Queen of the South

by Arturo Perez-Reverte

Guero Davila is a pilot engaged in drug-smuggling for the local cartels. Teresa Mendoza is his girlfriend, a typical narco's morra-- quiet, doting, submissive. But then Guero's caught playing both sides, and in Sinaloa, Teresa flees Mexico after her drug-runner boyfriend is murdered. Settling in Dallas she looks to become the country's reigning drug smuggler and to avenge her lover's murder.