The Consular Official

"A gritty FBI Thriller with jaw-dropping twists. King's portrayal of the convoluted world of cross-border criminality, politics and business feels completely fresh." - BestThrillers.com

A junior official with the Mexican Consulate in Houston is abducted, his $600,000 automobile left abandoned in a pharmacy parking lot. In what initially appears to be a simple case of a wealthy foreign dilettante being held for ransom, FBI Special Agent Pete Cortez is assigned the task of securing the young consular official's safe return and apprehending his kidnappers.

The problems begin when the family of the victim insists on dealing directly with the kidnappers, excluding both the FBI and the Houston Police Department. The task becomes even more complicated when rumors emerge about the true source of the family's enormous wealth. Questions abound.

Who kidnapped Pepe Alonso? Was it a rival Mexican cartel looking to cripple a competitor? One of the myriad local Houston gangs hoping for a big payday? A right-wing Texas militia group looking to finance its future operations? Could it be the Mexican government...or perhaps even the U.S. government? Or could it be someone else entirely?

Above all, is the carefree young consular official truly what he has been publicly made out to be?

THE CONSULAR OFFICIAL is the sixth book in the Pete Cortez FBI Thriller series.