WHITE KING, the third and final installment in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s Red Queen saga, thrusts readers directly back into the climactic battle between Inspector Antonia Scott and her archnemesis, the White King. Every book in this series has been set up in breakneck fashion with the action fast, furious and violent. The opening entry, RED QUEEN, was the impetus for the Prime Video series of the same name, and here’s hoping that similar adaptations will be planned for BLACK WOLF and WHITE KING.

"WHITE KING is designed to get readers’ pulse rates up at every possible moment, and it makes fine use of that objective."

Antonia and her brave partner, Inspector Jon Gutierrez, are operating on behalf of the top-secret Red Queen project under the leadership of the Mentor. Antonia’s special abilities make this series unique. She has a brain that is described as a jungle of monkeys leaping at top speed from vine to vine carrying things. Inside that beautiful mind --- which throws visions of actual monkeys at her --- is a steel trap of knowledge and the uncanny ability to fully comprehend any situation and break it down strategically in just three seconds.

Even with these talents, Antonia is in for the most difficult journey of her life in the final battle versus the White King. Matters are made that much harder when Jon is kidnapped and, upon his return, is found with a deadly charge surgically implanted inside his neck that will be set to blow up by the perpetrator if certain tasks are not completed by the deadlines provided. In essence, this makes Antonia and Jon slaves to the White King. During the course of the novel, he will press them to solve three different crimes and bring the villains to justice. If they miss a deadline, Jon is a dead man.

Not even the Mentor or the other minds at Red Queen can assist in this effort, and Antonia and Jon must go off the grid to investigate these crimes, which begin to reveal their connection to each other with each passing case. First, they must look into the murder of Raquel Planas Mengual, who may have been victimized by a currently imprisoned serial killer. They solve it slightly beyond the deadline, but surprisingly it doesn't result in Jon’s death. However, the second case involves a face that shocks Antonia because it belongs to someone she thought had been long dead. I will not describe their third assignment as it would spoil all the fun.

WHITE KING is designed to get readers’ pulse rates up at every possible moment, and it makes fine use of that objective. It rounds out the trilogy very nicely and allows those who have been along for the ride since the beginning to reflect on just how brilliantly everything has been plotted out. The final lessons will come at a cost, which includes the loss of someone very important to Antonia, but she is unwavering in her special abilities. The opportunity to get revenge on the evil, manipulative White King makes everything oh-so-sweet.