Shell Games: Rogues, Smugglers, and the Hunt for Nature's Bounty

By Craig Welch

A unique blend of natural history and crime drama, Shell Games by Craig Welch is a riveting tale of rogues, scoundrels, and the hunt for nature’s bounty in the tradition of The Orchid Thief. A stranger-than-fiction true story centered around a larger-than-life character who pursued a larger-than-life clam—the Geoduck—and then led wildlife police on a two-year-long chase, Shell Games is enthralling and remarkable from page one on.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 6, 2010
• ISBN: 9780061987984

Craig Welch

A Seattle7Writers project for literacy, this novel was written by Kathleen Alcalá, Matthew Amster-Burton, Kit Bakke, Erica Bauermeister, Sean Beaudoin, Dave Boling, Deb Caletti, Carol Cassella, William Dietrich, Robert Dugoni, Kevin Emerson, Karen Finneyfrock, Clyde Ford, Jamie Ford, Elizabeth George, Mary Guterson, Maria Dahvana Headley, Teri Hein, Stephanie Kallos, Erik Larson, David Lasky, Stacey Levine, Frances McCue, Jarret Middleton, Peter Mountford, Kevin O'Brien, Julia Quinn, Nancy Rawles, Suzanne Selfors, Jennie Shortridge, Ed Skoog, Garth Stein, Greg Stump, Indu Sundaresan, Craig Welch and Susan Wiggs. Foreword by Nancy Pearl. Introduction by Garth Stein.

Reviews for Shell Games

[camelama_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book that covers not only the tale of Law against Poachers, but also covers the natural sciences history of the Pacific Northwest. I had no idea so much of this was happening just off shore - or the labryinth of legalities surrounding aqua-hunting, and the history of how those laws came about. Another "can't put it down" read. My only quibble is with the many many flashbacks, flash forwards, interruptions of the story. The storylines could have been organized a bit better. It felt like they were trying to present all these strings of storyline, and then "see how they all weave together?!" but ... it needed a better foundation upon which the storylines could rest.

[kenno82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author successfully shines the light on illegal wildlife poaching for overseas markets, not in the plains of Africa, but in the waterways of the United States. This is a gripping read with interesting characters and a few twists and turns that gives life to a story that would usually appear in the latter pages of your weekend newspaper.

[carterchristian1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amazing to realize that this is truth,not fiction. Great investigative journalism involving a shellfish