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"To our kids' friends, we're just average soccer moms.

In truth, we're the wives of identical twin brothers who are almost single-handedly responsible for
the meteoric rise of narcotics in the United States over the last two decades".

Cartel Wives: A True Story of Deadly Decisions, Steadfast Love, and Bringing Down El Chapo by Mia Flores & Olivia Flores

Wow. I sure learned more then I really wanted to know about the drug smuggling trade. This book, Cartel Wives, was written by the wives of two members of the cartel that brought down El Chapo. It was an intriguing read I will say that much. I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, these women were brave to even write this book. But on the other hand, they do seem to attempt to justify an awful lot.

To be honest, it got a bit tedious after awhile. You'd think a book on this subject matter would be, at the very least, unputdownable but it wasn't. That doesn't mean I regret reading it.

I really got a look into this subculture and was a little freaked out at some of it. While not my favorite book, it is interesting and for fans of non fiction, it maybe appealing. I also read this while on vacation so I really did not give it as much time and thought as I would have, had I been in other circumstances when I read it.

I would still give it a solid 3 rating but it's a tough read.
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Thebeautifulsea | 2 weitere Rezensionen | Aug 4, 2022 |
Honestly worth a read. Shows some insight into the Mexican cartel and some cold hard facts to some young people that romanticize the drug-dealing world and the consequences of being romantically involved with someone in that lifestyle. Of course, while interesting there are definitely times I was bored with unexciting details. Inadvertently, the glorification of riches and dirty money is present, but I suppose that comes with the territory. Pumping drugs into communities just has never sat right with me, but that's another topic.

now, this is real life, and no one's perfect but...Mia and Olivia made some bird-ish decisions. I just have to be honest. Some of it I don't even understand.
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DestDest | 2 weitere Rezensionen | Oct 11, 2018 |
Mia Flores and Olivia Flores now live under assumed names. To their neighbours, they are typical single mothers, their days filled with school runs and PTA meetings. However, they are anything but ordinary. They live in fear, hiding from a past which brought unimagined wealth but, ultimately, equally unimagined danger. They are married to Chicago-born twin brothers “Junior” (Margarito, Jr) and “Peter” (Pedro) Flores, the highest level American drug traffickers ever to become US informants and who are now serving prison sentences, not due to be released until 2021. These men first worked with and then brought down, dozens of high-level members of the Mexican cartels, most significantly the notorious kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman.
Although the brothers and their wives had everything money could buy they eventually realised that the vast wealth accompanying cartel life came with an ever-present threat of kidnapping, death or imprisonment. Choosing their families over money, they decided to give it all up and cooperate with the US government. From behind the cloak of witness protection Olivia and Mia share their story and offer an intimate insight into the dangerous and murky world of a drug empire, the federal government operation to bring down one of the most feared man in that world and the effects on their own families.
There were many ways in which I found certain aspects of this book fascinating and certainly learnt a lot about the extent of the Mexican drugs cartels and the ways in which the Federal Government operation to bring down such notorious criminals was, ultimately, successful. However, I have to admit that I also felt distinctly uncomfortable reading about these lives which, in so many ways, were based on such obscene excess. The families enjoyed all the trappings of a level of wealth which is unimaginable to most people, with apparently no regard to the levels of misery being experienced by those who were taking the drugs the Flores brothers were importing into the USA. Whilst countless people were living in poverty and misery and thousands were dying as a result, the Flores families were living celebrity life-styles, buying properties, cars, jewellery and planes – even their pets were pampered, with dogs’ claws being painted! In the book Mia refers to the fact that there was so much money available that she became virtually oblivious to it. As much as $3 million was kept in bundles at home so when she needed money she would just grab two or three when she needed cash – a bit different to the limits imposed by the cash machine withdrawals most of us have to rely on!
I know that Mia and Olivia claim that the story is meant as a cautionary tale but I find it impossible to in any way identify with people who, for so many years, were able to turn a blind-eye to so much whilst they enjoyed such a luxurious life-style. They were able to rationalise any awareness of the “dirty” aspects of their husbands’ activities on the basis that the men were caring, loving husbands and fathers and were also good to the extended family. I got the feeling that as a reader I was expected to believe that because they eventually decided to help the government, they had now become the “good guys”. I simply cannot see them in that light, although I can feel pleased that their decision has probably saved lots of lives. The fact is that the primary motivation for their decision was because they were scared that they and their families would be killed in a drugs war and so chose to help the government. Although that is understandable, it doesn’t make them either heroes or martyrs, or deserving of sympathy. Living out the rest of their lives in the knowledge that if their new identities are revealed their lives will be in danger from members of the drugs cartels is in no way an enviable way to live. However, all actions have consequences and this is the price they will have to pay for their criminal activities in the past. I hope they all find a way to create a better future for themselves and their children.
Although there were many ways in which I found this a disturbing and disagreeable story (hence my low rating) it would certainly provide a wide range of themes for any reading group to discuss – debate would, I’m sure, be lively!
My thanks to Readers First and Atlantic Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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linda.a. | 1 weitere Rezension | Jun 9, 2018 |
This book was brilliant, an interesting read that I couldn’t put down. A well wrote true story from the wives of twin US informants who helped the US government, bring down the notorious El Chapo and other significant members of the cartel, telling their story for the first time. I really enjoyed it, maybe because It was different to most other crime writing, and this book showed a family’s point of view in a world of crime. I would definitely recommend it to friends, it captured the emotions of the authors and where they were at during the time, I could picture what they were saying. I had not known anything before about the Flores family, and only heard bits about El Chapo, but this book has changed that.… (mehr)
 
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morgan2018 | 1 weitere Rezension | May 19, 2018 |

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Werke
3
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32
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#430,838
Bewertung
½ 3.3
Rezensionen
5
ISBNs
16
Sprachen
1