Queen of the South Paperback – May 31, 2005

This is a good book told from the perspective of an unusual protagonist. I liked that the author took one of the minor characters in the drug trade, girlfriend to men who are actively involved in the activities and moves her to the front of the action. It is a lonely life for Theresa as there is no female like her in the trade, besides which she can trust no one, even the people she is working closely with and making extremely rich. The author shows how Theresa, not only built her empire to protect herself, but also created a mystique that would prevent her rivals from getting too much knowledge of her and what she would do next. Some persons have complained about how the book is strucutred because it switches between the perspective of a journalist writing a book and The life of Theresa but I thought that is what made the book good. It showed what happened to Theresa and gave and idea what she was thinking and then it added the element of how the rest of the world viewed her based on the "character" she built. The press and the people were the ones who called her the Queen of the South so her strategy worked. The narrator of the audio book was good but could have differentiated the voices a little better. I enjoyed reading (or rather listening to the audio book) of this this novel and would highly recommend it.

The book is a can’t-put-down romp through Central America and Europe, with everything vividly described and a perfect companion to the Kate Castillo TV series La Reina Del Sur. (Not The Pale American version Queen of the South.) It has the right amount of twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even though it was translated from Spanish, the Anglo version doesn’t lose anything in translation. It’s a great read for long flights (round trip) highly recommend!

If this novel appeals to a reader, it is possibly because it is not devoid of action, which begins in Mexico and continues in Spain. Reading about narco-traffickers or relating to who they are is not my first choice but seeing Arturo Pérez-Reverte’s name as the author, I couldn’t pass it up.The main character in the story is Teresa Mendoza, a young clueless woman from Sinaloa, Mexico, whose boyfriend a skillful pilot, Güero Davila, is murdered while- to the best of Teresa's knowledge—working for a cartel and carrying drugs in his plane. Fearing for her life, too, Teresa escapes to Spain, and] after a few twists and turns--such as losing another man to death and ending up in a prison--she succeeds to become the mastermind of a multimillion-dollar drug empire in Marbella, Spain, and she works with or challenges other drug lords from several countries like Italy, Morocco, Russia, Colombia, and even the government officials and agents.To elaborate more on the plot would be spoiling it for other readers, but suffice it to say that the numerous twists and turns, what Teresa discovers at the end, and the ending itself hooks the reader and never lets go.As to the characters, in a novel this large a size and ceaseless action, they are almost countless. Aside from Teresa, only a few of them have been portrayed in detail.Teresa as the main character is someone that might be difficult to identify with. After all, from a twenty-three-year-old naïve woman in love with Güero, she turns out to become a ruthless narco-trafficker who doesn’t blink an eye to have people killed. Even so, this author has succeeded to grant her enough traits to cause the readers to feel sympathy for her. The main reason is her wits and that she knows how to deal with people, and she can keep her cool under the most trying circumstances, and throughout the story, the author lets the reader delve into Teresa’s character and hear her feelings and thoughts.The plot continuously expands and contracts, while developing subplots, constant twists and turns, and springing up myriad new characters along the way. I am not so sure that evoking so much and continuous excitement in the reader is a good idea for an author but Reverte pulls it with much success.One thing I wasn’t very comfortable with was the telling of the story and the alternating change of viewpoint from a reporter’s interviews with several of the characters and Teresa’s third person POV. I think the reporter had no business being in the plot. Telling the story from the third person POV that favored Teresa would give this novel more clarity and literary propriety.The reason why I read such a book about such disturbing criminal behavior and that I stayed with the story until its end could be due my curiosity for things I know little or nothing about, but mostly, what kept me engaged was the driving force of the novel’s complicated and exciting plot.

I saw advertisements for a television series "Queen of the South" and each time I saw the advertisements I became more intrigued. I decided to read the book while waiting for the TV version to come out and completed the book just after the first show. Right away I started seeing differences as is usually the case when a person tries to match up two versions. The book was great and held my attention with almost every word! Without a doubt I knew I was reading the best book I would read this year. I don't believe I am terribly naive but soon I found myself drawn in and wondering if the real drug world was like the depiction in the book. The only negative thing I found, and please remember I have no knowledge that this is true, was that nearing the end of the book I felt the story seemed to speed up almost like several parts might have been left out to actually shorten the book. However, the seemingly shortened version did not take away from the story at all. Don't hesitate to read and watch the story at the same time. You'll be thrilled with both versions!

Theresa Mendoza is The Queen of the South and Arturo Perez-Reverte is the King of Great Story Tellers. This is a work of fiction which reads like fact and will hold the reader from page one to page four hundred thirty six. The story revolves around the international drug trade with all of its seaminess, danger and excess. It is about loyalty, betrayal, and intrigue and is as good a book as you will read all year. As the story opens a cell phone is ringing and the fact that it is tells Mendoza that she has to run for her life. The phone was given to her by her boyfriend who was called "the king of the short runways" due to his ability to take a small plane loaded with cocaine off a runway of less than a thousand feet. He told her if it ever rings, he is dead and she must run for her life. She does and what a run it is. This book will cost you some sleep but the reward from having read it will make it all worthwhile.