Who could have guessed that lonely Meyer Island would be at the center of racist greed, murder, and revenge? The Faculty Gang is the ecological thriller recounting the troubles that arise when the US Navy tries to rid itself of Meyer Island, a former ammunition storage facility in the Sacramento River Delta on the eastern edge of San Francisco Bay. Meyer Island, a remnant of WWII, is now a natural bird sanctuary often shrouded in fog, muting the ghost ship–haunted memory of what went on there in the forties. It has healed itself with natural grasses and welcomed back birds, where a symphony of birdcalls often freezes visitors to listen. An agency set up by the government must select the private proposal that will best use the land. This brings into deadly conflict the plan of a group of vicious businessmen who wish to exploit the island and the proposal of the local university’s faculty for a more benign use of the land. Romance, racial tension, humor, revenge, murder, and ultimate satisfaction dance together in this timely eco-mystery tango. “This well-timed novel is like Silent Spring, as if written by Rachel Carson, James Lee Burke, and George Carlin with help from Erica Jong.”
