KimRating:
Review
Not too pretty or too smart, but with a head for numbers, Teresa Mendoza is a 23 year-old living in Sinaloa, Mexico and working as a money changer when drug runner Guero Davila comes into her life, setting in motion her fateful journey into the world of drug trafficking. Guero warns her that should anything happen to him that she is to take a portfolio of his to their common ally Epifanio Vargas, and then run like hell out of Mexico. Shortly thereafter, Teresa is barely six months in Spain when she meets Santiago Fisterra, another small-time drug runner, but Santiago has a powerful boat, and he teaches Teresa the ins and outs of keeping their now shared business venture afloat. In a very short period of time, one of their runs goes wrong and Teresa is sent to prison for 18 months, where she meets another pivotal player in her life named Patricia O'Farrell. And Patty has a plan - a big one - and one that will make them a lot of money. There is so much more that occurs after Patty's plan is hatched too, as dangerous people abound in the world of illegal drugs, which makes this story full of twists and turns and is undeniably fascinating. This novel is a stunner, much like Teresa is often described, and though it is over 400 pages (the author warns us early on) I couldn't wait to get back to it each time I set it down.
Best Line:
"I ask myself how other people see me, and I hope they see me from way far away."
SuzanneRating:Review
The Queen of the South had me hooked from page one. The story opens when Teresa Mendoza, the young girlfriend of drug runner and daredevil Cessna pilot Davila Guero, hears her phone ringing in Sinaloa, Mexico - the phone she hoped she'd never hear ring, because if it did it meant Guero was dead and she needed to run for her life as fast and as far as possible. But despite Teresa's lowly roots and quiet demeanor it turns out she has a whole lot of
cahones. After barely escaping by the skin of her teeth, she ends up on the Spanish coast with a new lover, Santiago Fisterra, who runs hashish between Spain and Morocco. This time Teresa insists on becoming a partner instead of sitting in the background of the narcotics world where life is short and lived on the edge. At Santiago's side she becomes an ace speedboat navigator and mechanic who knows the coastlines around the Straits of Gibraltar like the back of her hand. Some of my favorite, most thrilling passages are when they're out at sea in the dead of night with "the bird", i.e. helicopter hot on their tail mere feet from their heads. Teresa isn't a talker, and that's my only small complaint - her innermost thoughts are rarely shared; she doesn't like to remember too much. But the legend of how she becomes the biggest cocaine and hash dealer between Columbia and Europe is full of suspense, adventure, and betrayal and I loved every minute of it. Plus I learned some new Spanish swear words along the way!
Best Line:
"Maybe old age, when it comes, is about looking back and seeing the many strangers that you have been and in whom you can't quite recognize yourself." (pg. 188)
