Red Queen: A Novel (Antonia Scott, 1)
"Pacing of the breakneck variety. Short chapters, funny asides, lethally potent descriptions: They all contribute to a frenetic page-turning momentum… you’ll have great fun reading it." —The New York Times Book Review
The #1 International bestseller is now a top ten streaming series on Prime Video—read the captivating thriller that has taken the world by storm.
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.
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Community Reviews
I don't have a problem with morally ambiguous characters. However I wouldn't say Antonia was a product of her own making. She was selected and then forcible traumatized and made dependent on an off market drug by these people. The way in which she lives now as this ghost of society is down to the puppet masters who hired her to do these unusual cases.
So, yeah. Red Queen left me feeling disappointed ☹️. Antonia never fully has autonomy over her body or life thanks to Mentor (whateven is a name like that🙄🙄) and her father who's a British ambassador and treats her like an out of control toddler that needs a "strong hand" in order to live her life.
I wanted so much more from this story. I think the "twist" with Ezekiel's character was nice. Beyond that, I wouldn't say the author's portrayal of female characters was creative or unique.
And if the other books in the series cover the character's motivations, I would be interested in checking them out. It won't stop me from thinking whatever that rabbit hole leads to will still end up being the Red Queen program's fault in the long run. Maybe another project subject gone wrong?
Idk.
They only true friend in Antonia's corner was Jon.
And on page one I was introduced to one of the most fascinating characters I have seen either in print or film in Antonia Scott. Scott is probably the world's smartest human being with the highest IQ. She has self banished herself for life to her apartment and in order to keep her sanity she has a daily three minute mediation on suicide. We are introduced to her mediating on how fast her body will reach before hitting the concrete below and how she will acquire the contraband needed to kill herself. She is probably a much better companion then my wife in a Escape Room.
We are also introduced to Jon Guiterrez, a disgraced former police officer who has been tasked with trying to get Scott to leave her apartment and assist with a secret investigative unit trying to solve crimes off the grid. A bloody and horrible crime has been committed and they need Scott to help solve.
And that's it. That's all I want to say about this and the plot and you should just go in this one blind. But it has one of the best duos I have seen and just a fascinating team with Scott and Guiterrez. Just great chemistry between those two Not to mention dark bloody crimes and Secret Underground Units.
Just remember this is a translation. I thought it was pretty hokey at first but then again when I watch foreign shows on Netflix I always watch with the original dialect with English Subtitles. This one reads like a Spanish film dubbed in English. But you soon get use to it as the pages start to fly by. Highly recommended!
I really appreciate St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for letting me review this book and it has a publication date of March 14, 2023.
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