Bones Brothers Horses Cartels & the Borderland Dream

Jose Trevino was raised in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town and major smuggling gateway. He grew up loving the sprawling countryside and its tough, fast quarter horses, but in search of opportunity he crossed the border into Texas. While Jose built a modest living laying bricks, his older brother Miguel ascended to the top of the infamously bloody Los Zetas cartel. Then one day Jose showed up at a quarter-horse auction and bid close to a million dollars for a horse. This got the attention of FBI agent Scott Lawson, who enlisted Tyler Graham, the young American rancher breeding Trevino's champion horse--nicknamed Huesos, or Bones--to infiltrate what was revealing itself to be a major money-laundering operation, with the ultimate goal of capturing the notorious Miguel Trevino.

Jose and Miguel Trevino were bonded by blood and a shared vision of a better life. But they chose different paths that would end at the same violent crossroads--with considerable help from the FBI and an enigmatic, all American snitch.

Jose was a devoted family man who cut no corners in his pursuit of the American dream. Born in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town and crucial smuggling route, Jose was one of thirteen children raised by a hardworking ranch hand. He grew up loving the sprawling countryside and its tough, fast quarter horses, but in search of opportunity he crossed the border into Texas to look for work as a bricklayer. He kept his nose clean. He stayed out of trouble.

Back in Mexico, Jose's younger brother Miguel was leading a different life. While Jose struggled to make ends meet, Miguel ascended to the top ranks of Los Zetas, a notoriously bloody drug cartel--his crimes had become the stuff of legend and myth on both sides of the border. He was said to have burned rivals alive, murdered Mexican and American law enforcement officers, and launched grenades at a U.S. consulate.

Jose, married, with kids, and now a U.S. citizen, gave every indication of rejecting his brother's criminal lifestyle. Then one day he showed up at a quarter horse auction and bid close to a million dollars for a horse--the largest amount ever paid for a quarter-horse at an auction. The humble bricklayer quickly became a major player in the quarter-horse racing scene that thrived in the American Southwest and Mexico. That caught the attention of an eager young FBI agent named Scott Lawson. He enlisted Tyler Graham, an American rancher who would eventually breed Jose's champion horse--nicknamed Bones--to help the FBI infiltrate what was revealing itself to be a major money-laundering operation, with the ultimate goal of capturing the infamous Miguel Trevino.

Joe Tone's riveting, exquisitely layered crime narrative, set against the high-stakes world of horse racing, is an intimate story about family, loyalty, and the tragic costs of a failed drug war. Compelling and complex, Bones sheds light on the perilous lives of American ranchers, the morally dubious machinery of drug and border enforcement, and the way greed and fear mingle with race, class, and violence along America's vast Southwestern border.

Advance praise for Bones

"One magnificent piece of border reporting."--Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

"Bones is a riveting read that transcends the larger-than-life cartels, cowboys, and fast horses at its heart. It's about how hard it is to determine what makes a good guy and a bad guy along our embattled border."--Joe Drape, author of the New York Times bestseller American Pharoah

"What a cast of characters: a bloodthirsty Mexican drug lord, his unassuming blue-collar brother, a daring Texas rancher, and an idealistic young FBI agent. And then there are the racehorses, as fast as the wind, competing for million-dollar purses on the quarter-horse tracks of the American Southwest. Through amazingly detailed research, Joe Tone has brought us a riveting tale about the pursuit of justice in the most dangerous of worlds."--Skip Hollandsworth, author of New York Times bestseller The Midnight Assassin