Life can be a gamble and no one knows that more than Victor Grant, a private investigator in depression era San Francisco. Sometimes an opportunity comes along where the level of risk might be high but worth taking for the rewards that might come from it. And so it was, when a beautiful woman entered Vic’s office and needed help. Vic listened to her story and on the face of it, the assignment sounded simple, a missing person case, but he knew she was holding something back and lying. That wasn’t something new to him, most of his clients were prone to hiding something and lying.
Continue reading Victor Grant, Private Investigator: Snake EyesCategory Archives: Books
Ellie Lane: A Western Adventure
A brand new Western adventure by Mark Marchetti
In 1876 the nation was stunned by the news of the Battle of Little Big Horn where the 7th Cavalry under the command of General Custer were defeated in battle by a coalition of Indian tribes. People were shocked that people considered savages could defeat the United States Army. The newspapers described the slaughter in graphic detail and government response was swift and deadly. All Indians would either go onto reservations or be killed. New forts were built on the frontier to do battle and push the Indians off their land. In Montana territory, Fort Keogh was built and not far away the town of Miles City took shape.
Continue reading Ellie Lane: A Western Adventure
Victor Grant, Private Investigator: Dragon Eyes
When Victor Grant, a private investigator, gets a call from Detective Captain Walt Ritter from the San Francisco Police Department he gets an offer he can’t refuse. As a former police detective with the SFPD, Victor and Walt are old friends. The assignment seems simple. A wealthy widowed relative of Walt’s wants a bodyguard to escort her on a very secretive trip to Hawaii where she plans to buy something. She won’t divulge what it is, but she is a well-known art collector, so it’s assumed it’s a valuable art object.
Continue reading Victor Grant, Private Investigator: Dragon Eyes
The Gold Disc Of The Mayans
In 1542 Spanish conquistadors led by El Mozo began their final conquest of the Mayans in the Yucatan area of what is now Mexico. The Mayan king knew the end was near and gave his son the assignment to hide their most sacred object before it would fall into the hands of the Spanish. The object was a golden disc with a pure quartz stone in the middle and was said to be a gift from the Gods. The disc was kept in a box made of jade and the young prince was instructed to hide in a place where it could not be found. It should remain hidden until such time when the Mayans could rise up again against their Spanish oppressors.
Continue reading The Gold Disc Of The Mayans
News from Lizard Key Books
Summer 2025
I haven’t posted any news for some time, so here it goes. Two books have come out so far in 2025, ‘Ride into Hell’ and ‘Brimley, TX- Lies, Lust, Corruption, Murder’. Both books are part of the ‘Texas Jack’ western series.
In other book news, the third book in the ‘Lizard Key’ series, ‘The Golden Disc of the Mayans’ is completed and will be available soon. This is the third book following the adventures of the modern-day pirate, Nick Roberts. The second book in that series, ‘Black Bart’s Treasure’ is now back and available on Amazon as a second edition with a new cover. Originally, the book was self-published before it was picked up by a publisher. I went through it and made some corrections/changes, a new cover was produced, and the book is now released.
Continue reading News from Lizard Key Books
Texas Jack: Brimley, TX
Lies, Lust, Corruption, Murder
A Western Adventure: Texas Jack Book 10
Joshua Brimley went to Texas just prior to the end of the Civil War. He was a tough, hard man willing to fight and take land. He pushed out the Indians and fought off bandits to build his Empire Ranch. He rounded up stray cattle and any other cattle he found, branded or not. If they were on his ranch, they were his cattle. The Empire Ranch was vast and before long he had established a town bearing his name. Joshua didn’t care which way the war ended because he would still have his land.
Continue reading Texas Jack: Brimley, TX
Texas Jack: Ride into Hell
A Western Adventure: Texas Jack Book 9
When Jack McKenna, Texas Jack, first met Grady Jones, he was a quiet family man with a wife and daughter. He fought in the Civil War on the Union side and after the war he became bitter and disillusioned. His marriage changed all that and he renounced violence and became Preacher Jones, a peaceful man of God.
Continue reading Texas Jack: Ride into Hell
The Voyage of the Island Girl – A wartime Tale of the South Pacific
In 1939 the world was in turmoil. Germany, under Hitler and the Nazi regime had invaded several smaller countries with little or no resistance. When they invaded Poland, Great Britain and France declared war and World War II began. On the other side of the world, the Japanese had invaded China and were also at war. Emboldened by the lack of response to Hitler’s aggression they attacked China and were making inroads into the South Pacific driven by their imperialism and need for raw materials.
The United States was trying to remain neutral as they were providing aid to both Great Britain and Europe. Tensions were also rising between the United States and Japan as the United States was aiding China and refusing to sell oil to Japan.
Continue reading The Voyage of the Island Girl – A wartime Tale of the South Pacific
The Adventures of Bo Avery: Shanghaied – A Western Adventure
Bo Avery and his friend, Charlie Bixby, led a wagon train to California in 1858. Bo had fallen in love with a girl named Kate who had left the train at Fort Hall. Kate, her sister, and her sister’s husband went on to the Oregon Territory to get established in the new country.
Bo promised Kate as soon as he was done with his obligation to get the wagon train to California, he would come to Oregon to be with her. When they got the emigrants to Sacramento, he and Charlie got their pay. Charlie wanted to go to San Francisco because he had heard so much about it and he wanted to see the ocean. Bo decided to go along and then make his way north to the Oregon Territory and find Kate.
Continue reading The Adventures of Bo Avery: Shanghaied – A Western Adventure
The Adventures of Bo Avery: The Way West – A Western Adventure
In 1850, the United States was less than seventy-five years old. In the context of the long-established countries of Europe it was in its infancy. Yet the speed and development as a country was unprecedented. From the thirteen original colonies on the east coast, the country had now spread west all the way to the Pacific. The concept of manifest destiny had taken hold, and the millions of Indians living there were viewed as in the way of the nation’s progress. The discovery of gold in California created a boom of development on the west coast but between the east and west coasts lay the vastness of America, still wild, untamed and lawless. Between Independence, Missouri and California would be turbulent weather, unimagined hardship, disease, hostile Indians, bandits, and for many, death.
Continue reading The Adventures of Bo Avery: The Way West – A Western Adventure