What happens when your life is centered around the intent for revenge? How would you feel if your wish came true? Would it be as good as you thought? How would you live the rest of your life? How do you love and not let your desire for revenge sour you to the good things in life? Like a single mother’s love for the son born after the father’s murder? These questions are among those investigated in Patrick Weill‘s The Mazatlán Showdown.

Jeff Walker, a lifeguard in the San Diego area, recalls his love of the water…his single mom sitting watching him surf at a beach in Mexico. He thinks about how his mom worked more than one job to allow him to do that. The more he contemplates his and his mother’s loss, the more resentful he becomes. Revenge slowly eats him up. How will he react when he and his lifeguard buddies become involved with taking down a drug-smuggling gang whose leader is his father’s killer?

Patrick Weill does a fair job of portraying Southern California beach life. The group of lifeguards and the various policemen with whom they interact are well drawn. The few gang members are less well so; they seem common enough thugs.

Most of the story hinges on the revenge theme. Without giving anything away, I will only say that the novel loses some steam after the climax and coasts to the ending.

However, I enjoyed this outing with Weil and look forward to reading Bad Traffic, the next book in this series.

I received a copy of The Mazatlán Showdown in exchange for an honest review.

The Mazatlán Showdown
by Patrick Weill
(c) 2023
Weill & Associates