Welcome to Cottonmouth, an Explosive Action Thriller by Jay S. Bell

The Bottom Line: An explosive, over-the-top, series-worthy action thriller set in a world that feels completely fresh.

Jay S. Bell’s debut thriller opens in a devastated Arizona biker bar. Devlin Mahoney calmly shuffles playing cards while guns, blood spatter, cooling corpses and busted furnishings lay all around him. His CIA handler offers him two options: risk arrest and Arizona’s death penalty, or take a job in East Texas.

Mahoney, a wiry man who looks like a roadie, chooses the latter. The role takes him to tiny Cottonmouth, Texas, a deep-woods community where the population consists of former spies, defectors and government operators who must keep a low profile. Mahoney works out of the town’s only motel, the Cottonmouth Motor Court. But life under Mahoney’s watch becomes significantly more complicated when a pair of women check into room twelve.

Marooned in Cottonmouth due to a vehicle breakdown, Britte and Siobhan are on the run from gangster Milos Stankovic. Born in Sudan to Bosnian parents, Stankovic is involved in diamond smuggling, porn, prostitution and is feared to have connections with African terrorist groups. It doesn’t take long for his goons to come looking for their boss’ missing “property,” and once they do, it’s only a matter of time before fists and bullets start flying. 

In all the best ways, Bell’s Cottonmouth feels like a throwback to the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriquez cult classic From Dusk Til’ Dawn. Cottonmouth is a palpable secret world filled with dangerous people, and only the damned are unfortunate enough to stumble into its trap. But instead of vampires, the town is filled with super spies who obsessively gather intelligence, assess threats and discuss logistics to protect their safe haven. The cardinal rule when dealing with outsiders is not to get involved, but God help those who arrive and disrupt the peace. 

Speaking of movies, Bell’s prose is, much like a screenplay, spare and dialogue-driven. Action sequences are vivid, but stripped to the core elements for maximum cinematic effect. Bell knows just when to deliver more, such as describing best practice for throwing a flashbang grenade, but never weighs it down with expensive words or chunky paragraphs that might slow the pace. 

Those tired of brooding action epics like John Wick will appreciate Bell’s wry dialogue and light comedy. Baby Boomers will rejoice as Bell packs the book with references to Boomer pop culture luminaries such as John Wayne, Sonny and Cher, Jimmy Buffet and Knute Rockne. Speaking of luminaries, it’s easy to imagine Jason Statham and Dolf Lundgren in the screen adaptation. 

Here’s hoping Bell has more adventures in store.

Bella Wright

<a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/111870688839726576389?rel=author">Bella Wright</a> blogs about books, film and media.

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