Now that Luz has weaned herself off Oxycontin, Xanax,
Vicodin and Valium, her “stoned princess” act is just that. To finally escape
her violent drug lord husband Rolando, known on the street as El Príncipe, she
has to have her wits about her. She’d tried to escape once before, and Rolando
beat her nearly to death. But she has to escape. She left her daughter, Isabel,
with an aunt three years earlier, thinking it would be temporary. Luz knows if she doesn’t make it out of Mexico this
time, she never will.
Rolando would have been angry enough had she merely escaped.
But before she left, she also cleaned out his safe and shot two of her guards.
He has spies all over Tijuana,
any one of whom would love to earn the gratitude of El Príncipe.
To get across the border, she enlists the help of a drifter
relying on alcohol to blot out the guilt he feels over the death of his
daughter. Malone is unreliable at best, and is no match for Jerónimo Cruz, the
murderous hit-man Rolando has hired—while keeping Cruz’ family locked up as collateral—to bring Luz
back. Luz and Malone are also up against a corrupt Border Patrol cop who knows
about the money Luz is carrying and wants it for himself.
Richard Lange does a terrific job of drawing complex
characters, most of whom have a core of goodness despite the evil they do. This
is a taut, exciting thriller. But it made me more convinced than ever that I never
want to step foot in Tijuana.
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