A remarkable tale, Perez-Reverte's The Queen of the South spans continents, from the dusty streets of Mexico to the sparkling waters off the coast of Morocco, to Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar. A sweeping story set to the irresistible beat of the drug smugglers' ballads, it encompasses sensuality and cruelty, love and betrayal, as its heroine's story unfolds. [Putnam]
Critic Reviews
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Outstanding
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Booklist Bill Ott
A thriller with an almost meditative tone, the novel's energy comes not only from the action scenes, which are expertly delivered, but also from the monologues in which Mendoza struggles with the multiple contradictions in her life. [1 Apr 2004, p.1331]
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Outstanding
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Entertainment Weekly Karen Karbo
Superbly translated by Andrew Hurley, the prose is as rich and dense as a flourless chocolate cake.
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Favorable
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Los Angeles Times Nicholas A. Basbanes
All the core elements, after all, are here: love, violence, betrayal and honor, and Queen of the South seems certain to make its way to the silver screen.
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Favorable
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Publishers Weekly
A frightening, fascinating look at the international business of transporting cocaine and hashish as well as a portrait of a smart, fast, daring and lucky woman.
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Favorable
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The Guardian Julia Lovell
The novel is rarely less than a convincing and tightly plotted portrait of a savage world.
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Favorable
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USA Today Susan Kelly
A brutal story, told beautifully.
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Favorable
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Village Voice Jorge Morales
Pérez-Reverte's prose hums with the music of Mexican narco-corridos, songs of tragic loves, lawless adventures, and deadly betrayals.
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Mixed
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Washington Post Jonathan Yardley
The result, in the end, is a book the reader simply cannot believe, much though the reader may want to.
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Mixed
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TLS: The Times Literary Supplement Josh Lacey
Without the intellectual adornments of his previous books, Perez-Reverte looks ordinary.
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Mixed
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The New York Times Book Review Michael Dibdin
An efficient, if slightly frigid, page turner.
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Mixed
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Kirkus Reviews
Perez-Reverte at his best is a matchless entertainer. But this, his weakest novel, is a major disappointment.
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Mixed
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Library Journal Lawrence Olszewski
The fast-paced narrative is interrupted occasionally by the commentary of the "narrator;" allegedly gathering information for this notorious woman's biography, a metafictional device of which the author fails to take full advantage. [15 May 2004, p.116]
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