Deadman's Bust [Kindle Edition]

Deadman’s Bust takes readers on a wild ride from the laidback pot-growing counterculture of Humboldt County and into the harsh world of drug traffickers, Colombian cartels, and corrupt DEA agents.

When Mike and John’s growing operation is violently busted by the Feds, John is hauled away while Mike, hiding under the house, escapes. Later, when he tries to make sense of the bust, he finds that things don’t add up. Although looking like DEA agents, the men sounded more like thieves. And where have they taken John? Mike’s determination to save his brother leads him through unfamiliar and violent territory on a journey filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Cory Marchese was born on the Gulf Coast of Florida where he spent what he’s pretty sure was the good half of his childhood. After his parents’ divorce, he moved to Minnesota with his mom and sister where he spent the other half, and many cold winters dreaming of the sun and sand he’d left behind. There he became an avid (but discerning) reader, heavy (but happy) drinker, regular (though not too regular) pot-smoker, courageous (but cautious) skateboarder, reluctant (though proficient) fighter, confirmed (but moderate) delinquent, and average (but severely un-enterprising) student, athlete, dancer, and employee. So, after graduating high school in 1991, it only made sense to move to Humboldt County, California, to grow pot and learn to surf. The next years were a time of surfing, growing, and generally enjoying life until the DEA put a stop to it. In 1998, Cory finished a two-and-a-half year prison term in which he made many friends and spent hours listening to the completely outrageous—but often true—stories that would eventually inspire him to write. A means of catharsis in the beginning, his writing has developed into a full-on passion. Newly married in 1999, he established a construction company in the San Francisco Bay Area. A couple of years later, his daughter was born. In 2009, his marriage ended. Cory remarried in 2011, and is now living in the San Francisco East Bay with his lovely wife, daughter, and stepsons. He recently finished remodeling their dream home. It was the first time during his twelve years as a general contractor that he was able to renovate his own home. Working long days and living far from the beach, he traded his surfboard for 16-ounce gloves and headgear and began training in Krav Maga, grappling, and boxing—experiencing the same Zen-like sensation while sparring that surfing once afforded him. Other than that, and the occasional hike, bike ride, book, or movie, he spends his free time cherishing the company of his family and putting words to paper. He is crime free, drives like a granny, and has a perfectly healthy fear of authority. Along with his four longtime, loyal employees, he maintains his business—diligently laboring at his vocation in the greater Bay Area—and, at thirty-nine years old, eagerly looks forward to the next half of adulthood. Deadman’s Bust is Cory Marchese’s first novel; inspired by his former life of crime and the time he spent paying for it.