Title:

Red Queen

Author:

Juan Gómez-Jurado

Category:

Mystery & Thriller

Rating:

Date Reviewed:

July 28, 2024
omewhere I read a starred review of Red Queen that described it as page-turning novel that you cannot put down. It reminded me of a Jack Reacher book - the author knows how to hook you with an intriguing plot so that you stay up to read just one more chapter before going to sleep. Red Queen was written by a Spanish author, Juan Gómez-Jurado, and it has become an international bestseller. Like a Reacher novel, it is best to not stop and think about some of the unlikely plot points, just let the momentum of fast pace carry you through to the finish.

Antonia Scott is the smartest person in the world, with an IQ over 200. She has been working in secret with her boss, who is cleverly named Mentor. Crime is everywhere in Spain, but the authorities reserve her impressive skills for the most baffling, most sensitive cases. But a disastrous case-gone-wrong has left Antonia's husband in a coma for three years and Scott has retired from detective work. Mentor, however, desperately needs her unique services because a bizarre case has arisen at a billionaire's home.

To lure Scott back into investigations, Mentor pressures disgraced detective Jon Gutiérrez into getting Scott involved. Gutiérrez has no real option but to obey Mentor's instructions, and somehow he manages to bring Scott on board. Mentor quickly ushers the pair of them to the crime scene: at an exclusive housing development, someone has deposited the corpse of a teenage boy so that he is sitting on a couch, holding a glass of wine. Most sinister is the fact that every drop of blood has been drained from the boy's body, though there isn't any blood to be found at the crime scene.

Antonia eyes the deadly spectacle. She notices a substance on the victim's head - it is some kind of oil. Antonia makes the connection with a biblical Psalm 23:5: "You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." Soon enough, Scott and Gutiérrez learn that the killer has called himself Ezekiel when issuing demands.

Carla Ortiz is the daughter of the richest man in the world, Ramon Ortiz, who made his fortune in apparel and textiles. Carla is riding in a vehicle that is towing a horse trailer when it is stopped at an equestrian park by someone who seems to be security guard. He is not a security guard. It is Ezekiel, and soon Carla has been kidnapped and dragged to a hidden lair. Knowing the grizzly fate of the bloodless teenager, Antonia Scott and Gutiérrez realize that time is short. If Ezekiel's demands are not met in five days, Carla is toast. Yet Ramon Ortiz will not tell the police what Ezekiel has demanded.

The book is called Red Queen after the character in Alice in Wonderland - the Red Queen has to run as fast as she can just to maintain her place - the rest of the world is moving so fast, the Red Queen must exert all her energy just to keep pace. Antonia is the Red Queen of the Spanish justice system - the bad guys are constantly evolving, devising new clever criminal schemes. Mentor's Red Queen project brings in the brilliant Antonia to thwart the villains, to keep up with their clever new criminal ventures. But with the clock ticking, can Antonia sift through the clues to find Ezekiel, who somehow always seems to be a step ahead? The book kept me reading. It is the first book in a trilogy, the second book, Black Wolf, has already been translated into English. I haven't decided yet if I want to track down a copy and read more about Antonia and Jon Gutiérrez.