The Queen of the South, a novel by Spanish author Arturo Perez-Reverte, unravels the story of the life of Teresa Mendoza through the narrative framework of a journalist finding sources for his planned piece on Mendoza. Through this literary convention, each source adds a different layer to the plot and the development of Mendoza. The novel covers Mendoza’s journey through poverty and abuse in the slums of Sinaloa, Mexico and then follows her across the Atlantic Ocean to southern Spain and the coast of Morocco. Here she becomes known as “the Queen of the South,” famous for her drug-running enterprises, money and elusive nature. This action-packed novel showcases Mendoza’s survival skills as a woman in the male-dominated field of drug-running and provides plenty of excitement for the reader, including high speed boat chases, outrunning and outwitting the authorities, hitmen lurking around corners, bribery, betrayal, torture and even death.

Along with the journalist-as-narrator setup, the novel also delves into Mendoza’s personal thoughts and private moments as well, which can be confusing, as there is no way the journalist would have had access to this information. The language can also be overly formal at times which might be attributed to the fact that the prose is translated from Spanish. Despite these discrepancies, the overall enjoyment of the novel is not diminished.

Interesting characters abound The Queen of the South. One such character is Guero, Mendoza’s boyfriend in Mexico, who is known as the “King of the Short Runway” for his small-plane piloting skill. His death eventually forces Mendoza on the run. Another interesting character is Santiago Fisterra, known as “the Galician.” He is Mendoza’s subsequent boyfriend and teaches her how to run drugs via boat through Morocco, Spain and the Strait of Gibraltar.

Yet another important figure in the novel is Dris Larbi, the owner of a cafe and a pimp who helps Mendoza, also known as “La Mexicana,” start her drug-running business in Spain. Furthermore, the reader is introduced to Patty O’Farrell, who is a socialite, an heiress and Mendoza’s lesbian cell-mate. O’Farrell survives a hit and stakes Mendoza with the drugs to start her own organization. Finally let’s not to forget the requisite DEA agents, Mafia figures and corrupt government officials, who also play an integral role in this story.

In Perez-Reverte’s novel, you’ll follow Mendoza’s development from a drug runner’s uninvolved girlfriend who suddenly has to escape to Sinaloa— a place where her greatest goal is to survive long enough to have a narcocorrido (song of the drug runner) written about her thus gaining infamy— to her partnership with the Galician running drugs via speedboat. Next you’ll experience her time spent in prison, then witness her sole control over a multi-million dollar drug enterprise. When Mendoza finally returns to Sinaloa where it all started, in order to avenge her past, you too will be rooting for “La Reina del Sur.”