Moses Lake man writes about drug cartels

MOSES LAKE - Mike McPheters is concerned about drug cartels on the U.S. border.

The former FBI agent and current Moses Lake resident is in the middle of his five-week tour for his second book, "Cartels and Combinations." The author said the idea for the novel was born out of his experiences with the drug cartels.

"There's nothing I'm more concerned about than the porous nature of our borders," he said. "I wrote this book so I could promote my convictions. So I can bring to light how serious this is. We can't have our heads in the sand any more."

The book follows the story of a young Mormon girl who is abducted by a drug cartel and taken to Mexico, McPheters said. The cartel is trying to influence the girl's father who handles most of the drug prosecutions in San Diego.

"In the process of trying to resolve the situation, I go into how the illegal immigrants are doing the bidding of the drug cartels. I bring in some views of how these drug cartels get their strength," he said. "I think it's a really compelling read."

McPheters' first book, "Agent Bishop," was a memoir telling about his experiences as a FBI agent and a Mormon bishop. The reason he chose fiction for his second book is because he didn't have enough stories left from his experiences.

"I only worked these cases towards the end of my career," he said. "I spent a lot of my fodder on the first book. You can only write so much non-fiction."

He spent about 10 months researching the drug trade along the United States' border with Mexico, pulling up several examples of crimes committed both in Mexico and the U.S. by the cartels.

"I have a friend by the name of Rosa that lives in Grant County. Her father was pumping gas and these drug traffickers came up and said they wanted gas. He said the store wasn't open yet and they said, 'Hey, we want gas,'" he said. "Then they shot him ... The incident is replayed right in the novel."

Along with his book tour, McPheters is doing research on a new novel, "Lit Fuse," about a possible terrorist attack on the U.S.

"This past month I've been across the Caribbean, and the San Juan Islands ... I've spent a lot of time in those places and write down a lot of descriptions," he said. "(The new book) is showing how the caring for fellow human beings can eclipse the desire to kill thousands of human beings."

"Agent Bishop" and "Cartels and Combinations" are on sale now.