Make Them Cry

Starred review from July 27, 2020
DEA agent Diane “Hardball” Harbaugh, a tough former prosecutor, draws on her courtroom skills in this intelligent, propulsive thriller set in 2007 from Henderson (Fourth of July Creek) and Smith. Harbaugh’s reputation for being tough but fair gains her the respect of Gustavo Acuña Cárdenas, a major player in the Cartel del Golfo, whose request for a private meeting in Tampico, Mexico, she can’t resist. The gangster wants to make a deal with her—inside information about the drug trade in exchange for a new identity in the States. It turns out that he is the last one alive who knows the location of a top-secret cartel project, and he fears that he’ll be executed next. Once in Mexico, however, Harbaugh discovers she isn’t the only one looking for Acuña Cárdenas after she meets Ian Carver, a former CIA agent working with a group of ex-military operatives who provide a specialized, shadowy type of service south of the border. Soon Harbaugh and Carver are on the run from just about everyone—the cartel, the global intelligence community, and perhaps even their own government. Flawed, flesh-and-blood characters provide nuance and depth, and the authors’ grasp of global politics is on full display. Fans of Don Winslow and T. Jefferson Parker will be enthralled. Agent: Nicole Aragi, Aragi Agency.

Fans of riveting audiobooks about good guys and bad guys, current events, and realistic characters are in luck. This mystery is a great listen narrated well by Sophie Amoss. The story centers on Diane Harbaugh, a DEA agent who is almost too good at her job. Then, a visit from a criminal turned informant disrupts everything Harbaugh thought she knew and believed. In pursuit of the truth, she must traverse international hot spots, the drug war, the war in Afghanistan, and so much more. Amoss does an exceptional job depicting the conflict Harbaugh faces in her professional life and with regard to her sense of right and wrong, good versus bad, justice versus mercy. This is an action-packed listen, and fans of thrillers will not be disappointed. J.P.S. � AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine