Parker is clearly obsessed with several things: the beauty of the desert, the warring drug cartels of Mexico, the inadequacy of the police and military in Mexico, and his crazy fixation with his character, Mike Finnegan. Singer Erin McKennah is kidnapped by Mexican kingpin Benjamin Armienta under the watchful eye of her husband, Bradley Jones, as retribution for Bradley's assistance in smuggling guns and cash for his main adversary. Working with Charlie Hood, they forge a rescue effort from Armienta's castle on the Yucatan peninsula. Parker has written much better than this. ( )

For me this was an MP3 audiobook. I like this series. To appreciate this book you need to have read the other books in this series and in order. The characters surrounding Charlie Hood are interesting and make you want to see where this series ends. The fight between good and evil is an old one, but this series looks at it thru our modern world and the things happening in it today.

Erin McKenna, a beautiful songwriter married to a crooked Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy, is kidnapped by Benjamin Armenta, the ruthless leader of the powerful Gulf Cartel. But his demands are as unusual as the crumbling castle in which Erin is kept. She is ordered to compose a unique narcocorrido, a folk ballad that records the exploits of the drug dealers, gunrunners, and outlaws who have populated Mexican history for generations. Under the threat of death, Armenta orders Erin to tell his life story ? in music ? and write ?the greatest narcocorrido of all time.? As the mesmerizing music and lyrics of Erin's song cascade from the jungle hideout, they serve as a siren song to the two men who love her: her outlaw husband, Bradley Jones, and the lawman, Charlie Hood ? who together have the power to rescue her. Here, amid the ancient beauty of the Yucatecan lowlands, the long-simmering rivalry between these two men will be brought closer to its explosive finale. ( )

Parker brings us another piece of the Charlie Hood saga in JAGUAR, this time moving much of the action to southern Mexico, and giving us a good look at the genteel mask savagery can wear.

Erin McKenna, popular singer-songwriter and Bradley Jones's wife, is kidnapped by the Gulf cartel. He is given certain instructions and ten days to pay a tribute of $1 million to the cartel chief, or Erin will be skinned alive, her skin returned to Bradley. Jones enlists Charlie Hood in an effort to save her.

Much of the action, as I said, takes place down south, in the castle of the enigmatic cartel ruler, and centers on Erin's efforts to stay alive and unharmed as long as she can. In dealing with these characters, good and evil, Parker reaches some depth. I experienced some thoughtful moments reading this, particularly during the time Erin is compelled to writing a narcocorrida about her captor, during which time she has some unexpected insights.

The strange character of Mike Finnegan, of course, shows up with a finger in everything. A confrontation between Hood and Finnegan seems to look forward to a coming battle.

In my opinion, this book is perhaps the best so far in the series. ( )