Los Amantes de Puerto Vallarta (Puerto Vallarta Squeeze: The Run for el Norte) Book

Novelist and former reporter Danny Pastor has taken a break from Chicago and is living the lazy life in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, trying to recover the passion he has for the written word and figure a way back onto the publisher's A-list. But in a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Danny and his main squeeze, the beautiful and enticing Luz Maria, accidentally witness an assassination by an ex-government agent. Danny and Luz end up with the shooter, making a dangerous run for el Norte in an old beat-up Ford Bronco named Vito.

I wasn't sure if I would like this novel or not going into it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I have not read any other books by Robert James Waller, not even the well-known The Bridges of Madison County. The writing here is top notch and I felt like I could really taste the unique flavors of Puerto Vallarta as well as the other locales in Mexico that are visited in the novel. Fundamentally, this is a chase novel, told mostly from the point-of-view of the three main characters but also some snippets from the team that is assigned to track down and deal with the shooter. We do get to learn each of the three main characters backstories which goes a long way in humanizing them and paves the way for a truly impactful ending. They do come to share a complicated relationship involving trust, friendship and romance and this characterization and interaction really makes the novel.

Based on my experience with this one, I will likely try more of Waller's novels in the future.