Queen of the South by Arturo Perez-Reverte

I bought this book several years ago from a sale table at Trident before a vacation but never got to it. Recently I plucked it off the shelf before a business trip because I didn't have time to get to the library. Good thing I did--I really enjoyed this story of the girlfriend of a drug-smuggler who is left to survive on her own in Mexico after his death. It reminded me a little of Count of Monte Cristo in that the book depicts her rise to power and plays on themes of revenge. I also respect the amount of research that Perez-Revente obviously must have put into the writing of the book. Recommended.