Synopses & Reviews
Valentine Pescatore is a rookie Border Patrol agent on the edge. He gets in trouble and finds himself recruited by U.S. agent Isabel Puente and Leo Méndez, chief of an elite Tijuana police unit. They are targeting a ruthless Mexican crime family and the operation needs a man on the inside.
Soon Pescatore is in a drug lord's crew, drawn into a world of smuggling, corruption, and murder. The outlaw code of the gangsters is seductive-but so is Pescatore's own code, and his growing love for Isabel Puente. As violence escalates, all three plunge into the deadly no-man's-land of South America's Triple Border, where a bloody showdown will test their loyalties and beliefs. Written with rapid-fire intensity, TRIPLE CROSSING is an explosive and riveting thriller.
Review
"This is one of the most accomplished first novels I have ever read. Triple Crossing is full of dangers, deep characters and a story writ on a grand scale."--Michael Connelly
Review
"An honest and engrossing journey into a world of violence and corruption....Rotella knows how the police work, how the criminals operate and how bribes and violence subvert the law. He employs a journalist's sharp eye and a novelist's deft touch to give us a rich portrait of the sights, smells, sounds, beauties, and dangers of life south of the border."--Patrick Anderson, Washington Post
Review
"A remarkable first novel....The pounding action scenes are driven by Rotella's ferocious prose style."--New York Times Book Review
Review
"A devastating tale of drug trafficking and corruption. Anyone who has spent time crossing between San Diego and Tijuana will recognize the sharp and accurate picture that Rotella has created in these pages....The reader will be racing along through the pages of Rotella's novel at near break-neck speed."--Alan Cheuse, Dallas Morning News
Review
"Excellent....Rotella's story opens a window into the true globalization of the business of crime."--Nancie Clare, Los Angeles Times
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"Sure to please...The action never stops."--Tara Quinn, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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"Superb fiction debut....Unflinching views of a double agent's harrowing life, a violence-drenched Mexican jail, and the wild border areas complement the provocative plot."--Publishers Weekly
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"A strongly choreographed, authentically detailed, and sharply funny tale of cultural complexity and raging global criminality."--Donna Seaman, Booklist
Review
"A fast-paced thriller that rings true to the real story behind the political posturing over the drug war, illegal immigration, and border security."--Kirkus
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"Rotella's crime drama captures the feel of the rampant corruption that is the stuff of headlines in the United States and Mexico. This should satisfy readers far beyond the border."--Eric Norton, Library Journal
Review
"Rotella's profound understanding of the many hidden worlds of the border takes this thriller into the realms of nightmare and exquisite terror."--Luis Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North
Synopsis
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.
About the Author
Sebastian Rotella is an award-winning senior reporter for ProPublica, an independent organization dedicated to investigative journalism. He covers international terrorism, organized crime, and homeland security. Previously, he worked for almost twenty-three years for the Los Angeles Times, serving as bureau chief in Paris and Buenos Aires and covering the Mexican border. He was a Pulitzer finalist in international reporting in 2006. He is the author of Twilight on the Line, which was a New York Times Notable Book.