First published 2015
Mike Detty runs a gun shop in Tucson when suspected cartel associates approach him to buy weapons. He contacts the ATF and agrees to help with their investigation. What starts as a brief undercover operation becomes a three year nightmare. Detty sells firearms to dangerous criminals from his own home in the middle of the night. The ATF tells him he's part of Operation Wide Receiver, a gun walking scheme designed to track weapons as they move up the cartel chain. The Bureau allows licensed dealers to sell guns to illegal straw buyers so agents can follow the firearms to higher level traffickers and cartel leaders. The operation falls under Project Gunrunner, meant to stop weapons flowing into Mexico. Detty risks his safety and his business to serve his country. He believes he's helping federal agents build cases against major criminals. Instead, the very agency he sacrifices everything to assist ultimately betrays him.
Genres: crime, action, non-fiction, 21st-century, american-history
Vibes: suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: betrayal, whistleblower
Setting: Mexico, Tucson
Period: 21st-century
272 pages · Kindle Edition · Skyhorse
Content warnings: violence