It took me a while to get into the style, it's quite unusual! Written mostly in the present tense, which isn't unusual, and gives an immediacy to the narrative. Third person with 2 major protagonists, and the narrative is sprinkled with almost editorial asides (which is what took some getting used to). These asides were great though, adding depth to the characters and helping explain their thoughts and actions. The story itself is about the Russian mafia in Spain, ie organized crime so nothing particularly new, but an interesting angle. As is usually the case with good writing, it's more about the characters and their interactions than the story itself, meaning that this book, although in the police procedural general genre is as much character driven as plot driven - a big plus in my opinion! The ending was the usual over the top confrontation, with one added twist that I thought was unnecessary and needlessly complicated things. That said, I really liked the book and it's a shame that the first one doesn't seem to be available in English.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

When I realized this was book 2 of a trilogy by Spanish author Juan Gomez-Jurado, I had to find and read the first in the series. The first book, Red Queen was a thrilling, fast-paced read which I thoroughly enjoyed. The author does request no spoilers so I will only say that Antonia (a gifted member of the Red Queen Project) and her "protector", Jon, are working together on a case involving the Russian mafia. They are not the only ones interested in the case, Black Wolf- a contract killer is also on the trail. Though the story was entertaining, I thought this sequel fell a bit short. I felt the phrase "not that he is fat" was used way too many times and it started to annoy me. Maybe this is due to the translation? Regardless, the ending was outstanding and does leave you eager to read the next book. 3.5 Stars

The middle book (or movie) in a trilogy is often a filler, a place holder whose job is to set up the final chapter. This sequel to Red Queen is likely the middle book in a trilogy but is more than a place holder. It is a twisty thriller in its own right.

This story has Antonia Scott called back into action chaperoned by Inspector Jon Gutierrez. A mafiosa has been murdered and his pregnant wife targeted but escapes an attempt on her life at a shopping mall. Scott's job is to locate the wife. But things are more involved and as the body count mounts, Gómez-Jurado shares some of Scott's backstory so we can learn how her magnificent detecting brain was formed.

With fast pacing, short chapters, great chemistry once more between the two leads, this is a worthy follow-up to Red Queen. Although it is billed as the second in a series of two, the cliffhanger ending simply begs a final chapter. Gómez-Jurado cannot leave us hanging with returning to bring closure.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley. I received an advanced reader copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This is a sequel to Red Queen and, just like the predecessor, is a fast paced thriller. Great character and pacing. Looking forward to the third in the trilogy

Black Wolf brings the return of Antonia Scott in an action packed thrilling sequel to the Red Queen. Antonia and Jon, her helper/protector, are called into work a case when a mafia man is murdered and his wife is missing after an attempted assassination. Struggling with addiction, Antonia is still many moves ahead of a normal person as she figures out the truth and who is really good or bad in a page turner that proves the staying power of such a strong protagonist. Great characters and world building create an original story sure to please. Ending in a cliffhanger, the story draws you and leaves you in anticipation for book three. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Black Wolf, a sequel to Juan Gómez-Jurado‘s Red Queen, set in modern Spain, is a translation of an intriguing, fast paced police procedural with interesting character twists. The protagonists, Jon and Victoria are a special investigative team deployed to find Lola, a missing victim, before an assassin kills her. All three of these characters have interesting aspects that are slowly revealed as the story progresses. However, several of the other characters, both police and villain are not what they seem upon initial introduction and those changes add interest to the compelling chase.

I found the writing style of switching back and forth between present tense and past tense a little distracting, as were the sudden switches between character voices, which made it hard for me to understand who was saying or thinking what without rereading a couple of times. That got easier as the story progressed and I got better pictures of the characters, but it was confusing in the beginning and I had to force myself to push through it. There were also jumps back and forth in time, all of which made for distracted reading. I’m still undecided if all the jumps added to or detracted from the suspense of the storyline.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, I would recommend it and want to read the first in the series and the one that will follow this one, since the characters grew on me as more and more of their backgrounds emerged.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for offering this book for pre-publication review. All opinions are my own.

Set in beautiful Spain, Antonia Scott and Jon Gutierrez set out to solve the murder of a Mafia boss and the attempted murder of his wife. With the wife missing Antonia and Jon are on a race against time to find her safe and unharmed.

Page turner at its best! Definitely what I needed!!

Antonia is an amazing character, and the concept of using pills to enhance intelligence is not new. But this is a worthy sequel to Red Queen. Jon and Antonia get involved with Russian mafia in Marbella and other parts of Spain. Great elements of feminism (why should men be the only ones who control the mob money), computer surveillance with a new European all seeing system, and some resolution to their personal situations. And of course, a cliff hanger ending that sets up the next book,

Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurad was a thrilling and exciting suspense novel.
The action was literally non-stop.
The writing style is engaging, making it easy to immerse oneself in the story.
The character development is excellent, giving me a deep understanding of their motives and perspectives.
An excellent thriller, well written and equally entertaining. There are many ‘twists and turns’, action-packed and keeps the reader ‘on the edge’ throughout. It is exciting, absorbing and at times full of tension– a real page turner.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Still haunted by an incomplete former mission, a brilliant investigator is thrust into a new case.

Get ready for a riveting mystery featuring a highly gifted but troubled investigator, Antonia Scott. Antonia is known within the shadowy multinational law enforcement group by whom she was recruited and trained as a Red Queen; she is not the only Red Queen, but she is undoubtedly the best. She has a mind that can process what she sees at a crime scene, make incredibly quick comparisons and calculations….in short, she can make connections, see patterns, and solve cases that others can not. Her talent comes with a high cost, however….when her mind starts racing, her body suffers physically from the hyperactivity, and she often needs specially calibrated pills to return her equilibrium. Tasked with overseeing the administration of those pills as well as acting as her assistant and general protector is a Basque investigator named Jon Gutiérrez, who is large (not fat!), gay, and has committed acts in his past that are held over his head by Mentor, the man who runs Antonia’s missions. As this, the second installment in the series, begins Antonia has refused to take on a new case since the previous one ended with incomplete justice. The missing heiress was found and released but the woman who kidnapped her, Sandra Fajardo, escaped. Antonia wants desperately to find Sandra not only to make her pay for her crimes but also because she may be a conduit to the person who earlier had put Antonia’s husband Marcos in a coma from which he will likely never recover. A woman’s dead body has been found floating in a river in Madrid; Mentor has summoned Gutiérrez and Antonia to the scene, hoping that perhaps it is Sandra. It is not, and Mentor immediately assigns the two investigators to head south to the Costa del Sol to look into the death of a member of the Russian Mafia and the disappearance of his wife. Yuri Volontin appeared to be a wealthy businessman, but in reality acted as the “banker” for Russian Mafia money in the area. Drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, and all manner of other criminal activities are rife in the area, and those who prosper from those trades have huge mansions and live very luxuriously. But someone has shot and killed Yuri, and his pregnant wife Lola Moreno barely escaped being killed while shopping at a high end mall. She isn’t the vapid trophy wife that many thinks she is, and has combined her own natural intelligence with information gleaned as she overheard her husband and his cohorts talk to escape from the person sent to kill her. But with no money and nowhere to go, she is up against tough odds. Meanwhile, Gutiérrez and Antonia are barely tolerated by local cops Captain Romero and her Deputy Inspector Belgrano in the investigation. Romero and Belgrano have long been trying to bring the local Russian Mafia head to justice, and that same man is not happy that Lola escaped her fate….its bad for his image. A contract killer known as the Black Wolf is summoned to finish Lola off. With all of these people searching for Lola, how long can she remain safe in hiding? It is unclear who, if anyone, even in law enforcement she can trust. As Antonia battles her own demons and Gutiérrez finds out that she has been lying to and hiding things from him, can their partnership survive long enough to find Lola? Dead bodies pile up, Lola keeps running, and everything will come to a head in a remote cabin during a powerful snowstorm..
Antonia is a highly skilled but equally highly flawed character. She is trying to connect with the young son from whom she has been estranged, dealing with the guilt stemming from her husband’s condition caused by someone who wanted to hurt her, and increasingly finding it hard to manage her own condition. Gutiérrez is frustrated with Antonia’s behavior, and even his admiration for and loyalty to his troubled partner may not survive the revelations of how much he does not know about the workings of the group who runs her. Discovering why Yuri had to die and who killed him as well as what exactly everyone thinks that Lola has in her possession that has marked her for death is a journey full of unexpected twists and ever changing perspectives. I enjoyed this sequel to Red Queen every bit as much as I did that first book in the series and eagerly await the third, so to those who have read Red Queen….pick up a copy Black Wolf ASAP! For those who haven’t, if you like a strong female protagonist who is equal parts Sherlock Holmes and Marvel’s Black Widow than you too should start reading the Antonia Scott books, as should those who enjoyed Steig Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo/Lisbeth Salander series or Francine Matthews’ The Cutout. Many thanks to author Juan Gómez-Jurado for another satisfying and fast-paced read, and to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for allowing me access to an advanced reader’s copy in return for my honest review.

Juan Gomez-Jurado crafts incredibly gripping novels that you simply can’t put down, and I’m always astounded by that. Actually, after indulging in his thrilling narratives, I’m struggling to engage with the book currently in my hands because it’s not his work.

I had eagerly anticipated this book ever since I read “Red Queen,” and it has not only met but exceeded my expectations. While I don’t think it surpasses the first book, it certainly stands on equal footing with it.

Antonia Scott is a character I love, but Jon, I hold him dear in my heart. These two complement each other flawlessly, and their moments together shine as the book’s highlights. And, no, they’re not romantically involved. I cherish their friendship, their chemistry, and the depth of their caring for one another. Even though Antonia struggles to express her emotions, we all sense the fondness she holds for Jon, and one day, she might just give him a heart attack, hahaha.

The plot takes a completely different direction from the first book, which I found appealing. Although there are still hints of the previous storyline in Antonio’s thoughts, I appreciate the author’s ability to present something so distinct while still ensnaring the reader’s interest.

I won’t divulge more details, as it’s a sequel, and the author has cautioned against revealing too much, especially about the ending.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for sending a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Black Wolf” the translation of Juan Gómez-Jurado’s 2019 internationally best selling “Lobo Negra,” the sequel to “Red Queen/Reina Roja.” This is the next in a series featuring Antonia Scott (Spanish mom/ British dad), an incredibly talented forensic criminologist who needed to be coaxed out of a self-imposed retirement in the last book by Inspector Jon Gutiérrez. She can easily be described as a less Goth Lisbeth Salander, although it’s mainly Antonia’s mind, not any computer skills, that she can weaponize. We are, however, introduced to an AI named Heimdal, that Antonia can consult.

Antonia has some personal unfinished business that complicates her life — the near murder of her husband, Marcos, now in a coma, that has also estranged her from their son Jorge. The multinational agency that Antonia and Jon work for has no name, but it operates alongside law enforcement (with incredible resources like Heimdal) to solve unusual cases. Each participating nation has a chosen “Red Queen” (like the “off with your head” Red Queen of “Alice in Wonderland” - the monarch who insists you have to run in order to stay in place). Antonia, Spain’s Red Queen, is given “special” training and then guides the investigations with her special skills. Her mind works at ultra speed and she takes red and blue pills (ala The Matrix) to often keep from crashing.

Antonia is still searching for a character that escaped in the previous book, but now she and Jon are drawn into the murder of a Russian Mafia member. His pregnant, diabetic wife, Lola, escaped her own assassination attempt and she apparently holds a key to the crime empire that suddenly betrayed her spouse. But neither side can find her, and the Russian kingpin calls in the “Black Wolf,” a specialized female assassin that the Red Queen will need to go up against.

The love/hate interaction between Antonia and Jon makes this a terrific story. And I know their complicated relationship will return once “Rey Blanco/White King” (2020) is finally translated into English. Kudos to the translators Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia. 5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Antonia, our major protagonist, has green eyes as does her son, Jorge. But so does the Black Wolf have green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But a Leyland cypress hedge (notoriously despised in the UK) gets shot up.

Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I fell in love with series after the first installment, relating to these carefully crafted characters and the storyline. A brilliant women with an amazing, unusual mind and the loyal detective charged with guarding her as they search for horrendous killers.

The Russian mafia takes center stage in this second outing and commands all of Antonia Scott’s skills as she deals with the devil himself. If you are wondering why the book is titled The Black Wolf, that will become clear a little ways into the narrative.

All in all a good read with a heck of an ending…adrenaline pumping if I may say so. And will there be a third? My lips are sealed.

Highly recommended!

I felt Antonia Scott and Jon Gutierrez were the most fascinating characters to be introduced in recent memory after I read Red Queen. I'm convinced of it now after reading Black Wolf. Juan Gómez-Jurado has the most enthralling series going with these two books. Black Wolf is a thrilling triumph. It combines great action with more insights into the Red Queen project. Ultimately, what makes this series stand above all others is the fact Scott and Gutierrez are a team for the ages. The two compliment each other so well. Black Wolf is as fun as it is engaging. It will leave you eagerly looking forward to the next installment. Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I really enjoy this series and was so excited to get an advance copy from Netgalley and the publisher. Antonia Scott is a great character, and she makes interesting strides in this second book of the trilogy. I am so intrigued by the story that I am wondering if I can improve my Spanish and read the final book without having to wait for the translation!