The Bug Man 3-in-1

Bug Man

by Tim Downs

The Bug Man Suspense Bundle is a 3-in-1 set of eBooks from author Tim Downs: First the Dead, Less than Dead, and Ends of the Earth.

This series follows Nick Polchak, a quirky forensic entomologist known as "The Bug Man," as he works to uncover murders using his expert knowledge of bugs.

In First the Dead Nick tries to find a killer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina’s attack on New Orleans. But the more he digs the stronger—and deadlier—the resistance becomes. Nick is there to collect bodies, and he's going to do just that—especially when he starts finding bodies that were clearly dead before the hurricane. He understands that all forensic evidence will soon disintegrate in the hot, contaminated water . . . and he knows that's exactly what the killer wants to happen.

Nick has finally met his match in Less than Dead. When a grave is discovered on property owned by the front-running candidate for the next presidential election, the FBI immediately becomes involved. The graves then vanish and Nick follows local legend to the bizarre Alena who keeps to herself in the mountains of Northern Virginia, training cadaver dogs. Together they discover that this small town—and the presidential-hopeful—have closets full of skeletons.

As Ends of the Earth unfolds, Nick struggles to protect a victim’s family from agro-terrorists in North Carolina. After dissecting the remains of a bale of marijuana scattered in the tomato fields, Nick learns that the South American marijuana is strangely infested with a common North Carolina insect: the tobacco hornworm. To further confound the mystery, the bugs are infected with a fungus from Asia, and Nick begins to suspect his victim wasn't killed because of the marijuana, but because of the insects it contained. He then discovers that a vicious agricultural scheme is underway to cripple US corn and ethanol production.

1225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2011

About the author

Tim Downs is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Indiana University. After graduation in 1976 he created a comic strip, Downstown, which was syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate (Calvin & Hobbes, Doonesbury, The Far Side) from 1980 to 1986. His cartooning has appeared in more than a hundred daily newspapers worldwide. Tim has written seven mystery/suspense novels: Shoofly Pie, Chop Shop, PlagueMaker, Head Game, First the Dead, Less than Dead, and Ends of the Earth. PlagueMaker was awarded the Christy Award for the best CBA mystery/suspense novel of 2006, and Less than Dead was a finalist for the 2009 Christian Book Award in suspense fiction. Tim lives in Cary, North Carolina, with his wife Joy. They have three grown children.

Reviews

[Cynthia Bethea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn’t like the ending...

The last chapter of the last book is ‘missing’. It’s not really important to the story. I’m supposed to go to the author’s website to read two possible ending and choose the one I liked best. But the website no longer exists.

[Pat Whitworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each one can stand alone but each one says ,EEK! A bug!!

Just read these books it will be a learning experience. It's the most interesting 3 in one I have ever read with side splitting laughter to soften the tragedy.