THE HOUSE OF WOLFE

Even for criminals, there’s no such thing as a perfect plan.

The Wolfe family is a fixture in southern Texas, where its members run several successful legal businesses and one illegal gunrunning scheme. An even wealthier branch of the family has established itself across the Mexican border. Charlie Fortune, who ostensibly runs a cantina in Wolfe Landing, heads the gunrunning operation in Texas along with his cousins Frank and Rudy and other Wolfe family members. Charlie is Jessie Wolfe's uncle, but she's like a daughter to him, so when the relatives south of the border call warning that she’s in trouble in Mexico City, he and Rudy head down there. Jessie’s problems began when her college friend Luz Sosa asked her to be her bridesmaid. Unfortunately, the newlyweds, both from wealthy families, have attracted the attention of an ambitious gangster eager to make his mark. El Galán grew up in the depths of poverty but appears to be a man of education and refinement. Along with Huerta, who runs the security team for the groom’s family, Galán has planned a snatch that will net him and his gang $5 million. Jessie, though not her cousin Rayo Luna Wolfe, is part of the group taken to two different locations while Galán and Huerta wait for the parents to cough up the money. While they’re waiting, Galán’s team coldbloodedly slaughters Huerta and his men. Jessie tries to escape but is recaptured, Charlie and Rudy plan a rescue attempt, Rayo comes to the rescue, and suddenly everything goes wrong with Galán’s perfect plan.

Slightly less violent and slower paced than Blake’s last look at the Wolfe family (The Rules of Wolfe, 2013), this installment is an absorbing look at dire poverty, depravity and the all-too-successful business of kidnapping for profit.