Book Review - Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Best opening line ever: "The telephone rang, and she knew she was going to die".  

Cool, right? 

I wish I could tell you that I loved this book but frankly, I was disappointed in it.  This is a book that has two storylines within its pages.  One story follows a journalist, who is seeking to tell the story of Teresa Mendoza, the Queen of the South.  The second, and much more intriguing story is that of the Queen and her escape from Mexico to Southern Europe where she reigns over the narco mafia. 

The book was long.  And, at points, rather tedious.  However, the author does a decent job of weaving the two storylines together and I applaud him for his attention to detail.  However, the book would have been better if the journalist story had been left out.  I became fascinated with this young woman.  I wanted to hear more about her story and much less about the journalist, who ended up giving hints to what would happen next in the book.  The thing I love best about a book filled with suspense is solving the puzzle before I reach the last page.  Instead, the journalist story line gave too much away and I was disappointed.  I simply kept reading because I hate to leave a book unread. 

If you want a book that is filled with details that get in the way of a suspenseful story, you'll enjoy this book.

Otherwise, I suggest you leave it on the shelf.