Big Maria

2013 Anthony Award WinnerNew Edition with a Foreword by Blake CrouchHow far would you go for a fortune in lost gold? Whatever your answer, it's not as far as Harry, Frank, and Ricky go.There's gold in Arizona's Chocolate Mountains, where one hundred years ago a miner stashed a king's ransom of treasure. But times have changed. The world has changed. And now the Chocolate Mountains are the home of the largest active military artillery range in the world.Harry's living on disability and getting liquored up and beaten down. Frank's a feisty old-timer battling cancer and a domineering daughter. And Ricky's a good kid in a bad spot, doing everything for family. Together they're staking what little they have left on a dangerous quest to the Big Maria Mine—and the gold that can offer them a new beginning.Unfortunately, a meth-dealing biker wants a piece, a trigger-happy AWOL soldier wants to play chicken in a live minefield, two stubborn burros want to go home, a starving mountain lion wants his dinner, and the US Army wants to rain on our heroes' parade with real bombs.Big Maria is an unfiltered, wild romp in which three men get one chance to find a lost gold mine; the only problem is the Big Maria Mine is right in the middle of a US Army artillery range.Three Dumb Guys. One Bad Plan.For fans of Donald Westlake, Elmore Leonard, and Joe R. LansdaleWhen you're all out of crazy ideas, it's time to try the stupid ones.