Introduction

The Collectors is the third book in the award winning Chance Cormac legal thriller series. The first two books "Facts Are Stubborn Things" and "Punch Line" are both best sellers on Amazon.

Chance is retained by a client who believes that he has been the victim of fraud when he purchased a valuable abstract painting that may be a forgery. Chance soon learns that both the painting and his client, might not be what they seem.

Chance is then summoned to Costa Rica to help Damian and JR who are caught up in the black market of selling human organs. Facing police corruption and danger, it may be too late to help to save his friends.

Praise:

"The best yet of Danzig’s trio of tales, The Collectors is a fast-paced legal thrill ride with winsome characters, a complex love story, and a breathtaking crossroad for our pugilistic protagonist… Danzig’s ability to create authentic characters—and constantly introduce new ones—is the glue that makes this series stick.” Independent Book Review [5 stars]

Editorial Review

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Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

The scream of the howler monkey sounds more like the growl

of a wild beast fighting for its life than the grunt of a spider

monkey or a chimp. They sit high in the trees of Costa Rica.

Howler monkeys are jet black and are difficult to see through the

dense foliage even when the tropical sun shines bright. No matter

how often you hear the howlers screaming, the sound is always

somehow unexpected and frightening. Their loud unearthly cries

caused the ancient Mayans to worship the howler monkeys as

gods.

Damian was up early. Tyler, the dog who adopted his friend

JR on the beach when he first came to Costa Rica, was waiting at

the door. JR and Tyler were lost souls both looking for a home.

Tyler was part greyhound and part collie. He was white and brown

and greyhound fast. He loved the surf and sometimes JR would

put Tyler on his paddle board and they could be seen floating,

silhouetted at sunset. Tyler was named after JR’s hometown in

Texas. JR was still sleeping. Damian opened the door and said,

“Tyler! You lazy bum. Let’s go, boy!” Tyler was out the door

before Damian could say anything else.

Every morning Damian and Tyler would take a morning run

on the white sands of Tamarindo as the tropical sun was rising on

the horizon in a blaze of red and orange. Nobody was on the beach

and they could both run free. Damian saw the surf was up and

knew after his run he would be surfing with the Tamarindo dawn

patrol. Then he would walk up the beach to the Tico Tide Surf

Shop, owned by Troy Travner where he and JR would spend the

day repairing boards. He shook his head. He never imagined living

in a tropical paradise with JR and being part of a surfing

community.

Damian enjoyed running in the early morning. He ran

barefoot in just his board shorts and faded Tico Tide tee shirt. He

enjoyed the feel of the cool sand on his feet and sea air on his face.

He breathed in the smell of the fragrant ocean breeze and the

orchids that grew wild. After a mile, he didn’t feel his legs

anymore, only the rhythm of his breath. When he looked up he

realized that they were already halfway to the remote cove where

only the best surfers could “mack”.

When he jogged each morning his thoughts ran free. It was

hard to believe that more than a year had already passed since he

left New York and moved to Costa Rica to create a new life with

his friend JR who had served with him in the SEALS.

He thought about Troy and the many Costa Rican friends he

had made. The beautiful Tico women, who were so genuine and

friendly and had none of the New York City edge. The surfers

who came into the shop, who were the furthest thing from a SEAL

but were disciplined and dedicated to their sport. It wasn’t home

yet, but almost.

This morning, he was remembering his tours as JR’s platoon

leader and the successful missions they had fought. Smiling, he

thought of the years he’d worked for the attorney Chance

Cormac, his good friend and mentor, as an investigator and then

as a law clerk in Brooklyn. How Chance had convinced him to

enroll in law school. The many trials they worked together, side

by side.

How it all ended with their last case, involving a corrupt and

psychopathic policeman. The feeling of the bullet hitting him in

the chest like a sledgehammer when he was shot by a rookie cop.

He thought of Susan Chu, a fellow law student and clerk for

Chance. Her beauty, intelligence and accomplishments. Her life

that had ended much to soon. He had recovered from being shot

but couldn’t heal the scars on his chest or in his mind when he

thought of Susan’s violent death and his guilt for not protecting

her.

Damian said, “Okay, enough of that! Tyler, let’s see what you

got!”

Damian put his head down and sprinted fifty yards until he

cleared his head and his heart. Tyler shot past him, barking with

joy. Damian heard the screeches of the howler monkeys as they

looked down from their perches high above the beach. For some

reason, he felt they were warning him to stay away. He and JR had

seen and heard many monkeys when they were deployed on

special ops missions as SEALs in the Middle East and Asia. But

those monkeys were small and, if they talked at all, made soft

grunts or funny chirping sounds. When the howlers screamed

they opened their jaws, bared their teeth and let out a demonic

yell.

As Damian ran, he looked up to see if he could catch sight of

one of the angry howlers he knew were looking down at him from

their hiding places. He was looking up when he heard a distant,

more terrifying howl. He suddenly realized it was not a demon

monkey but a human voice, screaming somewhere down on the

beach! Tyler stopped short, growled, and took off down the beach.

Damian sprinted behind Tyler to see where the screams were

coming from. As he charged down the wet sand, his mind was

suddenly back in the Middle East with JR on a SEAL mission,

hearing the screams of a wounded enemy or a member of his own

platoon. He had run a hundred yards when the screaming

suddenly stopped.

In the distance he saw Tyler running in circles, barking at a

young man with long black hair, wearing only a bright red

Hawaiian bathing suit, lying motionless, face down in the sand.

The surfer’s body lay prone next to a gleaming surf board that was

bobbing up and down in the wake nearby.

Damian yelled, “Tyler, sit! Stay! Good boy!” He approached

the young surfer, knelt down, and quickly turned him over onto

his back. He recognized the lifeless gaze in the young man’s eyes.

The same look he had seen too many times in combat. Blood was

gushing from two identical wounds, one on each side below the

surfer’s stomach. view abbreviated excerpt only...

Discussion Questions

1. Damian and JR move to Costa Rica to escape their pasts but are immediately pulled into another life or death situation. What does the novel suggest about the difficulty of escaping one’s history especially military trauma?

2. Chance Cormac’s story weaves together corporate law, art fraud and high stakes crime. In what ways does his legal battle mirror Damian and JR’s struggle in prison? How do these two threads comment on different forms of corruption?

3. The novel explores friendship and loyalty especially between Damian and JR. How does their bond shape the choices they make? Did their loyalty help them, harm them or both?

4. Organ trafficking is one of the darkest elements of the book. How did you respond to Dr. Renata’s justification for his black market work? Do you see him as purely a villain or as a morally gray character?

5. Several characters wrestle with guilt such as Damian over Susan’s death, Chance over his personal relationships and Renata over his father’s death. How does guilt drive their decisions?

6. Costa Rica and Brooklyn provide contrasting backdrops for the story. How do the two settings influence the tone, stakes and pacing of the novel?

7. Corruption in law enforcement and government plays a major role. How does the book depict the tension between justice and survival in systems where the law cannot be trusted?

8. The book includes commentary on sensitivity readers and representation in publishing. Did you feel this meta conversation enriched the story or distracted from it?

9. Justice (Wendell Holmes) is both investigator and enforcer crossing legal and ethical lines. What do you think the novel is saying about the ends justify the means approach to justice?
10. The ending leaves Damian grieving JR and Chance losing Sally. Did you find the conclusion satisfying? What do you think it says about sacrifice, loyalty and what it costs to seek the truth?

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