New Mexico State Police Officer Enrique Basurto's routine drug bust spirals into a dangerous personal crusade when a twelve-year-old girl is kidnapped by cartel members seeking revenge. Working alongside his fiery DEA partner Anna Fernandez and Mexican police sergeant Sergio Mora, Enrique navigates the treacherous landscape of cross-border law enforcement while confronting the human toll of the drug trade.

As the team races to rescue young Catalina from the clutches of a notorious cartel enforcer, Enrique discovers an unexpected connection between his family's past and a killer known as “Matagente.” While struggling to protect his mother and maintain his relationship with his fiancée Rosalinda, Enrique must determine how far he's willing to go for justice when the cartel retaliates against him personally.

Set against the stark beauty of the southwestern borderlands, this unflinching crime novel examines the generational impact of the drug war through the eyes of those fighting it. Thomas J. Nichols crafts a morally complex tale that questions whether winning individual battles means anything when the war itself seems unwinnable—a truth one character compares to trying to destroy an aspen grove that always regenerates from its roots.

If you enjoyed “The Border” by Don Winslow, “Desert Star” by Michael Connelly, and “No Country for Old Men” by Cormac McCarthy, you'll love “We Were Young Once.”

Thomas J. Nichols

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