Triple Crossing: A Novel by Sebastian Rotella; Unabridged MP3 Audio Book; Narrator Frankie J. Alvarez

A gritty, fast-paced thriller about the criminal underworld at work along both sides of the US-Mexico border and a young cop who goes undercover to bring it down

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 US 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 Méndez, chief of a Tijuana anticorruption 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.

“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. It gives you all of that and much more. Sebastian Rotella takes you into a world you don’t know and it’s as real as any world you do. This is an important piece of work from an author whose voice should be heard.”—Michael Connelly

“There have been many south-of-the-border/drug war novels, but this is the best one I’ve come across by a mile.”—George Pelecanos, New York Times bestselling author

“Reporter Rotella takes up crime fiction with energy and righteous indignation, plunging readers into the surreal three-ring circus along the border between Tijuana and San Diego…A strongly choreographed, authentically detailed, and sharply funny tale of cultural complexity and raging global criminality.”—Booklist

“Journalist Rotella explores the hot-button issue of immigration with its political, social, and emotional ramifications in his 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 (starred review)

“Triple Crossing…screams off the line like a big, mean, American hot rod. The author’s profound understanding of the many hidden worlds of the border and the surreal narco wars takes this thriller into the realms of nightmare and exquisite terror. You will know things you probably shouldn’t know when you’ve crossed the finish line, running sweat. This wild ride cannot be outrun.”—Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North

“Sebastian Rotella brings a first-class journalist’s eye and judgment to bear on the twin catastrophes of our border politics and drug interdiction efforts. The result is a wild ride filled with cool inside information, sardonic social commentary, and surreal portraits of mendacity, stupidity, and ferocity. Triple Crossing is the best of both worlds: an intricate and compelling page-turner that’s a hugely important book, besides.” —Jim Shepard, author of You Think That’s Bad

Sebastian Rotella is an author and award-winning senior reporter for ProPublica, an independent organization dedicated to investigative journalism. He covers issues such as international terrorism, organized crime, homeland security, and immigration. Previously, he worked for 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: Underworlds and Politics at the US-Mexico Border, which was named a New York Times Notable Book in 1998.