction to the characters, such as Volz, Harrington, and Ferguson. It also acquaints the reader with the illegal sea creature market of the American Northwest, building upon the basics outlined in the prologue. However, the major weakness of both prologue and chapter is that they virtually never operate in specific monetary units. Mentioning how much a given clam, such as the famed geoduck, cost at the tame would provide eh reader with a clearer and more relatable picture of the illegal trade in sea creatures. Still, apart from this downside, the initial part of the book sets up the story effectively and prepares the audience for what is to come.