White King by Juan Gómez-Jurado

The international bestselling ‘Red Queen’ trilogy reaches its unforgettable conclusion. In this breakneck thriller, Antonia Scott is a Spanish blend of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and a female Sherlock Holmes. She hears from the mysterious Mister White, who put her husband in a coma. She has only just turned off her husband’s life support machine, when she receives a message, ‘I hope you haven’t forgotten me. Shall we play?’

This is the start of a deadly game to save her police partner, Inspector Jon Gutiérrez, who has been kidnapped and returned with a deadly device implanted under his skin. To save him, they must solve three cases that are considered unsolvable. A game of life and death begins – the stakes have never been higher.

White King is an impeccable translation of the Spanish sensation. The chapters are brisk and fizzing with energy. In this novel, three minutes is a long time, and three minutes can make or break everything, with Antonia’s extraordinary mind processing the course of action. The characters are original and memorable, the action is non-stop and unrelenting, and the ending is highly satisfying. Read the books first, but note that the trilogy is now a TV series.

Karen McMillan