Randall Reneau

Randall Reneau is the author of five novels, including Diamond Fields, a Royal Dragonfly Book Awards grand prize winner, and Deadly Lode, a Richard Boes Memorial Award winner . He is also a two-time winner of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award. A former international geologist and Vietnam veteran, he lives with his wife, Lynne, in Austin, Texas.

Deadly Lode

Thriller

Geologist Trace Brandon’s serendipitous discovery of the long forgotten Sullivan Mine comes with more than high grade uranium and gold ore. When ex-con, and penny mining stock promoter, Cyrus “the Virus” McSweeny finds out about Brandon's new mining claims, he formulates an underhanded plan to gain an interest in the mine.

To further complicate matters, one of Brandon’s shareholders, Richard Rosenburg, is into a New Orleans crime family for a cool million. And they want Rosy’s shares in Brandon’s new company˗˗Montana Creek Mining.

As Brandon begins to drill out the rich orebody, his shareholders start dying. And not from natural causes. The exotic nature of the murders catches the attention of FBI Special Agent Beau Monroe. But it’s the world class uranium grades that catch Hong Kong based Lei Chang’s eye. Chang wants the uranium reserves for his Chinese backed mining company. And he doesn’t care how he gets them.

Brandon is forced to forge some rather unorthodox alliances to maintain control of the Sullivan Mine . . . and to stay alive.

Diamond Fields

Thriller

Geologist Trace Brandon has traded mining in Washington State for the sunshine and warm waters of the Cayman Islands. For the past year, his only encounters with crooks have been social, and no one has tried to kill him. But a phone call from Cyrus “the Virus” McSweeny lures Trace into a dangerous new mining project. This time the quarry is West African alluvial diamonds: rare and extremely valuable . . . green diamonds.

In the steamy backwater city of Monrovia, Trace and his partner, Will Coffee, team up with expat mining engineer Gordon Watson and an Idaho potato-farmer-turned-diamond-miner known as the “Mormon.” Together, they will make an extraordinary find—what miners call a “First Water Stone.”

When rebels attempt a coup, Trace and his partners are caught up in violence and treachery that threaten to engulf them all . . .

Ruby Silver

Thriller

Geologist Trace Brandon and his partner Will Coffee are just back from Liberia, West Africa. Cashed-up and looking for a new venture, they once again team up with Cyrus “The Virus” McSweeny. This time the quarry is the silver-rich ore of the old Ruby Mining District. And this time they’ll not only have the Pantelli crime family to deal with, but also lumberman Autry Ollinger—three hundred pounds of obnoxiousness whose preferred method of negotiation is a right hook. When the Pantellis unleash a bizarre extortion plot to seize control of Ruby Mining Company, Cyrus is forced to bring former clandestine operative Marion Thistlewaite out of retirement. Marion’s unique expertise may give them the edge they need to hold on to their company . . . and their lives.

south of good

Forced out of the DEA after twenty years, Hardin Steel , Stainless to his close friends, has managed to get himself elected Sheriff of Cameron County, Texas. Twice divorced, with a bit of a drinking problem, he’s now dating Rory Roughton, a fiery sixth-generation Texan who’s as rich as she is beautiful—and hell-bent on keeping Steel on the straight and narrow. But then his best friend, Wes Stoddard, is nearly shot down flying in a load of pot, Rory is kidnapped by a Russian mercenary working for the most dangerous cartel in Mexico, and the Cuban Mafia decides they’d like the former DEA agent—dead.

Steel is forced to take unsanctioned, unconventional—and mostly illegal—action in order to save himself and those closest to him . . .

Legend of War Creek

Mystery

On August 18, 1882, Joe La Fleur discovered a gold-bearing quartz vein near the headwaters of War Creek, high in the Cascade Range of Washington State. Later the same day . . . he lost it. One hundred and thirty years later, geologist Trace Brandon re-discovers the vein, guarded by a skeleton with a flint arrowhead imbedded in a femur, and a carved wooden owl—admonitions not to desecrate hallowed ground.

Ignoring the warnings, Brandon stakes a number of mining claims and begins drilling—only to see two of his men murdered in a grisly, ritualistic manner. The situation soon goes from bad to worse when Brandon’s old nemesis, Mafia don Peter Pantelli, learns of the discovery and devises a ruthless plan to eliminate Brandon and take control of the mining claims.

Brandon is caught between forces he can’t comprehend and treachery he understands all too well . . .