BUZZKILL

&ldquo,Am I going to die?&rdquo, ,Eighteen-year-old Mary Jane Bailey is sprawled on her back in a weed-choked field, bleeding from ,a cut on her forehead, when she asks that question to the man in a sharkskin suit standing over her holding a straight razor. ,It is 1968. Jane is both a student and snitch. A federal agency asks her to keep her eyes open and report on potentially violent activities at Cal State Long Beach. For reasons even she doesn&rsquo,t understand, Jane agrees. ,Go with her as she ,encounters vicious thugs, ,police and pot heads, goes to a beach party where she takes midnight swim through the red tide, all ,the , ,while trying to infiltrate a radical group and establish whether they&rsquo,re as dangerous as they seem. ,And the man with a straight razor standing over Jane? He answers her question with a single word.&ldquo,Yes.&rdquo,***",A historical thriller enriched by characters who sparkle and refuse to be forgotten. Jane, for starters, is a remarkable protagonist . . . ,The story thoroughly embodies the ',60s era, both its anti-war sentiments and pop culture. The decade is also humorously portrayed . . .", - ,Kirkus ReviewsBuzzkill ,and its companion novel ,Crashpad ,are the latest thrillers by James R. Preston, author of the Surf City Mysteries and two-time recipient of the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference Award for Fiction. His works have been described as &ldquo,beach noir&rdquo, and &ldquo,Margaritaville, but with guns._,