Allreaders.com
Author Arturo Pérez-Reverte booklist (click here)

Book Review By Harriet Klausner
The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-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.

Readers receive a look at drug trafficking through the exploits of the 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.

Harriet Klausner



Plot & Themes
Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
The crook is.... - criminal's rise in a crime organization
descript. of violence and chases - 20 %
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Is MAIN CHARACTER an EVIL criminal? Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - drug dealers
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status:
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - Drug kingpins
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - Spain
The Americas (not US): Yes
The Americas: - Mexico
Back To Main Menu