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9th out of 9 books
—
13 voters
Triple Crossing
Valentine Pescatore, a volatile rookie Border Patrol agent, is trying to survive the trenches of The Line in San Diego. He gets in trouble and finds himself recruited as an informant by Isabel Puente, a beautiful U.S. agent investigating a powerful Mexican crime family.
As he infiltrates the mafia, Pescatore falls in love with Puente. But he clashes with her ally Leo Mendez...more
As he infiltrates the mafia, Pescatore falls in love with Puente. But he clashes with her ally Leo Mendez...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
August 10th 2011
by Mulholland Books
(first published January 1st 2011)
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First, I want to thank the publisher, Mulholland Books, who sent me a free advanced reader edition of this book. Thank you.
"Triple Crossing" is the kind of book that made me want to read other books. I want to know more about South America and its different countries and peoples. I want to know more about the crime that Rotella describes. I want to read more South America writers, and to get a feel for the histories and cultures that formed them, even as their words worked their own changes. Mor...more
"Triple Crossing" is the kind of book that made me want to read other books. I want to know more about South America and its different countries and peoples. I want to know more about the crime that Rotella describes. I want to read more South America writers, and to get a feel for the histories and cultures that formed them, even as their words worked their own changes. Mor...more
Triple Crossing: A Novel takes place mostly at the intersection of politics and the "war" on drugs along the perilous U.S. border with Mexico. It's a book that will probably cause you to throw your hands up in despair; it may also break your heart.
Valentine Pescatore is a young man who has escaped a troubled past in Chicago and joined the Border Patrol. He's still trying to figure out who he is and what his place in life might be. More sympathetic to the illegal immigrants he encounters than man...more
Valentine Pescatore is a young man who has escaped a troubled past in Chicago and joined the Border Patrol. He's still trying to figure out who he is and what his place in life might be. More sympathetic to the illegal immigrants he encounters than man...more
What sets this novel apart is that it is written by an award winning investigative journalist who specializes in International Border Issues, and the reader is treated an adventure-packed thriller which demonstrates fairly accurate government policy of Mexico, South America, and the US.
Valentine Pescatore is a rookie US Border Patrol Agent who works for a crooked supervisor, and is drawn into a situation in which he is forced to become a double agent within a Mexican criminal organization with i...more
Valentine Pescatore is a rookie US Border Patrol Agent who works for a crooked supervisor, and is drawn into a situation in which he is forced to become a double agent within a Mexican criminal organization with i...more
Excellent debut novel by Sebastian Rotella. Triple Crossing refers to the three country junction of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina in South America which is similar to the Mexico/US border with its smuggling of people and goods. Corruption and militaristic governments are the norm in the area. I have dozens of friends who grew up in Mennonite colonies in the area and I have heard endless stories of violence and corruption that has existed for decades.
The story follows Border Patrol rookie Valent...more
The story follows Border Patrol rookie Valent...more
This is an intelligent thriller written by a guy with an impressive background in journalism.
You can cross Tijuana off your list of vacation destinations. The same goes for the "Triple Border" where Paraguay, Brazil, and Argentina all connect. That is, of course, unless you like the sound of gunfire and the sight of dead bodies and the smell of alcoholic drug addicts. In that case, be my guest. Be sure to pack your body armor.
Triple Crossing takes you into the chaotic world of corrupt border p...more
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There is no doubt that Sebastian Rotella knows the Mexican border, particularly the San Diego/Tijuana border. The detail in both the day-to-day life and the political framework are the strength of this novel. He really brings the reader into the world and the surreal and overt corruption that every knows about, yet nobody can seem to do anything about.
If there is a weakness to the book is that narrative voice feels so far removed that it makes the reader feel like they are watching not just from...more
If there is a weakness to the book is that narrative voice feels so far removed that it makes the reader feel like they are watching not just from...more
TRIPLE CROSSING. (2011). ***.
This is a first novel from this author, featuring what is likely to be a series hero, Valentine Pescatore, a rookie Border Patrol agent stationed at the border above Tiajuana. He’s an agent with a heart of gold, deploring the methods used by his co-workers and, especially, his boss. While chasing an illegal immigrant who managed to set free a truck-full of captured illegals, he breaches the borer and continues to give chase into Mexican territory. When he finally ge...more
This is a first novel from this author, featuring what is likely to be a series hero, Valentine Pescatore, a rookie Border Patrol agent stationed at the border above Tiajuana. He’s an agent with a heart of gold, deploring the methods used by his co-workers and, especially, his boss. While chasing an illegal immigrant who managed to set free a truck-full of captured illegals, he breaches the borer and continues to give chase into Mexican territory. When he finally ge...more
Triple Crossing is a crime thriller by Sebastian Rotella, who clearly knows his stuff when it comes to borders. Two play prominent roles here: the one between the U.S. and Mexico, specifically at Tijuana, and the so-called Triple Border, a no-man's land where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay meet.
The novel uses two protagonists, and throughout the book the chapters alternate from two points of view. One is Valentine Pescatore, a U.S. Border Patrol agent who is young, impetuous, and just barely on...more
The novel uses two protagonists, and throughout the book the chapters alternate from two points of view. One is Valentine Pescatore, a U.S. Border Patrol agent who is young, impetuous, and just barely on...more
This novel tells the story about the pursuit of justice by law enforcement on both sides of the U.S. and the Mexican border. It explores and dramatizes the violence and corruption in the drug trade and the human smuggling while at the same time honoring the honest Border Patrol agents on both sides who resist the cartels and often pay a heavy price.
This fast paced thriller has two heroes: working the trenches between San Diego and Tijuana is Valentine Pascatore, a no-nonsense Border Patrol agen...more
This fast paced thriller has two heroes: working the trenches between San Diego and Tijuana is Valentine Pascatore, a no-nonsense Border Patrol agen...more
This was an interesting story about a Border Patrol agent that finds himself on the wrong side of the law, embedded with the death squad of a ruthless Tijuana drug cartel. Shortly after being recruited as an informant detailing the activities of a suspicious Border Patrol agent, Agent Pescatore was involved in an unfortunate series of events that took him from Mexico to South America as his crew attempted to evade a multi-national group of agents that are hunting them down. There were several tw...more
I had a little trouble getting started, but then really liked the book. Valentine Pescatore is a US border control agent out of San Deigo. He chases a Mexican smugler into Mexico, and is recruited by Isabel Puente as a spy on his boss. He falls in love with Isabel, who is working with Leo Mendez, a Tijuana policeman heading up the Diogenes group, working against corruption in the police. Pescatore manages to get himself into the hideout of Junior Ruiz Caballo, the head of a huge smuggling, mafia...more
An organized crime thriller told from two sides of the border. On one side, a US border agent gets deep into illegal activity as a mole for a beautiful woman. On the other, a Mexican policeman fights through the swamp of corruption to bring down a drug lord. Pretty melodramatic stuff. But the author is a journalist, and the entire story is well seasoned with new and interesting information about life in border cities: first San Diego and Tijuana, and later Quito and Argentina and Mexico, the "Tr...more
This book has taken me forever truly to read. I had quite a bit of difficulty following along and getting through especially the first part of the book. The boarder patrol agent gets caught up in an undercover operation against a cartel and a little twist of romance in there. Like I said I had a difficult time reading this I don't know if its because of the way the author wrote or I just could not get into this book. I appreciate the chance to read and review even though it was not my most favor...more
Sebastian Rotella's debut covers much of the same ground as 2005's "Power of the Dog," but with more journalistic authority and less story-telling power. Rotella is reporting truth here, not just telling a tale, but the momentum bogs down a bit in details that are provided in narrative descriptions outside of the flow of the action. Most of the English-speaking world is sadly cut off from Latin America more effectively by the deep moat of language than by any fence we could erect, so Rotella's b...more
As a journalist, Rotella tells it the way it is, straight talk, all facts about life south of the border. A Pulitzer finalist, he found many stories he could never fully substantiate, tales all fascinating but unprintable for a newspaper. Taking all these fables, gossip, innuendo, and rumors, he works them into a border story the likes of which you have never read and treats us to his debut novel.
Valentine Pescatore, a wannabe street punk from Chicago is given one last chance to straighten up hi...more
Valentine Pescatore, a wannabe street punk from Chicago is given one last chance to straighten up hi...more
A very good Ludlum-esque novel. As another reviewer commented, this is a book that makes me want to read more books - about the border, about Mexico, about South America, and about drug cartels. I will also keep an eye out for any future books by Sebastian Rotella.
(Note: I received a free advance reading copy of this book from the publisher at an American Library Association Annual Conference. I was not required to write a positive review. Thank you, Mulholland Books and Little, Brown!)
(Note: I received a free advance reading copy of this book from the publisher at an American Library Association Annual Conference. I was not required to write a positive review. Thank you, Mulholland Books and Little, Brown!)
Valentin Pescatore is a rookie Border Patrol agent trying to survive along
the San Diego border. He gets himself in trouble and is recruited by a US agent
named Isabel Puente who is investigating a powerful Mexican crime family. He
finds himself in the triple border region of South America and a showdown full of
bloodshed and betrayal. This is a first book and the writing needs a little
improvement. Given a little time I think we will have a new thriller writer here.
the San Diego border. He gets himself in trouble and is recruited by a US agent
named Isabel Puente who is investigating a powerful Mexican crime family. He
finds himself in the triple border region of South America and a showdown full of
bloodshed and betrayal. This is a first book and the writing needs a little
improvement. Given a little time I think we will have a new thriller writer here.
Jun 04, 2012
Autumn
added it
Triple Crossing was confusing. Maybe if I read it in print form, with some highlighters and post-its I could have had a better time with it. It started off fine, but I was listening to the audiobook and I had trouble keeping all the characters straight and who they were and how they fit into the story. The reader made everyone sound like Pedro from Napoleon Dynamite, even the main character who was supposed to be an Argentinian Italian from Chicago, yes he was Spanish speaking with a funny accen...more
This book got recognition as best debut, best crime, mention in NYT, etc. Worthy of that. This guy was a journalist who covered border stuff for years and years. It's packed with realistic information and has high tension, well developed characters, realistic turns against odds. Very impressive job. It's about the Mexican border, drug wars, an undercover border agent.
Initially, I did not think this book would pass the 100 page test. I did not get a good impression from the first chapter, and indeed, I didn't really see anything to change my mind for the next few chapters. However, I completed the book without even realizing I intended to give up on it. So I guess this book gets better as it goes on.
I like books about drug trafficking and found this one horrifying in that because the author is also a journalist that much of what he wrote is most likely true. I knew nothing about the SA connection and found that fascinating. You really wonder whether any of these problems will ever be solved. This a page turner--you want to keep reading.
This was a difficult read for me as it is liberally sprinkled with untranslated Spanish words that are unfamiliar to me and I know little about the slang associated with drug trafficking which also plays a prominent role in the book. That aside I did learn about some of the problems of the Border Patrol with drugs and illegal aliens and how different Border Control agents deal with the problems.
This is not the kind of book I usually read. That said, I liked it. There is suspense, there is movement, and I was kept guessing. Interesting sub-plots, the politics of crime are really well told. I felt sometimes like there were a million henchmen and I got bored trying to keep them distinguished in my mind. Outside of this, the story moved along at a good clip and it was good.
The hero is a border patrol agent who then gets mixed up with narco terrorists in mexico. A fun book to read. Many of the characters seem to switch sides and have questionable loyalty. I will be looking up other books this author has written.
A wonderful debut from the LA Times/ProPublica journalist Sebastian Rotella. This fiction novel reads much like his non-fiction work Twilight on the Line...perhaps this is why I liked it so much.
An exciting, well written story of an American Border Patrol officer who, through a sequence of events gains entry into the major Tijuana drug cartel and beyond. I couldn’t put it down.
Won this book on Library Thing and I've found a new author to appreciate. This book held special interest for me because it details some of the violence/corruption at play in Mexico and Latin America - specifically with regard to the drug trade. Scary stuff. But this was a good read, with characters that felt real (with the exception of the female character Puente). Recommended.
Fast paced look at corruption at the border, and an eye- opening view of how far it extends, who is affected, and how it works.
A fast, exciting read about the narco trade south of the border written by a journalist who has covered the area.
Well written and exciting. Scary insights into the Border, Mexico politics, South American crime, US complicity.
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