Black Wolf

The Darkly Thrilling Sequel to the International Phenomenon Red Queen

By: Juan Gómez-Jurado, Nicholas Caistor - translator

Narrated by: Scott Brick

The highly anticipated sequel to Juan Gómez-Jurado's number 1 international bestseller, Red Queen, now an original series streaming on Amazon Prime.

Antonia Scott is the lynchpin of the Red Queen project, created to work behind the scenes to solve the most dark, devious and dangerous crimes.

In Costa del Sol, southern Spain, a key mafia figure is found brutally murdered in his villa. His pregnant wife, Lola Moreno, barely escapes an attempt to kill her – and is on the run. An unusual shipping container arrives to Spain from St Petersburg, holding the corpses of nine women.

Now Antonia, with the help of her protector, must track down the missing Lola. But they aren’t the only ones – a dangerous hitman, known as the Black Wolf, is also on her trail. And Antonia Scott, still plagued by her personal demons, must outwit, out-manoeuvre, and, ultimately, face this terrible, mysterious killer.

Translated by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia, Black Wolf follows on from Red Queen and features Antonia Scott, the most compelling and original detective since Lisbeth Salander.

Praise for Juan Gómez-Jurado:

'Best thriller books of the year . . . What impresses is the brainy brio of Gómez-Jurado's storytelling' – Sunday Times

'An electrifying serial-killer thriller . . . tops even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as a thinking reader’s thriller, and Antonia Scott is like a more sympathetic Lisbeth Salander' – A.J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Readers are saying:

'A really good read. I love the way all the threads come together from the first body to the finish. Can't wait for the final book' - 5 star review

'The author maintains fascinating plot twists whilst revealing further aspects of the main character’s personality and behaviour' - 5 star review

'It’s full of action & suspense with lots of twists which gets you thinking constantly' - 5 star review

Critic reviews

Aided by some punchy translation and flashes of bathetic humour, Black Wolf is larky fun and knows it.

What impresses is the brainy brio of Gómez-Jurado's storytelling, as well as his striking depiction of Madrid as two cities, an elegant baroque facade concealing a gothic underworld

Rivalling Scandi noir classic Girl With a Dragon Tattoo, this is an edgy thriller series, with intelligent satisfactions to match the action.

This is a fast paced and unpredictable thriller that builds to a tough and bloody climax.

Red Queen is one of the most extravagantly entertaining novels I’ve ever read. Sprinting from spectacular surprise to even-more-spectacular surprise; whirling from one crisply textured character to the next . . . it's an electrifying serial-killer thriller, a fiendishly clever puzzle mystery, and a sensitive portrait of a fascinating young woman. Red Queen tops even The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as a thinking reader’s thriller, and Antonia Scott is like a more sympathetic Lisbeth Salander. I loved every word (A. J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window)

Often compared with Lisbeth Salander from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Antonia Scott looks destined to leave every bit as lasting an impression

Fizzes with energy and lively scene-setting . . . There are obvious echoes of Lisbeth Salander, but the crackling interplay between Scott and Inspector Gutiérrez, a gay Basque policeman, adds an extra layer of originality, as does Nick Caistor’s sparkling translation

Black Wolf, like its predecessor, is a fresh breath of air. It is clever and witty without trying too hard. Its wry, self-deprecating tone, combined with a seemingly effortless, no-nonsense writing style, sets it apart from others in the genre.

A labyrinth of a mystery, crisply plotted and paced, way ahead of the pack (Steve Berry, New York Times bestselling author of The Kaiser's Web )

Fast-paced, memorable characters and a cinematic story that draws you in hook, line and sinker. I can’t wait to get my hands on the next in the series (John Marrs, author of The One)

What Gómez-Jurado excels at, as conveyed in Nick Caistor’s brisk translation, is 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

Suspenseful and terrifying . . . A bit of Clarice Starling and a lot of Lisbeth Salander make Antonia a thoroughly compelling character, who will return in two more translations to complete Gómez-Jurado’s trilogy (Jane Murphy, Booklist starred review)