Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
White King by Juan Gomez-Jurado Narrator: Scott Brick
Series: Antonia Scott #3
Published by MacMillan Audio on March 11, 2025
Genres: Mystery, Thriller
Length: 12 hours
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Antonia Scott returns in the explosive climax in this sequel to the international bestselling book and streaming series, Red Queen. Antonia Scott has an unusually gifted forensic mind, whose ability to reconstruct crimes and solve baffling murders is legendary. She's the lynchpin of a top-secret project, Red Queen, created to work across borders and behind the scenes to solve the most devious and dangerous crimes, those that are beyond the skills of the regular police forces.
But the Red Queen project is under attack on all fronts. Across Europe, its agents are murdering each other and cases from the past, long believed resolved, are rearing their deadly heads again. At the center of it is the mysterious Mr. White, who has been weaving a web around Antonia for a very long time. He is as smart and capable as her but, unlike her, he's a psychotic killer who has isolated Antonia Scott.
Jon Gutierrez, Antonia's protector and the only person she trusts, has been kidnapped. Antonia's husband has been killed and her remaining family is in hiding. With Jon's life at stake, Mr. White gives her a seemingly innocuous solve three crimes and bring the perpetrators to justice. The only way to keep Jon alive is to play Mr. White's game, but can even Antonia win a game when she can only see part of the board?
The Antonia Scott series is about Antonia and her partner, Jon. They are sort of government agency law enforcement but a special program called Red Queen. The setting is Europe and they are based in Spain. Jon is gay; he has had some issues with trying too hard to get the bad guys. Rather than jailing him, he works with Antonia. Antonia has a high IQ. She is excellent with deductions and her unit uses special drugs to enhance her abilities.
Black Wolf ended in a cliffhanger with Jon being kidnapped. I would definitely read these books in order for the character foundations and the exciting cases. I have and I was still somewhat lost for most of this story, at least as to how Antonia and Jon would succeed and who their opponent was.
White King alternates between the current race to solve Mr. White’s challenges on impossible time frames and past scenes which provide a more detailed foundation of Antonia’s past and training in the agency. Mentor is sort of her boss and also handler. He worked with her on her training and the almost cruel techniques and drugs to force her abilities. Now she has detoxed and is not taking the drugs.
I hadn’t realized or didn’t remember the Red Queen program had more operatives in other countries. While I was being distracted throughout much of the book with world-building about the past and the program, Antonia was figuring out who Mr. White is and why he was doing these horrible things. If it weren’t for the fast paced case challenges and the dire consequences of failing, most of the book might have been boring.
The ending though is brilliant. Antonia and Jon may not be perfect people but they excel at finding the truth. I’m interested to see what happens next for them.
Narration:
Scott Brick is a favorite narrator and often narrates this type of action thriller which I enjoy. The voices all felt comfortable to me, even ones with some regional accents . I was able to listen at 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Scott Brick
Actor, writer and award-winning audiobook narrator Scott Brick certainly knows how to tell a story, in a way that keeps publishers, best-selling and award-winning authors, critics and the public at large begging for more. Hailed by Audible in 2012 as their most prolific narrator, Brick has narrated almost 900 audiobooks including titles such as: Jurassic Park, the Jack Reacher series, Alexander Hamilton, the Hunt For Red October, The Passage trilogy, In Cold Blood, the Bourne trilogy, Atlas Shrugged, Helter Skelter, Fahrenheit 451 and the Dune series.
Born on January 30, 1966 in Santa Barbara, California, Brick studied both acting and writing at UCLA, and joined the ranks of working professionals upon leaving school in 1989. Lauded by critics for his stage work, Brick spent ten years with the LA-based traveling Shakespeare troupe, Will & Company, appearing in productions of Cyrano, Hamlet, Macbeth and many others, and went on to appear in films such as Hit Parade, written and directed by comic book writer and co-Ben 10 creator, Joe Casey.
During this time, Brick continued writing. Having written hundreds of articles in a variety of genre publications such as WIZARD MAGAZINE, TOYFARE, COMICS BUYER’S GUIDE and CREATIVE SCREENWRITING, Brick was then hired by Morgan Freeman and Revelations Entertainment in 2000 to write the screen adaptation of Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous with Rama, with David Fincher attached to direct. In 2005, he collaborated with author Orsen Scott Card to adapt a collection of the author’s short stories for the stage in a production titled (and printed in hardcover as) Posing as People.
Having just celebrated his 20th Audioversary, Brick’s venture into audiobooks is now considered legendary. To date he’s won over 60 Earphones Awards for his narrating skills, as well as five Audie Awards, five SOVAS Awards for voiceover, and a Grammy nomination for the multi-cast recording of The Mark of Zorro (2011). After recording 250 titles in his first five years, AUDIOFILE MAGAZINE named Brick “one of the fastest-rising stars in the audiobook galaxy,” and proclaimed him a Golden Voice, but it was the WALL STREET JOURNAL that sealed the moniker with a front-page article in November, 2004. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY then honored Brick as Narrator of the Year in both 2007 and 2011. That honor was followed up with another feature in the WSJ in 2019 and a recent appearance on the CBS Sunday Morning news show. And the ultimate distinction – being inducted into the Audible Narrator’s Hall of Fame in 2018. Having now recorded over 900 audiobooks, Brick has no intention of slowing down. He obviously won’t be happy until he’s recorded every book ever published.
Born to make a killer first impression, Brick’s newly completed debut novel, INSIGHT, is bound to leave people gasping for more from this innovative writer who is finally telling his own story. No news on who will narrate the audiobook.
| Rating Breakdown | |
|---|---|
| Plot |
|
| Writing |
|
| Characters |
|
| Narration (Audio) |
|
| Overall: | |
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
- Thrifty Thursday: Australia edition #FionaTarr #KerryGreenwood #AnnaWillett #ThriftyThursday #KindleUnlimited - April 17, 2025
- 🎧 The Book That Held Her Heart by Mark Lawrence @marklawrenceauthor.bsky.social#JessicaWhittaker @penguinaudio.bsky.social @acebookspub.bsky.social #LoveAudiobooks @mark__lawrence @AceRocBooks @PRHAudio - April 15, 2025
- Sunday Post – 13 April 2025 @caffeinatedreviewer.com @readingreality.bsky.social @kimbacaffeinate @readingreality - April 13, 2025
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 24-COYER
For whatever reason, I didn’t remember your earlier reviews of the series. Sounds brilliant and I’m adding to the list now. 🙂
These are high octane thrillers set in Spain / Europe. I found them intriguing.
I think I would enjoy this series Anne. Gotta add it to my list!
It’s a high level thriller and government action. The motivations are more European. I hope you enjoy it and definitely start at the beginning.
Glad you enjoyed this series! I need my thrillers to be fast paced to keep the momentum going.
Thanks Naida. This series has books where it is non-stop.
The premise of the series sounds really good. I’ll check it out.
I’ve enjoyed it because it is different than other things being set in Europe / Spain and having those cultural influences on motivations. I hope you would like it.
Mhmmmmmmmm. I am curious. It does sound pretty good.
It was very good. The action kept going at such a rush and then all of a sudden things connected.
For a minute the smoke on the cover made me think it might be fantasy or paranormal. Glad you’re enjoying this series. Great review!
Thank you Lisa. I liked that it is from a different cultural aspect, too.
This sounds like a good series and I love Scott Brick’s narration. I’ll check this out.
I like it. It has shades of some David Baldacci books or Orphan X but with a European cultural frame.