When I sat down with this action/adventure novel I thought I’d knock out a few quick chapters during lunch. Next thing I knew, I was 33 chapters in and heading for home. It’s that absorbing.

The action crisscrosses the border between Mexico and the United States. Some of the action takes place in Arizona. A lot of it unfolds south of the border as DEA agents Jason Maines, Mindy Sinclair, and their team battle the Sinaloa-Durango Cartel (SDC), the most powerful and brutal drug cartel on the planet. At stake is hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money and control over the best smuggling routes into the U.S.

Javier Salas heads up the SDC. His brother Ramon is the cartel’s Chief Financial Officer. Together, they war against not only Mexican and American law enforcement, but also rival cartels intent on taking over the SDC’s transit routes into the States.

A former Navy SEAL and CIA covert operative, Maines is brought in to oversee a clandestine operation to crush the SDC. He recruits Sinclair, a brilliant FBI analyst with a mouth to match.

The action is non-stop from the get-go in this high octane thriller. With informants and paid-off politicians and others operating at the highest levels, the cartel always seems to be one step ahead of law enforcement. But the drug cartel has a security leak, too. Who is it and what do they want? Can Maines “flip” the leaker? And what about the hacker, "The Wizard,” who’s tapped into top-secret FBI files?

Meanwhile, Maines is falling for Mindy. He and Mindy gain valuable information about the cartel and its tentacles when the cartel attempts to kidnap Mindy and is foiled.

As Jason and Mindy dive into the shadowy underworld of the SDC from different sides of the border, the outcome is uncertain. When Mindy is tapped to infiltrate the deadly cartel and ingratiate herself into Ramon’s inner circle via his girlfriend “Anja,” nothing is for sure, especially survival. It’s a high stakes game of cat-and-mouse where one false move could be their last.

This is a tightly written story with a taut, tense plot and plenty of action and intrigue. A riveting read. I couldn’t put it down! Indeed, anyone who enjoys a fast-paced cloak-and-dagger type covert ops thriller with lots of techno-gadgetry will enjoy Across the Border. It’s every bit as good as a Tom Clancy thriller.

Review on Reedsy Discovery By Kristine L