The Jaguar

Starred review from November 21, 2011
In Parker’s excellent fifth Charlie Hood novel (after 2011’s The Border Lords), Bradley Jones, a deputy in the L.A. sheriff’s department who’s been transporting drugs for a Mexican cartel since he was 17, turns to fellow deputy Hood for help after henchmen of a rival cartel kidnap Jones’s pregnant wife, Erin. If Jones doesn’t pay the rival cartel’s leader, Benjamin Armenta, $1 million within 10 days as an apology for the trouble he’s caused Armenta, Armenta will have Erin skinned alive. Parker demonstrates remarkable command of his material, from the gruesome realities of the Mexican drug trade to a surprisingly human portrayal of the monstrous Armenta, who keeps a menagerie of animals, including the jaguar of the book’s title, at his compound in Quintana Roo. A somewhat opaque subplot involving the dodgy Mike Finnegan, “a bathroom-products wholesaler,” distracts only slightly from the quest for Erin in a crime thriller notable for its fine, insightful prose. Agent: Trident Media Group.

February 1, 2012
A Mexican drug dealer kidnaps the composer wife of an L.A. cop and holds her for a song. Well, not just an ordinary song, but a narcocorrido, a kind of folk ballad dedicated to making heroes out of villains: drug dealers, gun-runners, kidnappers and the like. True enough, there's ransom money earning a mention somewhere along the line, but nobody really takes that seriously. It's the music that counts. Benjamin Armenta is the leader of Mexico's powerful Gulf Cartel, as ruthless a collection of rascals as ever battened on the border drug trade. But he sees himself as uncelebrated, as an unsung anti-hero, which in his view amounts to a miscarriage of justice, considering the nature and frequency of the crimes for which he's become infamous. The kidnapping of Erin McKenna, songwriter of note, is meant to fix all that. Bradley Jones, Erin's bent cop of a husband, gets 10 days to raise the cash while performing certain auxiliary tasks--no mention of music at this early stage--or Armenta will arrange to have his wife skinned alive, a threat to be taken literally. Erin is whisked away to Armenta's secret castle-fortress, where she will play out an oddball version of Beauty and the Beast. Meanwhile, knowing how much he needs help, Bradley reluctantly appeals to Charlie Hood, series hero (The Border Lords, 2011, etc.) and sometime friend. It's a classic love-hate relationship in the context of Charlie's intense and enduring feeling for Erin. So he signs on, and they mount the quest to locate and rescue Erin, who, deep in the cheerless Yucatan jungle, fraught and beset, composes to save her life.Despite occasional affecting moments, the plot is essentially thin, unsustained by a cast of larger- than-life, empathy-proof characters. A rare misstep from the accomplished Parker.

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November 15, 2011

Chronicling multiple, colorful drug smugglers on both sides of the law and the U.S.-Mexico border, Parker returns with Los Angeles County deputy Charlie Hood in the fifth title (after The Border Lords) in this six-volume series. Crooked, money-laundering deputy Bradley Jones suddenly finds that his wife, the captivating songwriter (and Hood's former love interest) Erin McKenna, has been kidnapped by Benjamin Armenta, the kingpin of the powerful Gulf Cartel. In his Yucatan citadel, where he has banned the use of electronic devices, Armenta demands that McKenna compose evocative Mexican folk ballads romanticizing his daring drug dealings. Through song, gesture, and hidden memos, however, Jones, McKenna, and Hood circumvent Armenta's efforts. VERDICT Although Parker is losing steam with this series, his fans will endure the complex plotline through one more Hood novel--although general readers may find it tedious. Let's hope the author can devise an enticing plot to end his series with a bang. [See Prepub Alert, 7/25/11.]--Jerry P. Miller, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2011
In Parker's newest Charlie Hood novel (after The Border Lords, 2011), the focus shifts from the Los Angeles sheriff's deputy to one of his colleagues, crooked cop Bradley Jones. When Jones' wife, singer and musician Erin McKenna, is abducted by the powerful Gulf Cartel right before his eyes, it seems that the young cop's dirty dealings have finally caught up with him.With Erin held captive in an undisclosed location, Deputy Jones has but a handful of days to come up with the $1 million ransom that will save her life. If he fails, she will be skinned alive. Jones calls on Charlie Hood to find her, pay what's due, and bring her home safely. Meanwhile, in a crumbling Mexican castle, Erin watches the remaining moments of her life tick away as she contends with a cadre of cold-blooded (albeit charming) captors.To appease them, she must write a narcocorrido, a Mexican folk ballad singing the praises of the lawless. Sinister characters and steady suspense drive Parker's latest tale of evil and good. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Parker has always been a favorite of crime-fiction fans, but his Charlie Hood series has brought him crossover success. This fifth in the series will extend his reach still further.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)