Thank you Minotaur Books, #partner, for the advanced copy of Red Queen in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: March 14, 2023
Summary:
Introducing Antonia Scott – the most compelling and original detective since Lisbeth Salander – in the international bestselling thriller that has taken the world by storm.
Red Queen is the first book in a trilogy that has sold over 2 million copies in Spain, sold to seventeen countries, and is the basis of an Amazon streaming series to debut in 2023.
Antonia Scott—the daughter of a British diplomat and a Spanish mother—has a gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. But after a personal trauma, she’s refused to continue her work or even leave her apartment.
Jon Gutierrez, a police officer in Bilbao—disgraced, suspended, and about to face criminal charges—is offered a chance to salvage his career by a secretive organization that works in the shadows to direct criminal investigations of a highly sensitive nature. All he has to do is succeed where many others have failed: Convince a recalcitrant Antonia to come out of her self-imposed retirement, protecting her and helping her investigate a new, terrifying case.
The case is a macabre, ritualistic murder—a teen-aged boy from a wealthy family whose body was found without a drop of blood left in it. But the murder is just the start. A high-ranking executive and daughter of one of the richest men in Spain is kidnapped, a crime which is tied to the previous murder. Behind them both is a hidden mastermind with even more sinister plans. And the only person with a chance to see the connections, solve the crimes and successfully match wits with the killer before tragedy strikes again…is Antonia Scott.
My thoughts:
I was so excited when this book landed on my doorstep…I love a good crime fiction/thriller but even better is when the book is the start of a new series, or in this case a new trilogy! And let me just say…I’m already counting down the days until the next book is released because I am so ready for it!
First, I will say the comps of Antonia Scott being the next Lisbeth Salander are so spot on! I am a huge fan of the Millenium series and will say that I think this trilogy has the potential to be right up there with that series. Antonia is brilliant and unlike any character I’ve met before. The way she is able to walk into a crime scene and see things that no one else has picked up on…without any formal training is just next-level genius and I could not get enough of her throughout this book.
Usually with the first book in a series, a lot of time is spent introducing the characters before delving into the actual plot and I loved how with this book, we got a bare-bones introduction to our characters and then we jumped right into the action. As the book moves on, we learn a lot more, but it almost comes organically, through flashbacks that seem to happen at just the right moments to fill in something about one of our characters that is needed at that time. It really is done so well. I loved learning the backstory of how Antonia came to be the ‘Red Queen’ for Spain – which I won’t spoil for you here, you’ll have to read to find out!
The characters and the plot were so engaging and the pace of this book is pitch perfect. I could not put this one down once I started it. The short chapters help of course, but it’s also that I was heavily invested in what was going on. It’s ridiculously clever, keeping you guessing where things are ultimately heading and trying desperately to put all the pieces together. I was not successful in doing so, but that certainly didn’t stop me from trying!
I loved this book…and I will absolutely be continuing on with this trilogy. If you like fast-paced, dark thrillers, I highly recommend this one!
Books in this series:
- Red Queen
- Black Wolf
- White King
