White King, the final book in the trilogy, wrapped everything up perfectly, including plot points that I didn't realize were important from the earlier books. Jon and Antonia are back, and the stakes could not be higher. This book had a great mix of mystery, adventure, and character development. I give The narrator was great, especially when the POV was Jon's. The White King 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to review White King by Juan Gomez Jurado

It was awesome being back in Antonia Scott’s world. Now that I’m really thinking about this she might just be my favorite female detective. Her story has so much depth to it and her mind is like Sherlock’s but even more intense.

This is the final book in the Red Queen trilogy and every step of it was very entertaining with a truly fantastic twist at the end.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the alc via Netgalley

I tore through all three of the books in this series in six weeks. This series was INCREDIBLE. The narrator is one of the best narrators I’ve ever heard. He really brought life to the characters, especially Jon. But really, the author did a fantastic job of doing that himself! Jon and Antonia were so easy to get attached to, and Antonia was originally portrayed as an unlikeable, and completely unreliable character. But I LOVED her, especially her and Jon together. They were a powerhouse team. Now that the series is over, I’m so sad that I won’t get to read about them anymore. The closer I got to the end, the more I wanted it to drag out. It was so action packed though, I couldn’t stop listening. There’s good news though. I can see the ending setting up nicely for a future spin off. I won’t give away why, but it’ll be clear once you get to the end. I cannot speak highly enough about this series! Do yourself a favor and buy all of these books now!

Huge thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sending me this ARC for review! All of my reviews are given honestly!

The narrator is great! Awesome finish to the Red Queen trilogy. Wraps up the mysteries from the first 2 books and adds new cases.

White King is a superb, edge-of-your-seat forensic thriller and the third (and perhaps final) installment in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s internationally bestselling Antonia Scott Red Queen trilogy. Jurado’s storytelling is spellbinding, weaving fantastic characters—both protagonists and antagonists—into a riveting narrative that will leave you gasping at the unbelievable ending.

Antonia Scott, the protagonist and the crux of the top-secret Red Queen project that solves the most dangerous crimes in the EU, is back in action. This time, she must save her partner and protector, Inspector Jon Gutiérrez, from the devious ploys of her nemesis, Mr. White. To save Gutiérrez, she must solve cold cases while staying one step ahead of a madman whose final objective remains unclear. As Scott and Gutiérrez race around Madrid at top speed, their paths may lead them away from those they truly care about, while also steering them toward something so unexpected that even Scott’s gifted mind may struggle to stay ahead.

If you have time—and I highly recommend you make time—read Jurado’s trilogy: Red Queen, Black Wolf, and White King. If you’re a fan of thrillers like Greaney’s Gray Man and Hurwitz’s Orphan X, you won’t be able to get enough of this series. However, be prepared for a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of White King. Is Mr. White still a threat? Is the Red Queen program still needed? Is Jurado hinting at another Antonia Scott thriller to come?

Stunning conclusion to the Red Queen Trilogy - this entire series is a winner, with White King coming out with all the Whizz-Bangs, fireworks and pomp of a season finale. Entirely engaging!
Antonia and John, two somewhat ill fitting puzzle pieces of people come together at the start of the series to form a somewhat unlikely, but also somewhat predictable partnership. She's socially repellent, but brilliant - so useful to a secret project. He's socially cued in and affable enough to put up with and protect Antonia. Both find each other infuriating, but neither has a lot of other options. Both highly relatable, and yet, not so relatable that the reader feels they could actually "be" the characters. What makes these books just a cut above all the other thrillers and police novels is the way the author interjects with spot on observations about human nature, how language shapes our understanding of our world, and human interactions, the price we pay for them and what we gain. Add in these small leitmotifs that make a reader feel like they are in on a secret joke, and this entire series is a winner,
White King is a fantastic addition. Gomez-Jurado takes us - without delay- but with lots of suspense and anxiety- to a satisfying and surprisingly gentle conclusion that left me on the edge of my seat until about the last 4 minutes. I actually was found standing in the kitchen with a fresh cup of coffee shouting out NOOOOOOOOO. I never do this. I'm not prone to too much excitement within the pages of a book (and I'm completely lying here of course) but let me just say the ending was unexpected, perfect and far kinder than I had hoped for.
Scott Brick has an audiobook legacy of over 800 books narrated. He wasn't known to me, but his theatre training shows, and he injects suspense, humor and anticipation as he read this in a way that added much depth to the narrative. I adore that he doesn't rely on accents or high squeaky voices, but more on using the space between words that allowed me to really catch the implied humor and implied undertones of the novel.

The 3rd and final book in the Red Queen series, translated from Spanish featuring Antonia Scott and police officer John Gutierrez. These books are fast paced, full of action and suspense, making them so easy to binge read.

The narrator, Scott Brick, is brilliants as always. Whenever I see he is reading a book I know that I am in for a real treat. He has a way of bringing the story to life and really makes you invested in the book.

I love the relationship between Antonia and John. Their banter makes me laugh while they are so protective of each other. Both characters are so broken, they make a fabulous team to stop the bad guys across Spain.

The story is always surprising and never predictable. I am going to miss their adventures.

Thanks so much to Macmillan Audio for my early listening copy

This book is too dependent upon you having read a previous book. It was really hard to follow. I could not complete it.

I really really like the premise for this series and it is definitely a series I would watch (will look for it on Amazon asap). Some of it is a hard sell, but I love the Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty dynamic between Mr White and Antonia. I read book 1, didn’t get the chance to read book 2, and jumped right into this one so I fully acknowledge there’s pieces of the story I’m missing, but I still felt like I understood the moving pieces and appreciated the authors creativity.

White King by Juan Gómez-Jurado was an audiobook listen narrated by Scott Brick. I loved this so much. 5 outstanding ⭐️ for originality and beautiful, relatable relationships. I felt everything and I loved Scott Brick as a narrator. He was phenomenal and perfect for this series. This author has a talent like no other when it comes to plots and a close intensity of characters, action and mystery. This was definitely my favorite of his to date and I highly recommend it. So good.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

“White King” is the translation of Juan Gómez-Jurado’s 2020 internationally best selling “Rey Blanco,” the final part of the “Red Queen/Reina Roja” trilogy. This is the final 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 first book by Inspector Jon Gutiérrez, who is her bodyguard/companion/“shield bearer.” 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.

I would definitely recommend that you read the first two installments before diving into “White King.” The multinational agency that Antonia and Jon work for has no name, but it operates alongside law enforcement (with incredible resources) 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, was given unique training and then she guides the investigations with her special skills. Her mind works at ultra speed and she had taken red and blue pills (ala The Matrix) to often keep from crashing. In the last book, she had decided to wean herself from the pills and resolve the unfinished business that complicated her life — the near murder of her husband, Marcos, that put him in a coma and also estranged her from their son Jorge.

As the story begins, Antonia finally decides to end her husband’s life support and is grieving (in her own detached way) when Jon is kidnapped. Other Red Queens and international project members are under attack; a bomb in Germany kills five. The Dutch shield bearer killed his Queen. The French Queen and her shield bearer have disappeared.

During all the books, Antonia has sensed an immensely evil, but unprovable, mastermind shadowing her. He finally reveals himself as Mr. White, who will save Jon if she can “solve three crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice.” Jon is released, but has a bomb implanted in his neck. Solutions to the crimes involve tight deadlines (like solving a supposedly closed case and finding the real murderer in six hours).

There's a good reason that Juan Gómez-Jurado has 10 million international readers. This series is one of most loved thriller trilogies in the world and unfortunately it took too long to have it translated into English. The author has already completed another trilogy (part of the Red Queen universe), that I desperately want translated as soon as possible. The action is non-stop. This is truly a world class thriller. 5 stars!

I had read and loved both “Red Queen” and “Black Wolf.” This time I was graced with access to both the ebook and audiobook, so I decided to switch off between the two, beginning the first third via audio. I have never heard Scott Brick’s narration before, but his tone for this story was always as if he was shouting, acting too strident or too excited or too suspicious for what was actually written. There are times when an actor’s voice is welcome, but Mr. Brick was way too theatrical for me. I read the next 20% and then returned to the audiobook. After only a few more chapters I realized I was correct — the presentation was theatrically annoying and I read the last third. So, 2.5 stars for the audiobook, 5 stars for the written version. READ THIS THRILLER; you might be put off by the narration of the audiobook.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES The Other Woman has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): MAYBE I question if hydrangea and wisteria bloom at the same time in Spain (in the US, wisteria is early spring and hydrangeas are late summer.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for advanced reader and listener copies!