Call number
MYST GOM
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Genres
Series
Publication
Minotaur Books (2023), 384 pages
Description
Antonia Scott, the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother, has a gifted forensic mind, and her ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she's refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment. Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao is disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges when he is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organisation that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protect her and help her investigate a new, terrifying case. The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder. A teenaged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime that is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again is Antonia Scott.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member jfe16
Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley
Inspector Jon Gutierrez, a well-intentioned police officer, finds himself in dire straits, suspended without pay from the force. Caught planting heroin in a pimp’s car in order to protect a young girl, he’s also facing charges of falsifying documents,
As he sits waiting for what comes next, a man calling himself Mentor approaches him, offering Jon a way out of his troubles. In exchange, Jon must meet a friend of Mentor’s and take her dancing.
Antonia Scott is the friend. All he needed to do, Mentor said, was get the woman into the car. But Jon has no idea of what will happen when he gets her into the car. Antonia, of course, refuses.
Mentor and Jon have a phone conversation in which Jon learns some things about the mysterious woman living in an attic apartment with no furniture, and he decides to try again. But Antonia requests the answers to two questions; if he has the right answers, she will go with him.
And so begins an adventure with a good policeman and a woman with a gift that allows her to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling mysteries. Their case involves the murder of a teen-aged boy and the kidnapping of the daughter of one of Spain’s richest men. But there’s something more, something sinister involved . . . and Antonia is the only one who has a chance of discovering the truth before tragedy befalls someone else.
Will she find a way? And why does the mysterious Mentor need Jon’s help?
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In this, the first in a trilogy involving Jon and Antonia, readers meet the inspector and the gifted woman, two well-drawn, engaging characters. Their relationship is the linchpin in the telling of the tale as readers slowly learn the backstory of each individual.
A strong sense of place anchors the narrative; its gripping premise is original and intriguing, yielding an adventure filled with both danger and fascination.
With its ever-present undercurrent of tension, the unfolding story is both gritty and compelling. The plot takes several unexpected twists, keeping readers guessing as the suspense-filled tale slowly reveals its secrets.
Readers are sure to find themselves pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset; the author’s skillful weaving of the events into an unputdownable tale creates a story that readers will find impossible to set aside until they’ve turned the final page.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#RedQueen #NetGalley
Inspector Jon Gutierrez, a well-intentioned police officer, finds himself in dire straits, suspended without pay from the force. Caught planting heroin in a pimp’s car in order to protect a young girl, he’s also facing charges of falsifying documents,
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tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, and professional disloyalty. If convicted, he faces prison for as much as ten years. As he sits waiting for what comes next, a man calling himself Mentor approaches him, offering Jon a way out of his troubles. In exchange, Jon must meet a friend of Mentor’s and take her dancing.
Antonia Scott is the friend. All he needed to do, Mentor said, was get the woman into the car. But Jon has no idea of what will happen when he gets her into the car. Antonia, of course, refuses.
Mentor and Jon have a phone conversation in which Jon learns some things about the mysterious woman living in an attic apartment with no furniture, and he decides to try again. But Antonia requests the answers to two questions; if he has the right answers, she will go with him.
And so begins an adventure with a good policeman and a woman with a gift that allows her to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling mysteries. Their case involves the murder of a teen-aged boy and the kidnapping of the daughter of one of Spain’s richest men. But there’s something more, something sinister involved . . . and Antonia is the only one who has a chance of discovering the truth before tragedy befalls someone else.
Will she find a way? And why does the mysterious Mentor need Jon’s help?
=========
In this, the first in a trilogy involving Jon and Antonia, readers meet the inspector and the gifted woman, two well-drawn, engaging characters. Their relationship is the linchpin in the telling of the tale as readers slowly learn the backstory of each individual.
A strong sense of place anchors the narrative; its gripping premise is original and intriguing, yielding an adventure filled with both danger and fascination.
With its ever-present undercurrent of tension, the unfolding story is both gritty and compelling. The plot takes several unexpected twists, keeping readers guessing as the suspense-filled tale slowly reveals its secrets.
Readers are sure to find themselves pulled into the telling of the tale from the outset; the author’s skillful weaving of the events into an unputdownable tale creates a story that readers will find impossible to set aside until they’ve turned the final page.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley
#RedQueen #NetGalley
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
Two unique detectives take on a difficult case. Jon Guiterrez is a disgraced cop. He was filmed planting drugs in a pimp's car and now faces potential criminal charges. He's approached by a man who calls himself Mentor who will make everything go away if he just does one small favor for him.
Antonia
The body of a young boy has been found drained of blood and posed in his parents' house in an exclusive and very secure neighborhood of Madrid. He had been kidnapped and a demand was made to his mother who runs one of Europe's largest banks. When the demand wasn't met, the boy was killed. There is a lot of pressure to cover up the crime.
Then the daughter of the world's richest man is kidnapped, and another demand is sent to her father. Her father isn't going to meet the demand which leaves Antonia and Jon just a few days to find and rescue her. But the regular police don't want to cooperate since they are led by a real glory hound who sees solving the case as the road to fame and promotion he desperately wants.
Not only are Jon and Antonia avoiding notice from the villains, but they have to avoid the police too. Antonia's keen observation skills and unconventional mind help them discover clues that the police don't. But the villain has a new plan in mind: kidnap Antonia's four-year-old son.
I enjoyed this story which was translated from the Spanish and is the start of a trilogy very popular in Spain. The characters of Jon and Antonia were very complex and nuanced. The mystery was both gritty and involved. I'm looking forward to reading more about these two unconventional detectives.
Antonia
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Scott has a gifted forensic mind, but a personal tragedy caused a mental breakdown. Now all she does is spend nights in hospital with her comatose husband and days in her empty apartment. Jon has to convince her to take a case assigned by Mentor.The body of a young boy has been found drained of blood and posed in his parents' house in an exclusive and very secure neighborhood of Madrid. He had been kidnapped and a demand was made to his mother who runs one of Europe's largest banks. When the demand wasn't met, the boy was killed. There is a lot of pressure to cover up the crime.
Then the daughter of the world's richest man is kidnapped, and another demand is sent to her father. Her father isn't going to meet the demand which leaves Antonia and Jon just a few days to find and rescue her. But the regular police don't want to cooperate since they are led by a real glory hound who sees solving the case as the road to fame and promotion he desperately wants.
Not only are Jon and Antonia avoiding notice from the villains, but they have to avoid the police too. Antonia's keen observation skills and unconventional mind help them discover clues that the police don't. But the villain has a new plan in mind: kidnap Antonia's four-year-old son.
I enjoyed this story which was translated from the Spanish and is the start of a trilogy very popular in Spain. The characters of Jon and Antonia were very complex and nuanced. The mystery was both gritty and involved. I'm looking forward to reading more about these two unconventional detectives.
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LibraryThing member Ronrose1
Over 2 million readers in 17 countries can’t be wrong. This book, Red Queen, by Juan Gomez-Jurado, is a fast paced, hard hitting, thrilling ride without stops. Jon Gutierrez is a cop in trouble. He has been caught planting drugs on a pimp to get him off the street. It was not Jon’s normal move,
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but the dealer was regularly beating his woman. Jon tried to help, but the pimp’s woman then turned Jon in to the Police to get her pimp out of jail. Now Jon is in trouble and on a short leash with the Police department. He has been given a chance to vindicate himself if he agrees to a new hush-hush job. If he can get a reclusive woman to work on a special assignment outside the normal Police channels, things just might get better for him. Antonia Scott has been out of the game for three years since her husband became collateral damage in a case she was working. He has been comatose in a hospital for more than two years. Antonia has been constantly by his side vainly hopping for him to get better, while blaming herself for his predicament. Jon doesn’t even know why this woman is so important. At this point she seems nothing more than a recluse, not caring about herself or anything but her injured husband. But Jon’s career and any chance at a new life is on the line and he is reluctantly willing to try anything, even being coerced by the Police department into this crazy assignment to get some semblance of his life back. What Jon doesn’t know is that Antonia has been instrumental in solving a number of cases in Spain. Her help has never been acknowledged by any Police department. She does not appear in any Police reports. She doesn’t testify or appear in court. She just solves the cases that would otherwise never be closed. She has special abilities to uncover clues and analyze crime scenes. She has saved countless lives, yet her help is never acknowledged. Jon is in for a wild ride, if he can just get Antonia away from her invalid husband and into a car waiting to take them to a crime scene. This book was provided for review by St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books Show Less
LibraryThing member muddyboy
A really good barnburner of a novel soon to be made into a series on Amazon Prime. The book takes place is Madrid and involves the kidnapping the daughter of an ultrarich industrialist. Enter two very interesting detectives to ferret out what happened. One is a policeman who is on the outs with his
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department and the other a super intelligent woman who is "retired" but is asked to take the case and does due to its high profile nature. The book is very well done and there will be a sequel. Show Less
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
I am always happy to discover a new police procedural with quirky characters. Equally excited to discover a writer I know nothing about. This book was an over-the top, out of the park fascinating psychological roller coaster with great dialog and I loved every page. The eccentricities of the
Everything to gain and nothing to lose by reading this book. Looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy.
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characters and what they get up to are outrageously contemplated, parsed and intersected as they circle the proverbial drain. Of course there is a murder or two or three, of course the killer is there and gone and back again and of course it is down to seconds ….Everything to gain and nothing to lose by reading this book. Looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy.
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
Antonia Scott was once part of an elite but secret European Union crime-fighting unit, Red Queen, devoted to foiling master criminals until a personal trauma made her quit. Disgraced police officer Jon Gutierrez is offered a way of redeeming himself…get Scott to come back to Red Queen and his
The murderer has left no trace and clues are virtually non-existent. To make matters worse, the daughter of the wealthiest man in the world has been kidnapped and her father is given 5 days to meet the kidnapper’s ‘impossible’ demand. Scott and Gutierrez believe the same person is behind both crimes and time is ticking away.
More thriller than mystery police procedural, Gomez-Jurado humanizes both Scott and Gutierrez by providing snippets of their history in the form of flashbacks as they bond and learn to rely on each other. In addition, you get to learn a little of the history of Spain, including information about the underground aqueducts.
The action is non-stop as are the twists and turns, both wrong turns and right ones. I will admit that I had to suspend belief occasionally, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. Taking place in the warm Spanish summer, this is a big change from the cold desolate climate of my Scandinavian noir favorites.
The author lightens the drama with some intermittent chuckle-inducing humor.
The next book in the series, Black Wolf, will be translated into English in 2024 and White Knight has not yet been translated.
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suspension will disappear. Easier said than done. Needless to say, he was successful but his involvement with Scott doesn’t end there. They are assigned to investigate the murder of the son of a prominent Madrid family, a murder and investigation that must stay out of the public eye.The murderer has left no trace and clues are virtually non-existent. To make matters worse, the daughter of the wealthiest man in the world has been kidnapped and her father is given 5 days to meet the kidnapper’s ‘impossible’ demand. Scott and Gutierrez believe the same person is behind both crimes and time is ticking away.
More thriller than mystery police procedural, Gomez-Jurado humanizes both Scott and Gutierrez by providing snippets of their history in the form of flashbacks as they bond and learn to rely on each other. In addition, you get to learn a little of the history of Spain, including information about the underground aqueducts.
The action is non-stop as are the twists and turns, both wrong turns and right ones. I will admit that I had to suspend belief occasionally, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the book. Taking place in the warm Spanish summer, this is a big change from the cold desolate climate of my Scandinavian noir favorites.
The author lightens the drama with some intermittent chuckle-inducing humor.
The next book in the series, Black Wolf, will be translated into English in 2024 and White Knight has not yet been translated.
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LibraryThing member she_climber
Antonia Scott was crafted into the woman she is today. Through intense and inhuman training she has become most intelligent person in the world. A covert police force created her to help them fight crime but it's come at a price...it's cost her the people she love. Enter dishonered Police
Antonia and Jon were endearing characters. The location for the final scene was very interesting and if I'm ever in Barcelona I need to find it. The plot moved fairly quickly and the ending was satisfying - but only because I knew this was a series.
FYI There is a gruesome bomb scene described in minute detail so be warned if that's not your thing.
I'm looking foward to reading the next installment. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
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Inspector, Jon Gutierrez, who has been blackmailed into bringing Scott back to work to find a heinous criminal mastermind.Antonia and Jon were endearing characters. The location for the final scene was very interesting and if I'm ever in Barcelona I need to find it. The plot moved fairly quickly and the ending was satisfying - but only because I knew this was a series.
FYI There is a gruesome bomb scene described in minute detail so be warned if that's not your thing.
I'm looking foward to reading the next installment. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
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LibraryThing member CelticLibrarian
Fast paced and suspenseful mystery thriller set in Spain.
First in a trilogy featuring the brainiac Antonia Scott, a young woman whose intelligence makes her able to solve some of the most difficult murder cases, who teams up with a disgraced police officer, Jon Gutierrez, from Bilbao. Together they
The action was rapid and the chapters were short. Lots of time hops and backstory. Interesting details that many nerds will love. Despite it being a bit choppy, the narrative came together leaving some unanswered questions. The partnership between the two main characters is interesting and definitely has a lot of potential for added depth especially in their personal lives. I’m interested to see where the story goes next and plan to read the second in the series shortly.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.
First in a trilogy featuring the brainiac Antonia Scott, a young woman whose intelligence makes her able to solve some of the most difficult murder cases, who teams up with a disgraced police officer, Jon Gutierrez, from Bilbao. Together they
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are meant to work behind the scenes on an investigation involving the discovery of a savagely murdered teenaged boy from a very wealthy family. Then the daughter of a billionaire is nabbed. The cases appear to be linked. The clock is ticking and these two must figure out who and why. The action was rapid and the chapters were short. Lots of time hops and backstory. Interesting details that many nerds will love. Despite it being a bit choppy, the narrative came together leaving some unanswered questions. The partnership between the two main characters is interesting and definitely has a lot of potential for added depth especially in their personal lives. I’m interested to see where the story goes next and plan to read the second in the series shortly.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.
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LibraryThing member jetangen4571
gay-cops, thriller, 21st-century, crime-fiction, suspense, Spain, Spanish-literature, noir, detective, intrigue, kidnapping, Madrid, law-enforcement, forensic-consultant, reclusive, adrenaline rush, PTSD, extortion, gruesome, serial-murder, investigations, unputdownable*****
Translated into English
Twisty, alarming, fast-paced, and thoroughly addictive. The publisher's blurb covers the very basics, and no need to repeat, and spoilers are just wrong. Did I mention addictive addictive?!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you.
#AntoniaScottNo1 #TranslatedIntoEnglish
Translated into English
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from the Spanish of Spain.Twisty, alarming, fast-paced, and thoroughly addictive. The publisher's blurb covers the very basics, and no need to repeat, and spoilers are just wrong. Did I mention addictive addictive?!
I requested and received an EARC from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you.
#AntoniaScottNo1 #TranslatedIntoEnglish
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LibraryThing member clrichm
There was a lot going on in this book, and I think it's one that probably would be more enjoyable as a movie than as a book--not that it was hard to follow, but that there were many moments where large amounts of action and information were being played out on the page while the characters were in
I liked Antonia very much, and the parts of the book about her "training" were fascinating. I'd happily pick up the next book to hear more of her story. Police inspector Jon was less of a sympathetic character for me, as he seemed to swing hard between hard-boiled cop and soft gay man who loves his mom, without the two sides ever really combining to create a single fuller picture for me. (His voice seemed to verge on noir-style writing at times, which was perhaps part of the problem, since blank emotions are often characteristic of the style.)
The mystery's actual twists weren't as shocking to me as they might have been, but I wouldn't go so far as to call the book predictable. It was a good first entry into a series, and I can see tuning in for more.
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high emotions, and the balance between the two would have felt more natural if we could have both seen and heard the situation. I liked Antonia very much, and the parts of the book about her "training" were fascinating. I'd happily pick up the next book to hear more of her story. Police inspector Jon was less of a sympathetic character for me, as he seemed to swing hard between hard-boiled cop and soft gay man who loves his mom, without the two sides ever really combining to create a single fuller picture for me. (His voice seemed to verge on noir-style writing at times, which was perhaps part of the problem, since blank emotions are often characteristic of the style.)
The mystery's actual twists weren't as shocking to me as they might have been, but I wouldn't go so far as to call the book predictable. It was a good first entry into a series, and I can see tuning in for more.
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Awards
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Longlist — 2024)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (2023)
Pages
384
ISBN
1250853672 / 9781250853677