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Valentine Pescatore #1
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, chief of a Tijuana anti-corruption unit. Politically charged violence escalates, plunging Pescatore into the lawless "triple border" region of South America and a showdown full of bloodshed and betrayal.
Writing with rapid-fire intensity, Sebastian Rotella captures the despair and intrigue of the borderlands, where enforcing the law has become an act of subversion. Triple Crossing is an explosive and riveting debut.
As he infiltrates the mafia, Pescatore falls in love with Puente. But he clashes with her ally Leo Mendez, chief of a Tijuana anti-corruption unit. Politically charged violence escalates, plunging Pescatore into the lawless "triple border" region of South America and a showdown full of bloodshed and betrayal.
Writing with rapid-fire intensity, Sebastian Rotella captures the despair and intrigue of the borderlands, where enforcing the law has become an act of subversion. Triple Crossing is an explosive and riveting debut.
417 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2011
24 people are currently reading
466 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
December 31, 2011
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 politics, law enforcement, and the powerful, violent groups of many nationalities that control smuggling operations. Loyalties are always changing on both sides of the border, and treachery is the rule.
Valentine Pescatore is a young Border Patrol agent who has gotten himself into a heap of trouble on the job. As an alternative to criminal charges, he agrees to go undercover in Mexico for a U.S. investigative agency. But once ensconced, he seems to be playing for the wrong team. Has he gone renegade? And how the heck does he end up way down in South America, where things are even messier than in Tijuana?
The end of the story may leave you still unsure who is sincere and who is a scumbag, which is probably an accurate reflection of life in that milieu. In that sense, the book's title could have a double (or triple?) meaning.
Sebastian Rotella's journalistic excellence is evident throughout. His need to inform is sometimes detrimental to plot pacing, but adds a welcome realism to the events.
This one should appeal to a good variety of readers in the genre. It has enough testosterone to keep the gents happy, but not enough blood and guts to scare away us dames.
August 22, 2011
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. More than anything, I want to know more about the families and people who populate the bordertowns and riversides of Sebastian Rotella's story.
On one level, "Triple Crossing" is a very competent thriller. It has bad guys that you want to hate, in the form of drug dealers and crooked cops who do inhuman things to anyone they see as a threat–that is to say, essentially, everyone else. On the other side are the good guys: strong-minded individuals who want to bring the wicked to justice, real justice that disarms them, confronts them with their crimes, and punishes them to the limit of the law. One of these protagonists is a former professor who has named his crime unit the Diogenes group and refers to his two top officers as Athos and Porthos. What's not to like in an intellectual, literature-quoting hero?
"Triple Crossing" also has a thick plot that is rife with undercover agents, ambushes, gunfights, surveillance, international crime syndicates, and a few showdowns between good and evil–both those that involve honor and saving face, and those that come down to shooting first. The story moves fast, and the more that is revealed, the more exciting the read becomes. I burned through this book without noticing the pages or the time.
An excellent thriller this is; it is also a window that looks out onto parts of the world that are easily missed if you do not live in them yourself. Any literate person knows that crime is out there in the world, and that some places are subject to it more than others; what I, myself, was not aware of is the extent of this crime in some parts of the world. Nor did I have any inkling what it is like to be a workaday individual living in the middle of criminal activities that are as normal as fast-food in the States. I still have little-to-no understanding of these parts of the world or the people who live in them; but after digesting the glimpses into these lives that Rotella provides in his story–that, I must add, he weaves into his narrative with seamless talent, enriching the context of his novel without resorting to a didactic tone or the popular sin of info-dumping–I understand how little I understand, and I am determined to know more than I do now.
Without actually coming out and saying it, Rotella suggests that there is much more to the story than the story told here; and that for the millions who look out at life in the twenty-first century and see a civilization that is compassionate and progressive, tens of millions more sweat and bleed for this vision without bearing witness to it themselves. Were I to meet Rotella, I would affirm that he has, indeed, fulfilled the mission of his novel as he outlines it in his Author's Note, and that he has described many curious and remarkable truths.
"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. More than anything, I want to know more about the families and people who populate the bordertowns and riversides of Sebastian Rotella's story.
On one level, "Triple Crossing" is a very competent thriller. It has bad guys that you want to hate, in the form of drug dealers and crooked cops who do inhuman things to anyone they see as a threat–that is to say, essentially, everyone else. On the other side are the good guys: strong-minded individuals who want to bring the wicked to justice, real justice that disarms them, confronts them with their crimes, and punishes them to the limit of the law. One of these protagonists is a former professor who has named his crime unit the Diogenes group and refers to his two top officers as Athos and Porthos. What's not to like in an intellectual, literature-quoting hero?
"Triple Crossing" also has a thick plot that is rife with undercover agents, ambushes, gunfights, surveillance, international crime syndicates, and a few showdowns between good and evil–both those that involve honor and saving face, and those that come down to shooting first. The story moves fast, and the more that is revealed, the more exciting the read becomes. I burned through this book without noticing the pages or the time.
An excellent thriller this is; it is also a window that looks out onto parts of the world that are easily missed if you do not live in them yourself. Any literate person knows that crime is out there in the world, and that some places are subject to it more than others; what I, myself, was not aware of is the extent of this crime in some parts of the world. Nor did I have any inkling what it is like to be a workaday individual living in the middle of criminal activities that are as normal as fast-food in the States. I still have little-to-no understanding of these parts of the world or the people who live in them; but after digesting the glimpses into these lives that Rotella provides in his story–that, I must add, he weaves into his narrative with seamless talent, enriching the context of his novel without resorting to a didactic tone or the popular sin of info-dumping–I understand how little I understand, and I am determined to know more than I do now.
Without actually coming out and saying it, Rotella suggests that there is much more to the story than the story told here; and that for the millions who look out at life in the twenty-first century and see a civilization that is compassionate and progressive, tens of millions more sweat and bleed for this vision without bearing witness to it themselves. Were I to meet Rotella, I would affirm that he has, indeed, fulfilled the mission of his novel as he outlines it in his Author's Note, and that he has described many curious and remarkable truths.
September 28, 2011
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 many other agents, Valentine bridles at the callous, macho attitude of his direct supervisor. Unsure of himself and trying to fit in, Valentine will party with the man and follow his orders, but he's still uncomfortable about the situation in which he finds himself.
Leo Mendez, a former journalist, has been appointed head of a special Mexican task force, known as the Diogenes Group, and has been charged with the seemingly impossible task of rooting out corruption within the Mexican police. Isabel Puente is a U.S. federal agent who joins forces with Mendez in an effort to bring down a powerful Mexican family that has strong ties both to the government and to the Mexican criminal network.
When Pescatore illegally chases an immigrant back across the border into Mexico, he falls into the clutches of Puente who gives him a stark choice: he can either be punished and perhaps jailed for crossing the border in violation of the law, or he can join her team as an undercover agent.
Pescatore takes door number two, in part because he is strongly attracted to Puente. A reader knows that in any normal thriller, things will immediately go terribly wrong and poor Valentine will find himself in deep, deep trouble. But this is no ordinary thriller. The author, Sebastian Rotella, is an award-winning reporter and a Pulitzer finalist who has covered the U.S.-Mexican border for over twenty years. He is the author of a previous, non-fiction book, Twilight on the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border, and he obviously knows the territory. This book has the ring of truth, and given the setup, the reader knows that Valentine's troubles are going to be way beyond those of the normal thriller's protagonist.
When things do go sideways, Pescatore finds himself alone in South America's infamous Triple Border, a lawless no-man's land of smugglers and violent criminals. The bad guys don't completely trust him; his own people think he's gone over to the other side, and the prospect of any sort of justice--for Valentine or for anyone else--seems as remote as the Triple Border itself.
This book makes an excellent companion piece to Don Winslow's excellent book, The Power of the Dog. It's not quite on a par with Winslow's book but it's close, and anyone who enjoyed The Power of the Dog and anyone interested in the situation along the nation's border with Mexico should find it an enormously worthwhile and enjoyable read.
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 many other agents, Valentine bridles at the callous, macho attitude of his direct supervisor. Unsure of himself and trying to fit in, Valentine will party with the man and follow his orders, but he's still uncomfortable about the situation in which he finds himself.
Leo Mendez, a former journalist, has been appointed head of a special Mexican task force, known as the Diogenes Group, and has been charged with the seemingly impossible task of rooting out corruption within the Mexican police. Isabel Puente is a U.S. federal agent who joins forces with Mendez in an effort to bring down a powerful Mexican family that has strong ties both to the government and to the Mexican criminal network.
When Pescatore illegally chases an immigrant back across the border into Mexico, he falls into the clutches of Puente who gives him a stark choice: he can either be punished and perhaps jailed for crossing the border in violation of the law, or he can join her team as an undercover agent.
Pescatore takes door number two, in part because he is strongly attracted to Puente. A reader knows that in any normal thriller, things will immediately go terribly wrong and poor Valentine will find himself in deep, deep trouble. But this is no ordinary thriller. The author, Sebastian Rotella, is an award-winning reporter and a Pulitzer finalist who has covered the U.S.-Mexican border for over twenty years. He is the author of a previous, non-fiction book, Twilight on the Line: Underworlds and Politics at the U.S.-Mexico Border, and he obviously knows the territory. This book has the ring of truth, and given the setup, the reader knows that Valentine's troubles are going to be way beyond those of the normal thriller's protagonist.
When things do go sideways, Pescatore finds himself alone in South America's infamous Triple Border, a lawless no-man's land of smugglers and violent criminals. The bad guys don't completely trust him; his own people think he's gone over to the other side, and the prospect of any sort of justice--for Valentine or for anyone else--seems as remote as the Triple Border itself.
This book makes an excellent companion piece to Don Winslow's excellent book, The Power of the Dog. It's not quite on a par with Winslow's book but it's close, and anyone who enjoyed The Power of the Dog and anyone interested in the situation along the nation's border with Mexico should find it an enormously worthwhile and enjoyable read.
March 5, 2018
T.J. Parker and Don Wilson, among others, have visited this territory. Sadly, the American government and the American public continues to make gigantic amounts of money on the backs of poor Mexicans----with the collusion of rich and powerful Mexicans.
We seldom take note of how we know the names of Cartels and their leaders in Columbia, Mexico and other foreign countries, but are unaware of any Congressional or business leaders in America whose fortunes come from the drug and slave trade. America declares itself to be anti-drug, yet it is the money center of the world drug trade. We buy the stuff. The phony crap about innocent people getting hooked on opioids and them overdosing is nonsense invented to make money for 'treatment' centers and to draw attention from the real purveyors of narcotics. And this has nothing to do with the action of "Triple Crossing" and everything to do with its reality.
Valentine Pescatore, formerly of Chicago, has joined the Border Patrol. After a few misadventures, he gets ensconced with a Mexican gang while undercover as a government agent. Dangerous guys with guns threaten him, but the real danger comes from the cross-border government dealing which so easily could expose him. One thing follows another while the action moves to the heart of South America where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay share a triple point border. More action ensues. Altogether an insightful and suspenseful story.
Recommended.
We seldom take note of how we know the names of Cartels and their leaders in Columbia, Mexico and other foreign countries, but are unaware of any Congressional or business leaders in America whose fortunes come from the drug and slave trade. America declares itself to be anti-drug, yet it is the money center of the world drug trade. We buy the stuff. The phony crap about innocent people getting hooked on opioids and them overdosing is nonsense invented to make money for 'treatment' centers and to draw attention from the real purveyors of narcotics. And this has nothing to do with the action of "Triple Crossing" and everything to do with its reality.
Valentine Pescatore, formerly of Chicago, has joined the Border Patrol. After a few misadventures, he gets ensconced with a Mexican gang while undercover as a government agent. Dangerous guys with guns threaten him, but the real danger comes from the cross-border government dealing which so easily could expose him. One thing follows another while the action moves to the heart of South America where Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay share a triple point border. More action ensues. Altogether an insightful and suspenseful story.
Recommended.
March 21, 2012
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 the side of the law. The second is Mendez, a stoic, noble ex-journalist who has been tapped to head a government organization that looks into Mexican police corruption.
The two men are on the same side, but have a mutual distrust of each other. "Mendez had a visceral nationalistic aversion to Border Patrol agents. Although he did not work with The Patrol, from a distance they reminded him of a species he had come to loathe during his year among the gray skies and gray buildings of the University of Michigan: fraternity boys. They had struck him as crude, swaggering, well-off rednecks with a clannish mentality that reeked of racism and fascism."
Indeed, Rotella doesn't paint the Border Patrol with a very complimentary brush. In the opening chapter, Pescatore impulsively chases a suspect over the fence and into Tijuana, a definite no-no. To avoid charges, he works with a beautiful agent, Isabel Puente, who has him go undercover to bust a crooked agent named Garrison. Pescatore falls in love with Puente, and in a weak spot in the book she succumbs to his cowboy charms.
Mendez is looking to bring down a drug lord called Junior, who is the nephew of a senator, and is practically untouchable. Through a series of misadventures, Pescatore ends up in deep cover with Junior's gang, vouched for by a menacing but compassionate henchman called Buffalo. They all end up at the Triple Border, which Rotello describes thusly: "Pescatore saw signs in Portugese, Spanish, English, Asian languages, a warning about product piracy, a shingle that said ALI BABA AND CO. Women in Muslim veils passed a man arranging pornography on a rack. A contingent of shaven-headed Asian monks went by. They wore sandals and billowing brown robes; they seemed to float through the melee of buying and selling, loading and unloading, everyone jabbering into cell phones and radios."
Rotella's knowledge of the subject helps make up for the lack of storytelling. At a certain point I became weary of the usual depictions of drug kingpins and their minions, and Mendez, while an admirable character, seems a bit too good to be true. Occasionally, though, Rotella dazzles with bits of prose that seem out of left field: "The pianist was a senior citizen with a somewhat mildewed dignity. His backswept gray hair aspired to a Beethoven-like mane; he shook it occasionally for emphasis. His three-piece suit had a velvety sheen and looked no younger than him."
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 the side of the law. The second is Mendez, a stoic, noble ex-journalist who has been tapped to head a government organization that looks into Mexican police corruption.
The two men are on the same side, but have a mutual distrust of each other. "Mendez had a visceral nationalistic aversion to Border Patrol agents. Although he did not work with The Patrol, from a distance they reminded him of a species he had come to loathe during his year among the gray skies and gray buildings of the University of Michigan: fraternity boys. They had struck him as crude, swaggering, well-off rednecks with a clannish mentality that reeked of racism and fascism."
Indeed, Rotella doesn't paint the Border Patrol with a very complimentary brush. In the opening chapter, Pescatore impulsively chases a suspect over the fence and into Tijuana, a definite no-no. To avoid charges, he works with a beautiful agent, Isabel Puente, who has him go undercover to bust a crooked agent named Garrison. Pescatore falls in love with Puente, and in a weak spot in the book she succumbs to his cowboy charms.
Mendez is looking to bring down a drug lord called Junior, who is the nephew of a senator, and is practically untouchable. Through a series of misadventures, Pescatore ends up in deep cover with Junior's gang, vouched for by a menacing but compassionate henchman called Buffalo. They all end up at the Triple Border, which Rotello describes thusly: "Pescatore saw signs in Portugese, Spanish, English, Asian languages, a warning about product piracy, a shingle that said ALI BABA AND CO. Women in Muslim veils passed a man arranging pornography on a rack. A contingent of shaven-headed Asian monks went by. They wore sandals and billowing brown robes; they seemed to float through the melee of buying and selling, loading and unloading, everyone jabbering into cell phones and radios."
Rotella's knowledge of the subject helps make up for the lack of storytelling. At a certain point I became weary of the usual depictions of drug kingpins and their minions, and Mendez, while an admirable character, seems a bit too good to be true. Occasionally, though, Rotella dazzles with bits of prose that seem out of left field: "The pianist was a senior citizen with a somewhat mildewed dignity. His backswept gray hair aspired to a Beethoven-like mane; he shook it occasionally for emphasis. His three-piece suit had a velvety sheen and looked no younger than him."
August 12, 2011
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 Valentine Pescatore from the US/Mexican border near San Diego to the Triple Border area. Rotella paints a vivid picture of the realities of both border regions where political corruption and organized crime intermingle to form this lawless landscape. Violence is a daily occurrence. Mexicans are no longer the only migrants trying to cross into the United States. South and Central Americans along with Asians are also crossing illegally. They are known as OTMs...Other Than Mexicans. The organized crime element in the form of global mafias are moving migrants across borders in all regions that have uncontrolled borders. The book focused on middle eastern mafioso in the Triple Border region.
This was a really interesting book besides being an excellent crime thriller. I haven't been in Tijuana since the mid 1970s and all I remember was extreme poverty, shacks made of cardboard and children trying to sell us paper flowers in the street. I remember giving my Canadian flag pin to one of the young boys who asked for it.
Highly recommend this informative and thought provoking crime thriller.
The story follows Border Patrol rookie Valentine Pescatore from the US/Mexican border near San Diego to the Triple Border area. Rotella paints a vivid picture of the realities of both border regions where political corruption and organized crime intermingle to form this lawless landscape. Violence is a daily occurrence. Mexicans are no longer the only migrants trying to cross into the United States. South and Central Americans along with Asians are also crossing illegally. They are known as OTMs...Other Than Mexicans. The organized crime element in the form of global mafias are moving migrants across borders in all regions that have uncontrolled borders. The book focused on middle eastern mafioso in the Triple Border region.
This was a really interesting book besides being an excellent crime thriller. I haven't been in Tijuana since the mid 1970s and all I remember was extreme poverty, shacks made of cardboard and children trying to sell us paper flowers in the street. I remember giving my Canadian flag pin to one of the young boys who asked for it.
Highly recommend this informative and thought provoking crime thriller.
July 10, 2011
I really enjoyed reading this book. I was supprised at how great it actually was. I highly reccomend this book, I was pulled into the story from the very first page of the book. I got this book from a goodreads give away. This book made me laugh, laugh harder, and had me rutting for the charactors in this book.
February 18, 2012
A great story. This author is able to take authentic places, circumstances, dialects, and archetypal characters and blend them into a plausible, and exciting, story.
June 1, 2017
Intricate plot highlighting the corruption and danger of drug trafficking and criminal activity between Mexico, the U.S. and South America. Well paced with many likable characters.
June 2, 2017
An interesting debut novel, focussing on smuggling, border crossings and the political interplay involved
October 15, 2019
One of the 3 best first mysteries I read in 2011.
January 3, 2020
Not bad... Not good neither remarkable 😅🤷🏽
July 22, 2015
Wow. What a great story. This is one of the best suspense novels I've read in a long time. I tend to avoid male authors because I like sex and romance and happy endings and their books usually don't deliver. Triple Crossing only has a touch of romance, but it's enough. I found the relationship dynamic refreshingly free of the alpha-male sexism that sometimes runs rampant in romance, though the hero is strong and brash and plenty macho.
Valentine Pescatore is a young border patrol agent from Chicago. He's mixed Italian/Argentinian/Mexican and seems to identify more with the Italian side, though he speaks Spanish. His boss is dirty and Valentine isn't in the position to protest. He gets assaulted by a smuggler and gives chase across the line, into TJ. This is grounds for termination, but he ends up with a job offer instead. Federal agent Isabel Fuente asks him to be an informant, collecting info on his boss.
Valentine enjoys undercover work and seems to relish the excitement of criminal activity. He sort of rides the line between cop and criminal. A series of harrowing events brings him to a safehouse in TJ under the care of a major cartel member. He's cut off from Isabel, his handler. US and Mexican authorities believe he killed a CHP officer on his way across the border. He's in deep trouble.
There is a dual storyline with a character named Licenciado Mendez, who investigates corruption in Mexican law enforcement. Isabel is his friend and colleague, working for some kind of Internal Affairs dept. in the US (I think). This is a fairly complicated setup if you don't know much about government agencies, politics or border issues. It takes careful reading, and there's a lot of Spanish dialogue and cultural nuances. I loved all of this. Whenever I recognized a setting detail (in SD or TJ) or a slang word, I felt like a border insider.
Favorite line: When in Rome, ponte cabron. Ha!
The action never lets up as Valentine slips deeper into his assignment and travels to South America's Triple Border with the cartel. Isabel and Mendez don't know if Valentine has betrayed them or will betray them. The tension builds to a chilling climax. I thought everyone was going to die a horrible death. The HEA lover in me was pleasantly surprised by the resolution but not 100% satisfied. I wanted more of a romantic reunion.
I'm also disappointed by the details of the next book. I loved this one, loved Valentine & Isabel. I believed the couple would go the distance and I just can't with the sequel. But I still <3 Valentine. 4.5
Valentine Pescatore is a young border patrol agent from Chicago. He's mixed Italian/Argentinian/Mexican and seems to identify more with the Italian side, though he speaks Spanish. His boss is dirty and Valentine isn't in the position to protest. He gets assaulted by a smuggler and gives chase across the line, into TJ. This is grounds for termination, but he ends up with a job offer instead. Federal agent Isabel Fuente asks him to be an informant, collecting info on his boss.
Valentine enjoys undercover work and seems to relish the excitement of criminal activity. He sort of rides the line between cop and criminal. A series of harrowing events brings him to a safehouse in TJ under the care of a major cartel member. He's cut off from Isabel, his handler. US and Mexican authorities believe he killed a CHP officer on his way across the border. He's in deep trouble.
There is a dual storyline with a character named Licenciado Mendez, who investigates corruption in Mexican law enforcement. Isabel is his friend and colleague, working for some kind of Internal Affairs dept. in the US (I think). This is a fairly complicated setup if you don't know much about government agencies, politics or border issues. It takes careful reading, and there's a lot of Spanish dialogue and cultural nuances. I loved all of this. Whenever I recognized a setting detail (in SD or TJ) or a slang word, I felt like a border insider.
Favorite line: When in Rome, ponte cabron. Ha!
The action never lets up as Valentine slips deeper into his assignment and travels to South America's Triple Border with the cartel. Isabel and Mendez don't know if Valentine has betrayed them or will betray them. The tension builds to a chilling climax. I thought everyone was going to die a horrible death. The HEA lover in me was pleasantly surprised by the resolution but not 100% satisfied. I wanted more of a romantic reunion.
I'm also disappointed by the details of the next book. I loved this one, loved Valentine & Isabel. I believed the couple would go the distance and I just can't with the sequel. But I still <3 Valentine. 4.5
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2015
I like the way the story is told, how he finishes each chapter with that dose of secrecy so you don't know what happened with the character until you continue reading the next chapter and the next chapter is focused on some other character. Like the author's playing mind games with readers. But it keeps the story interesting and spicy.
I love spies, undercover agents and their stories. Valentin Pescatore was born to be an undercover agent. Eventhough he wasn't trained for one it came to him as natural as breething.
The only thing about him that bothers me is his age. He's in his mid twenties and such a good cop. I think the author should have given him more years it would give him even more credibility.
I even like the little romance between Valentin and Isabel his contact agent.
I like the Diogenes group, Licenciado Mendéz, Athos and Porthos. Fighting when everyone has given up.
It seems to me that the author reflects himself mostly trough philosophy and thinking of licenciado Mendéz.
It's obvious the author knows the political 'terrain' he's writing about. Must say that it very much shows that all the politicians are liars and crooks. And the few of the brave ones who want to really fight for justice are constantly supressed by the political intrigues.
Although it seems that bad guys keep rising one after another, in this story they are beaten broken and defeated.
Good guys won and it should be that way.
I love spies, undercover agents and their stories. Valentin Pescatore was born to be an undercover agent. Eventhough he wasn't trained for one it came to him as natural as breething.
The only thing about him that bothers me is his age. He's in his mid twenties and such a good cop. I think the author should have given him more years it would give him even more credibility.
You are not stuped but present-oriented. Reacting purely to the moment. Your life is like this. Always a double agent.
I even like the little romance between Valentin and Isabel his contact agent.
I like the Diogenes group, Licenciado Mendéz, Athos and Porthos. Fighting when everyone has given up.
Even if he couldn't catch Junior, he could hound him, haunt him, make his life miserable. Remember the count of Monte Cristo, Mendez told himself: don't underestimate the power of hate.
It seems to me that the author reflects himself mostly trough philosophy and thinking of licenciado Mendéz.
It's obvious the author knows the political 'terrain' he's writing about. Must say that it very much shows that all the politicians are liars and crooks. And the few of the brave ones who want to really fight for justice are constantly supressed by the political intrigues.
Although it seems that bad guys keep rising one after another, in this story they are beaten broken and defeated.
Good guys won and it should be that way.
May 10, 2012
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 his life and with the help of an uncle, has found his way to the Border Patrol. In his personal life he is a loose cannon; his supervisor’s a dirty cop and life is an alcohol-fueled thrill-a-minute. He receives a warning after he is suspected of chasing a cholo into Mexico, but finds himself given a reprieve if he rats out his supervisor.
Pescatore finds himself in a gunfight and ends up driving his wounded supervisor to the underworld bosses in Mexico, but once there can’t leave. He goes undercover, joining in the illegal activities and reaching out to agents in the US—when able—to let them know he is alive and working from deep inside the organization.
As the story progresses, we are introduced to the triple border, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the heart of all smuggling, where Arabs and Chinese mix into the flow and money of illegal activities as they move up through Central America hitting the border we are all more familiar with.
With his life in jeopardy, Pescatore does his best to keep the blurry lines between right and wrong straight as he works to keep his cover. Suspecting he is playing the double-agent game, his superiors make arrangements to setup the gangsters; everyone comes in guns blazing. The final scenes will drop your jaw in amazement.
Rotella treats us to a wild ride into unfamiliar territory with the ferocity that the cartels hand out on the streets of Mexico; brutal, punishing, and final.
Valentine Pescatore, a wannabe street punk from Chicago is given one last chance to straighten up his life and with the help of an uncle, has found his way to the Border Patrol. In his personal life he is a loose cannon; his supervisor’s a dirty cop and life is an alcohol-fueled thrill-a-minute. He receives a warning after he is suspected of chasing a cholo into Mexico, but finds himself given a reprieve if he rats out his supervisor.
Pescatore finds himself in a gunfight and ends up driving his wounded supervisor to the underworld bosses in Mexico, but once there can’t leave. He goes undercover, joining in the illegal activities and reaching out to agents in the US—when able—to let them know he is alive and working from deep inside the organization.
As the story progresses, we are introduced to the triple border, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay, the heart of all smuggling, where Arabs and Chinese mix into the flow and money of illegal activities as they move up through Central America hitting the border we are all more familiar with.
With his life in jeopardy, Pescatore does his best to keep the blurry lines between right and wrong straight as he works to keep his cover. Suspecting he is playing the double-agent game, his superiors make arrangements to setup the gangsters; everyone comes in guns blazing. The final scenes will drop your jaw in amazement.
Rotella treats us to a wild ride into unfamiliar territory with the ferocity that the cartels hand out on the streets of Mexico; brutal, punishing, and final.
November 15, 2012
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 agent of Mexican and Argentine descent. On the side is Leo Mendez, a reformist chief of an elite Mexican police unit known as the Diogenes Group. Most of the narrative alternates between these two protagonists, sometimes it is very tedious and a challenge to follow, some knowledge of Spanish would definitely have been an asset.
Pascatore takes great pride in his position as a border agent, a real pit-bull on the job with of soft side slipping at times as few dollars to illegals to tie them over till they are returned home. His aggressiveness attracts the attention of Isabel Puente, an agent with the U.S. Inspector General’s Office who wants to utilize him as an undercover agent to infiltrate the most powerful Mexican crime syndicate. Pascatore accepts the challenge and things goes well at first till one day a disastrous incident puts him on the run. Wrongly accused of murdering a police officer and not wanting to blow his cover he carries on with his assignment in the Triple Border area of South America, a no man’s land where any wrong move could be fatal.
The plot is intense with plenty of suspense and action while it follows the hair-raising life of a double agent trying to walk the fine line between good and evil. The emotions expressed by the main characters and the secondary ones are quite credible. Although the narrative passages are highly dynamic the fine details I was missing became overwhelming at times and maintaining focus was a challenge
This fast paced thriller has two heroes: working the trenches between San Diego and Tijuana is Valentine Pascatore, a no-nonsense Border Patrol agent of Mexican and Argentine descent. On the side is Leo Mendez, a reformist chief of an elite Mexican police unit known as the Diogenes Group. Most of the narrative alternates between these two protagonists, sometimes it is very tedious and a challenge to follow, some knowledge of Spanish would definitely have been an asset.
Pascatore takes great pride in his position as a border agent, a real pit-bull on the job with of soft side slipping at times as few dollars to illegals to tie them over till they are returned home. His aggressiveness attracts the attention of Isabel Puente, an agent with the U.S. Inspector General’s Office who wants to utilize him as an undercover agent to infiltrate the most powerful Mexican crime syndicate. Pascatore accepts the challenge and things goes well at first till one day a disastrous incident puts him on the run. Wrongly accused of murdering a police officer and not wanting to blow his cover he carries on with his assignment in the Triple Border area of South America, a no man’s land where any wrong move could be fatal.
The plot is intense with plenty of suspense and action while it follows the hair-raising life of a double agent trying to walk the fine line between good and evil. The emotions expressed by the main characters and the secondary ones are quite credible. Although the narrative passages are highly dynamic the fine details I was missing became overwhelming at times and maintaining focus was a challenge
July 8, 2013
Triple Crossing is a richly detailed, crackerjack novel about the intersection of organized crime, law enforcement, and political maneuvering on both sides of the California-Mexico border. Rotella seems to have distilled the fruits of more than two decades of reporting in the region into this fictionalized exploration of the activities of a well-connected and powerful Mexican organized crime family, whose activities include drug smuggling, illegal immigration, political corruption, and potentially, abetting terrorism. This criminal enterprise’s tentacles, we learn, extend all the way from Washington, D.C., to the “Triple Crossing” area in South America, an untamed borderland that connects Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
Arrayed against the criminals are American Border Patrol and Homeland Security officers and a few honest Mexican law enforcement officials. The latter group notably includes Leo Mendez, incorruptible head of the Diogenes Group, a Mexican law enforcement unit engaged in a quixotic effort to bring corrupt Mexican officials to justice. Mendez’s American counterpart, Isabel Puente, has recruited Valentine Pescatore, a young and rough around the edges Border Patrol officer, to secretly gather evidence against his bad-apple supervisor. Pescatore, the central character in this story, gets into increasingly perilous circumstances and ultimately reaches the point where it’s no longer clear which side he’s on.
Triple Crossing is a triple threat, as Rotella treats us to richly delineated characters, gripping twists and turns of plot, and a detailed account of the whole trans-continental criminal enterprise.
Arrayed against the criminals are American Border Patrol and Homeland Security officers and a few honest Mexican law enforcement officials. The latter group notably includes Leo Mendez, incorruptible head of the Diogenes Group, a Mexican law enforcement unit engaged in a quixotic effort to bring corrupt Mexican officials to justice. Mendez’s American counterpart, Isabel Puente, has recruited Valentine Pescatore, a young and rough around the edges Border Patrol officer, to secretly gather evidence against his bad-apple supervisor. Pescatore, the central character in this story, gets into increasingly perilous circumstances and ultimately reaches the point where it’s no longer clear which side he’s on.
Triple Crossing is a triple threat, as Rotella treats us to richly delineated characters, gripping twists and turns of plot, and a detailed account of the whole trans-continental criminal enterprise.
July 4, 2014
This is a fine effort for a new novelist who is actually an experienced international reporter. It's well written, with a pretty believable plot and a lot of action.
One thing that really improves the reading experience for me is when I learn something about an unfamiliar subject. I've lived in the Chicago area for nearly 25 years, which is quite far away from the border with Mexico, and am not as conversant about the issues related to border security and drug issues in that part of the country as I should be. Triple Crossing delivered a real education (assuming it's credible) on those subjects.
I liked the fact that the characters were developed throughout the book. The main character starts out as a neophyte border patrol agent and goes through an incredible journey while keeping his core values relatively intact. Other key players are introduced and, through their actions, are likewise developed and, by the end of the story, you feel like you know them all pretty well. The dialogue, which to me can make or break a book, was well-done. Although the corruption, crime and political issues presented were disgusting and for a while it seemed like they were all insoluble, the conclusion was quite satisfying.
The only issue I had with the book was with the writing style. As mentioned previously, I thought it was written pretty well, but it seemed rather choppy at times. It was always propulsive and did sort of match the pace of the action, but other writers (Robert Wilson, for example) have covered similar ground a little more smoothly. This isn't a big criticism, though, and I highly recommend this book.
One thing that really improves the reading experience for me is when I learn something about an unfamiliar subject. I've lived in the Chicago area for nearly 25 years, which is quite far away from the border with Mexico, and am not as conversant about the issues related to border security and drug issues in that part of the country as I should be. Triple Crossing delivered a real education (assuming it's credible) on those subjects.
I liked the fact that the characters were developed throughout the book. The main character starts out as a neophyte border patrol agent and goes through an incredible journey while keeping his core values relatively intact. Other key players are introduced and, through their actions, are likewise developed and, by the end of the story, you feel like you know them all pretty well. The dialogue, which to me can make or break a book, was well-done. Although the corruption, crime and political issues presented were disgusting and for a while it seemed like they were all insoluble, the conclusion was quite satisfying.
The only issue I had with the book was with the writing style. As mentioned previously, I thought it was written pretty well, but it seemed rather choppy at times. It was always propulsive and did sort of match the pace of the action, but other writers (Robert Wilson, for example) have covered similar ground a little more smoothly. This isn't a big criticism, though, and I highly recommend this book.
December 17, 2011
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 a safe distant, but such a distance that it is difficult to get close to the characters. There is a remove between observer and character that affects the read.
The characters, while for the most part, well realized occasionally make decisions to further the plot, rather than feeling they come straight from the character.
Overall, a strong first novel and definitely an author to keep your eye on.
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 a safe distant, but such a distance that it is difficult to get close to the characters. There is a remove between observer and character that affects the read.
The characters, while for the most part, well realized occasionally make decisions to further the plot, rather than feeling they come straight from the character.
Overall, a strong first novel and definitely an author to keep your eye on.
December 14, 2011
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 international ties. The action becomes a bit melodramatic, yet it is clear that one path of action could never satisfy the wishes and desires of governmental agencies representing so many different nations.
The novel is largely set on the San Diego/Tijuana Border, and The Triple Border which is on the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
This is an excellent read, and a great first novel. And, would make an excellent film.
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 international ties. The action becomes a bit melodramatic, yet it is clear that one path of action could never satisfy the wishes and desires of governmental agencies representing so many different nations.
The novel is largely set on the San Diego/Tijuana Border, and The Triple Border which is on the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
This is an excellent read, and a great first novel. And, would make an excellent film.
February 11, 2013
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 twists in the story that made me question where Pescatore's loyalties really laid, but ultimately he is redeemed. That being said, I would have liked more resolution to his relationship with Isabel Puente.
I would have given this 5 stars except for the personal reason that I found some sections of this novel harder to get through than others. Overall, it was an interesting story.
I would have given this 5 stars except for the personal reason that I found some sections of this novel harder to get through than others. Overall, it was an interesting story.
November 27, 2011
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 "Triple Crossing" of the title. The characters are reasonably well-drawn, the outcomes in doubt. A solid (but not transcendent) thriller.
May 21, 2012
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=type group. Soon he is in South American, and things look very bad. There are a few surprise twists in the plot, and a lot of action and politics.
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June 4, 2012Triple 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 accent, but I didn't think he sounded like Speedy Gonzales. Anyway, so that was my gripe with that book.
March 14, 2014
Gripping, complex, fast-moving. The characters are skillfully drawn and the main characters change gratifyingly. Most of the novel takes place in exotic locales, but to Rotella's credit, the locales serve the plot and neither take over nor lead readers in unnecessary ramblings.
Rotella's context of the corrupt Mexican government is expected, as is the routine corruption of the border service. But he ominously hints at dark levels of cynical intelligence agencies and political interference play on the current political tenor.
All in all, I strongly recommend this book to lovers of good writing and genres of mysteries and international thrillers. It's fine fiction.
Rotella's context of the corrupt Mexican government is expected, as is the routine corruption of the border service. But he ominously hints at dark levels of cynical intelligence agencies and political interference play on the current political tenor.
All in all, I strongly recommend this book to lovers of good writing and genres of mysteries and international thrillers. It's fine fiction.
October 27, 2011
Border Patrol agent Valentine Pescatore works the San Diego- Tijuana Line. He understands the rules, but cannot help feeling for some of the women and children caught in the righteous political anti-illegal immigration fever. In fact he has given money to some of those he arrested. Sebastian Rotella pulls no punches in this dark look at working undercover amongst extremely dangerous people. The story line is action-packed while containing a strong cast and not just the three above as for instance Mexican official Mendez diligently works anti-corruption in Tijuana.
March 12, 2012
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 favorite read.
August 21, 2013
This fast-paced thriller will make insinuations about crime and corruption on the southern border that you will not soon forget! Triple Crossing is in some ways analogous to The Wire in the way that it dramatizes the less than clear-cut interactions between criminal and law enforcement organizations. You’re left feeling that you may have a better understanding of both, but that you’ve also lost a little bit of faith in the idea that law and order will prevail, or that it really even existed at all in the first place!
August 31, 2011
This was a free read,advance proof,from Librarything.I really enjoyed this book.Had I looked at this book in the library,or on Amazon,I know I would not have chosen it for one of my reads.That being said,it does read like a "man's read",border patrol,U.S.Agents,Mexican crime familes, South America,smuggling and corruption. Once I got started,I stayed with it,I liked the main characters and the story of border patrols was intriguing.I wil pass this one on to my male cousin,who loves to read.
September 21, 2011
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.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews