English Title: The Queen of the South
Original Spanish Title: La Reina del Sur
Author: Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Translated from Spanish by: Andrew Hurley
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Plot: Teresa Mendoza is the boyfriend of a drug smuggler. He works in Sinaloa, Mexico and flies the planes. Teresa’s life is shattered when she receives a call from a friend named Guero. The only time that phone would ring was if her boyfriend was dead. Now the dealers are coming for her. Now she must run or die. Teresa makes her own choice, a third option. She works her way through the world of drug dealing. But everyone is against her, not believing a woman could ever survive. Teresa proves them all wrong. Soon, Teresa is working her own business in the drug dealing world. She’s running the show of a small corner in Spain. But running your own business doesn’t come without making a few enemies on both sides of the law. An old friend returns with a warning and a promise. The local and international police offer a deal. In Teresa’s world who can be trusted? Will the police keep their end of the deal? Will Teresa? What does her old friend really want? Can he still be trusted? Can Teresa keep all she’s worked for? Or will it all come crashing down?
Rating: 4.0 – a good story about the darker side of life
Opinion: This was an interesting read. Arturo Pérez-Reverte did an amazing job researching what goes into that side of life. This is a gritty book and not a style of book I’m used to reading. It’s gritty and dark. Though I still found the book enjoyable. There were a few scenes I skimmed as there were a couple steamy scenes. I’ve enjoyed other books by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, so I thought I’d read this one. This book was an interesting read. I enjoyed learning about different ways of life. I learned the behind the scenes life of the dark side of life. It keeps you reading. I finally got to learn some curse words in Spanish, as well as a few slang words. I learned Spanish in college and high school, so my Spanish is more formal, and clean. As with some books, not every single word is in English. They leave some of the cursing and slang in Spanish. Some of the slang doesn’t translate as well, so they left it in Spanish. The book has also been made into a couple TV shows. I haven’t seen either of them, but want to some day. Though it’s not a book I normally read, I really did enjoy it. I learned a lot about a different way of life, the dangers of that life, and some not-academic Spanish. It’s a good book for those who don’t mind learning about the other, darker, side of life.
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