White king

No! Tell me it’s not true — this cannot be over. This can’t be the last outing for Antonia Scott and Inspector Jon Gutierrez. The entire 3 book series has been exceptional in action and well constructed plots and I hate that the saga of the Red Queen is coming to an end.

I have loved the characters of Antonia and Jon as their relationship deepens through their attempts to solve the most heinous crimes and find some sort of justice. Not only are they unique in personality, they are also highly skilled in their jobs and focused on completing their missions. Now they face their adversary, Mr. White, who brings them full circle into his devious plans. He’s a nasty piece of work and another nemesis makes an appearance as well. It was show more hard to guess where this was going with all the twists and turns. I liked the writing style and the bits of humor that the author included to make me really care about Antonia and Jon. There’s just the barest bit at the end that could allow for further stories about these two. If only.

I suggest you read these from the beginning in order. And better if you can do it one after the other without suffering through the waiting for the translations from Spanish. Also catch the first book’s adaptation on streaming channels. I enjoyed it as well.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while also following along in the e-book ARC, both provided by the publisher. The book is narrated by the incomparable Scott Brick whose voice consistently elevates the novels he performs with his incredible range and talent. This is definitely one I highly recommend on audio for a completely absorbing experience. show less

This is the third book of the Antonia Scott trilogy. I watched a TV adaptation of the first book, Red Queen, and enjoyed it. So when the books popped up as cheap ebooks, I didn’t hesitate to buy them. Unfortunately, like another famous European thriller trilogy featuring a genius protagonist, the first book is way better than the sequels. In Red Queen, gay Basque detective Jon Gutiérrez is assigned to assist genius criminologist Antonia Scott while she investigates the kidnapping of a billionaire’s daughter. Scott is part of the Red Queen project, a pan-European agency which uses drugs and neural programming to enhance selected geniuses to make them super-effective solvers of crimes.

Red Queen was followed by Black Wolf, which had show more Scott and Gutiérrez involved with Russian gangsters on the Costa del Sol. The title refers to a hired assassin. The events of both novels, however, had all been part of a plot organised by a genius psychopath known as the White King. And that’s what White King is about.

Mt White, the genius psychopath, has been hired to steal something. He needs Scott’s help, but of course she would refuse. So he set up the kidnappings in Red Queen, and the murders in Black Wolf, to manipulate her, and the Red Queen project, into a position where he has access to the thing he has been contracted to steal. None of this is especially convincing. Especially since the manipulation seems to depend on minor details from the first two books.

White King is structured as three murders, one from several years before, one that occurs that very day, and one that is about to happen. All three are linked. Scott is given only hours to solve the murders. In order to motivate Scott, White kidnaps Gutiérrez and implants a bomb against his spine. If Scott fails to solve each crime by the deadline… Gutiérrez loses his head.

I mentioned another popular European trilogy, but unlike those three books, the Red Queen trilogy pits one genius against another, and genius is always difficult to present in fiction. White’s speciality is blackmailing people into performing tasks for him, even tasks completely against their nature–such as murdering all their colleagues. It’s not credible, and like most fiction of this type, book, television or film, relies on people abandoning whatever morals they may possess at the slightest provocation for plot reasons. The other aspect of genius as presented in fiction is vast knowledge. In past works, this manifested as erudite and well-educated, often self-educated, criminal masterminds. But these days, with computers so ubiquitous and intertwined in daily life, and the internet, there’s no need for the villain to have that knowledge, only have access to it. Which means Magical Hackers. And so it is here.

White King’s denouement is cleverly done, however, and Scott is an interesting character. Goméz-Jurado’s prose is choppy, and perhaps a little journalistic, but also plainly written with film or TV adaptation in mind. And the TV series was indeed good. There’s been no mention of adapting Black Wolf or White King. Which is a shame. show less

This is the third in the Antonia Scott series of thrillers. Antonia has an unusual mind. She has a spooky ability to put clues together to solve crimes. She also has a nemesis in Mr. White who is determined to beat her and prove his superiority.

The book starts with Antonia's partner Jon being kidnapped and then found with bombs wired into his spine. Antonia and Jon have to solve three murders with very short timeframes or Mr. White will detonate the bombs.

As they are rushing to solve the crimes - one a 4-year-old cold case and one not committed until they are on the scene - Antonia is putting clues together that lead her to the big picture; the picture that started for her when her home was broken into, her husband was fatally shot, and show more she was also shot.

The key to this twisty thriller is Antonia who doesn't know how to relate to people and relies on Jon to humanize her. Fans of the twisty will enjoy this one. I don't recommend starting with it though. Start with RED QUEEN and continue to BLACK WOLF before winding things up with this one. show less

La novela comienza justo donde se quedó el segundo volumen. Y la verdad es que no se puede contar mucho más, ya que entraríamos en terreno de destripes. El mismo autor lo solicita así al final de los dos primeros libros. Sí puedo decir que me ha parecido el más flojo de los tres. El humor y la socarronería siguen estando ahí, y los he disfrutado enormemente. Pero la estructura y la historia en sí no han acabado de convencerme. Eso sí, quiero más novelas de Antonia y Jon.

Lo que más me gustó es cerrar todos los cabos sueltos que se abierto con la trilogía. En la misma línea que el resto, si te gustaron los otros este te gustará también.

Lo que menos son los continuos giros de la historia, para mi gusto abusivo (girar 90 grados 4 veces en la misma dirección, te deja en la misma posición...)

This book dragged and I found it convoluted. Not as good as the first two books.

Spettacolare nel suo genere: degna conclusione della trilogia della regina rossa. Che già dopo poche ore mi manca alla follia.