Alligator

SYNOPSIS

In the swamplands of Everglades City, gator hunting is considered sport, akin to bear trapping or deer tracking. It’s all in good fun. That is, until the swamplands cough up a couple of eviscerated bodies. Then it’s no longer sport. It’s called revenge. And the vultures come parading in, bringing with them Rye Whitman.
       Rye is as shrewd as they come, serving his company as a president with a winner-take-all attitude. But he also makes Jordan Belfort look like Pope Francis of Assisi. He possesses a short fuse and zero care for those who don’t bend to his will. Simply put, he gets what he wants.
       So when word spreads to Miami that a ferocious, elephantine alligator is roaming the local swamplands, Rye isn’t going to allow this potential trophy to slip through his fingers. And with Everglades City as his hometown, he’ll be damned if anyone is going to take a bite out of that gator before him. However, without a skilled guide to navigate the dense, murky swamps, Rye is as good as gator bait.
       Local Lee Ferris is the best there is even if his finances have left him up the creek without a paddle. So this job may be the break he needs to steady his ship. But even he knows that accepting Rye’s offer is like making a deal with the devil, for the alligator may be the least of his worries.
       Shelley Katz’s Alligator is to downhome, southern hospitality as Jaws is to northern beachfront nobility. It’ll rip you from the comforts of home, cozied up next to the fireplace, and drop you into the sludgy marshes of Everglades City, Florida. It’s a world of Wild Turkey bourbon, Winchester rifles, and swamp cowboys riding airboats by the seat of their wading pants. A sudden hurricane or bear attack is just around the corner. But if you’re lucky enough, they may spare you for the alligator’s main course.
       Though, for all the bubbling mire on its surface, Alligator is a work that manages to defy the typical monster thriller. It questions who the real monster is: the hunted or the hunter? Perhaps the alligator is only an enemy of man because man is his enemy. And we all know that man can be his own worst enemy…or even the worst monster.
       Alligator proves that even sensationalized monster stories have an appetite for revelations. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pack your rifle for the ride. That gator is real, and he only has eyes for blood.

EDITION INFORMATION

• Limited to 500 copies, each signed by Shelley Katz, artists Ruth Sanderson and Bo Myles, and lettere Gavin Lees.
• Rare photograph of the author.
• Reproductions of old editions.
• Illustrated endpapers and title page.
• Double-sided dustjacket with art on both sides.
• Six interior illustrations and six spot illustrations.
• Ribbon marker, top-edge stain, head and tail bands, Smyth-sewn binding.
• 6 × 9 inches.
• 334 pages.
• Published October 2022.