3.5 Intense Stars
If you like to be at the beginning of a new mystery thriller, then the Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado is right up your alley. You have a disgraced police officer who needs to bring a retired marvel in criminal understanding back into the fold to help with solving a case no one can.

By doing this, the two discover more than intended and develop a partnership of sorts that will go beyond the end of this tale.

I understand the comparison to Lisbeth Salander, because the Red Queen herself is brilliant. That said, my feelings while reading this book were very different than the feelings I had while reading TGWTDT. Certain portions were just not captivating me, I didn’t find myself wanting to pick it up after I put it down, and I had a very difficult time focusing. I think I’ve decided it’s missing the Scandinavian flair and gorgeous quick-witted writing that really brought Lisbeth to life for me.

I can see this going over well with the usual readers of mystery and crime.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

When I saw this compared to Lisbeth Salander I was intrigued because I’m a huge fan of those books. While it was exciting and interesting and I liked the characterization it didn’t live up to my expectations but maybe I expected too much. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

Red Queen was a slow burn for me. It picked up when they raided the house. That scene was so descriptive and phenomenal. I was so engrossed from there on out. Great writing, interesting plot and unique characters. I can't wait for the next book in the series.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Juan Gómez-Jurado for a copy of "Red Queen" in exchange of an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Red Queen in exchange for my review.

The main action Red Queen focuses on the unlikely pairing of a disgraced police officer (Jon Gutierrez ) and a genius crime fighter (Antonia Scott) in Madrid. In this story, persuasion and blackmail are what lead characters to act, despite what they may tell themselves about free will and agency.

Jon is cajoled into dragging Antonia into investigating a string of kidnappings. The victims and their families are forced to follow the kidnapper’s demands or face the consequences. Police officers and members of the media play their inevitable roles.

I enjoyed getting to know Antonia and Jon, but the casual cruelty sprinkled throughout the story was hard to stomach. I found the plot and most of the characters compelling and wanted the mystery solved, but I’m not sure I want to subject myself to another book in this series. Be aware that although the main conflict in the book is resolved by the end, this is very much a set up for a series and not a great stand-alone volume.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy of Red Queen by Juan Gomez-Jurado. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I loved this book! Antonia Scott and Jon Gutierrez were great protagonists that I truly cared about. And the twist regarding the killer was really well done. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. I give this book 5/5 stars.

This brilliant new Spanish thriller series set in Spain has unusual leads. Gay Basque police officer Jon Gutierrez is in serious trouble for tampering with evidence. He's offered a way out if he persuades legendary, reclusive forensic expert Antonia Scott to work with him.

There are bizarre kidnappings where the demands made by the perp are considered impossible to meet. Jon digs himself ever deeper in trouble, always trying to protect Antonia, who's reckless in her search for the truth. The subplots are intricate and the explosive ending sets the scene for a sequel that I intend not to miss!

I do love a good thriller/murder mystery. And I love a good series. With Red Queen, it appears that I've found a new one. The two main characters are well drawn and fascinating - it would be difficult to imagine two people more unlike each other than these two, and it's interesting to watch their working relationship develop. The fact that this is a translation of a Spanish book adds to the reading/listening experience - insights into the culture and landscape and life in Spain made it that much more interesting. Translations can be tricky, the writing can feel a bit awkward at times just because it is a translation, and a beautifully written sentence in the original language may not be so simple to translate. But I didn't notice many of those issues here. Honestly, I don't want to say too much plot-wise because I don't want to give away too much, and part of the fun was knowing very little about it going in. But I'll say this - the second book comes out next year - and I'm already looking forward to it.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I love a good thriller and Red Queen really stepped up to the plate with its twists and turns. Taking the classic "we couldn't be more different" pairing of cops and having them work together to solve a case is my jam and Gomez-Jurado's story scratched the itch. I love the premise of the Red Queen, a super-intelligent person brought in to solve crimes others can't or shouldn't know about and I found the character of Antonia fascinating. I also loved that it was set in Bilbao, a town in Spain I don't know much about. I think this is the first time Gomez-Jurado's series has been translated into English and I'm hopeful more books will get the same treatment.

Red Queen is a fast-paced police procedural set in Spain, featuring a fat, gay, disgraced cop named Jon and Antonia, a forensic specialist, and the smartest known woman in the world. Antonia has been enlisted into an elite investigative organization to aid the police in difficult cases. This mismatched pair are brought together to help the police in a particularly gruesome murder. The only caveat is that they must remain on the sidelines, observing only.
As the story progresses, a second victim emerges. The link between the two cases is extreme wealth and the refusal of the parents of both victims to disclose the demands made by the perpetrator. As the story progresses, Jon and Antonia overcome their original distrust of each other and these two flawed individuals become a successful operating unit.
Gomez-Jurado’s writing is exceptional—gory, intelligent, witty, interesting. His characterizations are fascinating: from the dapper, large Jon, to the petite, omniscient Antonia, to the peacock proud police Captain Parra with his “pumping alpha male handshake”.
The best news is that this fast-paced crime novel is the first in a series featuring Antonia and Jon. Those fortunate enough to be bi-lingual can read the Spanish version of the second book now. The rest of us will just have to wait.
My thanks to NetGalley, Juan Gomez-Jurado and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book.

RED QUEEN by Juan Gómez-Jurado received a starred review from Booklist and I was avidly recommending this fabulous international best-seller before I even finished it. This is a suspenseful, action-packed thriller featuring Antonia Scott, an extraordinarily intelligent and perceptive women who solves crimes with an elite unit. In this case (set in Madrid, Spain), she is partnered with a disgraced cop named Jon, and each struggles with some personal issues while they seek to discover who has killed a young boy, kidnapped an heiress, and threatened prominent business leaders. The killer is ruthless and Gómez-Jurado provides plenty of unexpected twists to stymie Antonia and Jon. The two gradually bond, however, as Jon thinks, "Yes, Antonia Scott is unbearable, secretive, bossy, and has terrible taste in food; she's unpredictable and probably as mad as a hatter, or damn close to it. But."... "The creed Jon Gutierrez is a devotee of – with candles, genuflections, and prayers – is Our Lady of Nobody Messes with My Partner." The fast pace is aided by short chapters and the humorous comments help balance some dark events. Overall, RED QUEEN is excellent and I am eagerly waiting to see the translation of the next in this trilogy (and the forthcoming streaming version from Amazon)!

Red Queen
By Juan Gomez-Jurado

This book, originally published in Spanish, is the first in a series. It is a murder mystery, but not what mystery lovers have come to expect.

It is the story of Jon Gutierrez, a fat, gay cop under suspension for setting up a career criminal for a drug crime and getting caught for doing it. Gutierrez considers himself a good cop who made a stupid mistake.

He is approached by a man called the Mentor to help out in a murder investigation by convincing a young woman named Antonia Scott to come back to work for the Mentor. If he can convince her, the Mentor will make Gutierrez' problems go away.

Gutierrez learns that Scott is a forensic specialist who has the ability to solve crimes by finding clues and evidence not found by other investigators. But the problem here is that Mentor's organization, which investigates and solves highly sensitive crimes, must always remain in the background, not appearing to be involved. In this case Scott, under the protection of Gutierrez, is to solve not one, but, as it turns out, two related murders.

This is a very interesting concept and leads to further adventures for the pair. I look forward to other books in the series being published in English.

I had just a couple of issues reading this book, but I really enjoyed it, found myself immersed in the story, and can't wait to read book 2!
This is about Jon, a disgraced police officer who is charged with helping the almost super-humanly intelligent Antonia Scott solve a gruesome murder as well as the kidnapping of a mind-bogglingly wealthy woman. Are these crimes tied together, and does someone have it out for Jon, Antonia, or both?
The first things that drew me in to this story were the characters. They were wonderfully formed and I felt I really knew them by the time the action began, even though it was obvious there were major secrets being kept. Jon was completely relatable, and Antonia, who has a definite Lisbeth Salander/Jason Bourne vibe, was a very flawed character who had massive rooting value. The action was also very well-done. A major scene in the book was described in gory yet matter-of-fact detail that perfectly related to the reader the momentous destruction that was occurring. The plot kept me guessing until the very end and ratcheted up the suspense in a way that kept me impatient to find out how everything would be resolved, and yet reluctant to leave the world of Jon and Antonia.
My two big issues with the book were the narration/points-of-view and the pacing. There were several places in the story where it seemed like the narration moved points-of-view from one character to another immediately, and I found it a bit jarring. I would get a bit confused and it would take me out of the story. We'd go from Jon's internal monologue to Antonia's feelings instantaneously and it didn't flow well--or maybe it flowed too well! It is possible that this is just an issue with reading a book that has been translated, and so while it did interrupt my enjoyment of how the action was unfolding in certain spots, I realize it could be just my fault. The pacing at the beginning of the book felt a bit stilted because there were several abrupt flashbacks. These kind of set up the reasoning behind how Jon's and especially Antonia's characters behaved and how they formed their motivations, but again it interrupted the flow of the plot and made it feel a bit jumpy. Once the action really picked up, these interludes were kind of left behind and I really had a hard time putting the book down.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers, suspenseful mystery, international intrigue, action, and great characters. I am impatient to read book 2!

Although I am hoping to review this book soon, I am currently unable to write a thorough review. I enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the screen adaptation as well.

This is the first in a trilogy thriller featuring Antonia Scott and translated from the original written in Spanish. Set in Spain, primarily Madrid and Bilbao, the book features the unlikely and unexpected team of brilliant forensic minded and reclusive Antonia and disgraced police officer Jon Gutierrez - both dealing with their own personal issues. The focus - the murder of a teenage boy, followed by the kidnapping of the executive daughter of one of the richest men in Spain. Brought in as unofficial investigators with little help from the official police ones, Antonia and Jon are in a race against time. The book is a fast paced interesting thriller and kept my attention until the end. I liked the characters - flawed and all, not the usual hotshot investigators. I would have liked more in-depth analysis and insight into the motivation for the crimes - I felt the book would have been stronger with more time invested on that score. The book had a good sense of place - I enjoyed the tidbits about the locations. Overall a 3.5 rating rounded up to 4. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a fast-paced, intelligently written thriller featuring Antonia Scott, a traumatized protagonist with exceptional skills and Jon Gutierrez, the flawed police officer whose career depends on his figuring out a way to work with her on high-stakes cases. Their Holmes-Watson partnership is compelling and makes for great fun. The best endorsement I can offer for this internationally acclaimed novel is to say that after finishing it I immediately bought the kindle version of the sequel, even though it was available only in Spanish. I expect to have a grand old time with a dictionary close at hand deciphering what happens next for Antonia and Jon.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a digital advance review copy.

Antonia Scott, strong, incredibly intelligent, adept at her work, daughter of a cold British diplomat and a deceased Spanish mother, is the flawed protagonist of Red Queen. Her brilliant forensic mind has the ability to reconstruct and solve even the most perplexing murders. However, a severe trauma has caused this detective to not only stop working but even to stop leaving her bare apartment. After disgraced Police Inspector Jon Gutierrez from Bilbao is suspended and has criminal prosecution awaiting, he is offered a chance to reclaim his job by the head of a shadow organization. Their work is to perform undercover, secretive, “highly sensitive” criminal investigations. He is blackmailed with the dropping of charges and disappearance of evidence in exchange with a task: convince the obstinate, withdrawn shut-in Antonia to come out of her self-imposed confinement, protect her, and help her solve a sinister new case. This new case is a grisly, ceremonial murder: a young boy is found, posed in his family home, completely exsanguinated. A high-ranking executive, the daughter of the one of the wealthiest men in Spain, is kidnapped, and under threat of death. The one behind these crimes has even more macabre plans; the only person who can match minds with the murderer in order to solve these crimes and stop them in time? Antonia Scott…

With all the makings of a brilliant psychological thriller, Red Queen has the most breathless writing I’ve read in a long time. It is at once descriptive, witty, engaging, exciting, gory, and intelligent, and kept me interested and quickly turning pages right from the beginning. When the two flawed main characters together make an almost perfect whole, it is magic to read. Certainly Antonia and Jon are flawed, and in the beginning their working and personal relationship is more than rocky. One of the best parts of the story is that while over time they come to care deeply for each other, it doesn’t devolve into a cliché sappy romance because Antonia is faithfully married and Jon is openly, monogamously gay. There are sparks between them, but not necessarily good ones; however, as a team, they are a brilliant duo. I thoroughly enjoyed Juan Gomez-Jurado’s work, and I love that he lets the reader know at the very end of the book that Jon and Antonia will be back—he answered my unasked question. The greatest compliment that I can give beside voraciously reading a book is to hope that there will be a next one, and I most certainly did both with “Red Queen.” If you are a fan of crime, police procedurals, psychological thrillers and/or mystery/thrillers and don’t mind some gore along the way, be sure to pick up “Red Queen” or add it to your to-be-read list!

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Juan Gomez-Jurado, and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

LOVED this!

I'm all about a good Sherlock Holmes inspired story, and the crime-fighting duo, whether intentionally or not, reminded me a lot of Holmes and Watson. Antonia, with her genius intellect and her drug addiction, was the Holmes, and Jon was the Watson who keeps her on track.

I also found hints of Thomas Harris and Jeffrey Deaver in this book. Lots of twists and turns. The Madrid setting was fantastic and made me want to travel there!

Hoping that the next two books get translated fast or I'm going to have to brush up on my Spanish!

This is a translated thriller that has been compared to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I saw the comparisons with an unlikeable male investigator and intelligent young woman. However as a new thriller, it did not feel fresh. It was fine, but not particularly unique or remarkable.

I would only received to readers who love these particular kinds of thrillers and can't get enough of the subgenre.

Disclaimer I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A murder. A kidnapping. A cop about to lose his job. And a woman capable of processing information like nobody else. These are the elements that kick off this incredibly well-crafted thriller.

Both the lead characters have their quirks but they work together in a natural manner—it doesn’t seem forced by the author.

The book is told in multiple POVs, which helps both move the plot forward. Though a quick page turner, there’s something so satisfying how the plot unfurls—and allows you just enough time to relish in a new reveal.

If you are looking for an action packed and cerebral thriller, this is a good one to pick up.