Crime: Seems the Europeans are finally getting the hang of writing exciting crime fiction. Following in the successful footsteps of Henning Mankell comes the Spaniard, Arturo Perez-Reverte, no ordinary hack but an author who is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and one whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide, writes Vincent Banville
This present volume traces the notorious career of Teresa Mendoza, a girl from the poverty-stricken backstreets of the Mexican town of Sinaloa, who rises through the ranks of the drug cartels to become one of the most powerful of the purveyors of heroin and cocaine.
When we first meet her she is on the run, after her pilot boyfriend has double-crossed his bosses and ended up as charred meat in the wreck of his aeroplane. Forced to leave Mexico, she flees to Spain, where she meets up with one Santiago Fisterra and joins him in ferrying hashish across the Straits of Gibraltar.
Having become involved in a very dangerous game, it is not long before one of their trips goes wrong and she finds herself in the gaol of El Puerto de Santa Maria. There she is befriended by the half-Spanish, half-Irish Patricia O'Farrell and, when released, goes into business for herself, helped by the influential contacts of her new friend.
A lot of the story is told by an unnamed and unauthorised biographer, who follows Teresa around, popping up at opportune moments during the narrative. This gives the author time to reflect on the progress of his heroine's career, but it also tends to slow the pace.
In the end, in spite of her wealth and power, Teresa decides to return to her homeland, and to the town of Sinaloa where she grew up. The man who had her first boyfriend killed and caused her to flee is still around; he is don Epifanio Vargas, now a highly respected political figure.
Determined to bring him down, whatever the cost to herself, Teresa instigates an Old Testament conclusion to the book, raining down fire and brimstone left, right and centre. And does Teresa herself survive this holocaust? Well, I won't spoil the story by giving that away.
The Queen of the South is a big novel, both in length and invention, and it makes for a most enjoyable read. Can I say more?
Vincent Banville is a novelist and critic