Arturo Pérez-Reverte, The Queen of the South

The Queen of the South

Arturo P rez-Reverte

Putnam, Jun 2004,

ISBN: 0399151850

Mexican drug-running pilot Guero Davila warned his girlfriend that if the cell phone he gave her ever rings, she must flee because he is dead and she is next. When the call came, the voice calmly told her that "They wasted Guero", killed his cousin, and she was high on the clean up list. Listening to the voice of Guero in her head, the panicked Teresa Mendoza runs for her life.

Teresa knows that they will find her eventually so she must change from the innocent upbeat girl who a coke delivery pilot rescued from poverty to a major player. She chooses Spain to start out, but she is raped and incarcerated for her efforts. However, over the next dozen years, Teresa learns and begins to rise through the ranks until she becomes Narco's QUEEN OF THE SOUTH with a confrontation awaiting her with the Don of Mexican druglords.

Though the men in Teresa's life are evanescent and never fully developed yet somehow seem fascinating (what if), readers receive an insightful look at drug trafficking through the exploits of the terrific protagonist. The story line actually plays out along two plots with the main theme being the rise to power of Teresa; the other subplot focuses on a reporter doing research into Teresa's life by interviewing felons and law enforcement officials who have known her. Thus, the audience obtains a second and at times a third perspective on events that shaped this intriguing anti-heroine. This strong novel falls a bit flat due to the weak support cast, but Arturo P rez-Reverte still provides an intriguing thriller.

Harriet Klausner