Welcome to Cottonmouth

De: Jay S. Bell

Narrado por: Edoardo Ballerini

“Jay S. Bell has arrived and he’s firing on all cylinders. This book is so original and well written that it had to be penned by a legend in the making.”—Joshua Hood, bestselling author of Robert Ludlum’s Treadstone series

What does the US government do with spies and special operators when they pass their expiration date? They retire them to a small town deep in the Piney Woods of East Texas, where they’re certain to cause no trouble.

A collection of broken spies, former double agents, and retired operators lives in secrecy, under the watchful eye of the government in the small, deep-woods town of Cottonmouth, Texas.

Devlin Mahoney is the de facto mayor of these special citizens, charged with keeping them in seclusion, hidden from the world, which he does from the office of the town’s only motel.

But the peace of this sleepy village is shattered when a pair of women, on the run from a vicious criminal, drops into Mahoney’s lap and he’s forced to choose between doing what’s right and doing what he’s told.

©2025 J. Scott Bell (P)2025 Blackstone Publishing

It’s everything a thriller should be….

I always wondered how Jason Bourne, Travis Devine or Will Robbie would retire. Now I know they will end up in a place like Cottonmouth, Texas.

Welcome to Cottonmouth

Cottonmouth is a small town in Texas that is, in reality, a US Government secret. The town's motel manager, auto repair shop owner, restaurant owner, and others are all intelligence or special ops agents - all brilliant and formidable. However, the US Government has deemed them PTSD washouts, over-the-hill, old, or just useless and out of touch. However, they are considered essential or patriotic enough to provide them this lifetime shelter, such as it is - a town we've all seen or driven through - small, dusty, virtually deserted, and forgotten.

A woman and a young girl are stranded in Cottonwood and seek shelter in the motel, as she waits for her car repair. You'll soon learn the woman is on the run.

Thus begins a roller-coaster ride as the team protects the woman, and bad guys fall. The story is rife with pulse-pounding thrills, occasionally hilarious dialogue, and tough-guy Type A characters with gentle hearts.

Highly recommended. Enjoy!

Sure 'Nuff Thrill Ride

Yet another delightful book by Bell. Lots of action, bigger than life characters which Ballerini brings to life so well. The writing and performance top notch. More please!

Entertaining… Cliff hanger

For his first book… I’m hooked already!! Thoroughly enjoyed the plot- Funny in places I don’t expect it. Narrator is excellent!!

Great First Book from a New Author

A very small town in the middle of nowhere Texas with few inhabitants. These few folks may look like a bunch of hicks and that’s the whole point. What they really are is a group of highly trained ex spies, ex CIA operatives, ex spetsnaz and a few others.
Although they don’t look like much and they’re a little rusty they still have what it takes when a woman and a young girl wander into their town followed by some not so nice guys with evil intentions.
Edoardo Ballerini as always does an amazing job narrating. He’s a favorite of mine and he has never disappointed.
This book has my This book has my VERY HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!!!

ENTERTAING

I liked the humor and action. The narrator made sure the listener knew which characters were talking. Great story. Almost believable. A good read.

Just too bloody for me

From what I listened to, it is a very well written story with excellent narration. It is really bloody, however, and some of the scenes seemed more "shock and awe" than was called for. YMMV; I would have liked the story had it been less visceral. Please note, I did not listen to it all the way through. Had I gotten the book, instead, I would have by-passed the bloody scenes, I think.