Wolf Boys

Two American Teenagers and Mexico's Most Dangerous Drug Cartel

By: Dan Slater

Narrated by: Pete Simonelli

Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of two American teens recruited as killers for a Mexican cartel and their pursuit by a Mexican American detective who realizes the War on Drugs is unwinnable.

What's it like to be an employee of a global drug-trafficking organization? And how does a 15-year-old American boy go from star quarterback to trained assassin, surging up the cartel corporate ladder?

At first glance Gabriel Cardona is the poster-boy American teenager: great athlete, bright, handsome, and charismatic. But the streets of his border town of Laredo, Texas, are poor and dangerous, and it isn't long before Gabriel abandons his promising future for the allure of the Zetas, a drug cartel with roots in the Mexican military. His younger friend. Bart, as well as others from Gabriel's childhood join him in working for the Zetas, boosting cars and smuggling drugs, eventually catching the eye of the cartel's leadership.

Meanwhile, Mexican-born detective Robert Garcia has worked hard all his life and is now struggling to raise his family in America. As violence spills over the border, Detective Garcia's pursuit of the boys and their cartel leaders puts him face to face with the urgent consequences of a war he sees as unwinnable.

In Wolf Boys Dan Slater shares their stories, taking us from the Sierra Madre mountaintops to the dusty, dark alleys of Laredo, Texas, on a harrowing, often brutal journey into the heart of the Mexican drug trade. Gabriel's evolution from good-natured teenager into a feared assassin is as inevitable as Garcia's slow realization of the futile nature of his work.

A nonfiction thriller, Wolf Boys depicts more than just Gabriel, Bart, and the officers who took them down. It shows, through vivid detail and rich, often moving narrative, the way in which the border itself is changing, disappearing, and posing new terrifying and yet largely unseen threats to American security. Ultimately, though, Wolf Boys is the intimate story of the "lobos" themselves: boys turned into pawns for cartels. Their stories show how poverty, ideas about identity, and government ignorance have warped the definition of the American dream.

©2016 Dan Slater (P)2016 Simon & Schuster

Slow, but interesting

This story delves into a world many books do not. For that, I'm happy I spent so much time listening. However, it also has a ton of mundane, uninteresting details that probably could've been left out.

Gripping and tragic with annoying narration.

This story is a travesty of failed systems north and south of the border. The Wild West reincarnated. How unfortunate.

Similarly unfortunate is your choice of narrator. Surely you can find someone truly bilingual who is able to accurately pronounce the Spanish words as well as the English. The blatant errors were annoying.

Amazing.

This story is incredible and the entire world should read it. I will recommend this to everyone.

Great book

Any additional comments?

As a native of Nuevo Laredo, I consider this book to be very informative. There is no person in both of the cities in which the book is based (Nuevo Laredo in México and Laredo in the US) that haven’t been affected directly or indirectly by what has happened because of Mexico’s and the US war on drugs, and having this historical document written by an outsider like Mr. Slater, is of great value since local news will not touch this kind of story.

It is haunting to learn some of the plots that these Wolf Boys planned. So many places that are mentioned here are regular every day places that any citizen will go to; clubs, restaurants, movies, it makes you think hard. What if was there?

The story is brutal, and it is a confirmation of what residents of both cities have heard for many, many years. Mr. Slater did not hold anything on this book, so be careful since it is a bloody, brutal and devastating story that narrates the life of these killers, the organization they worked for, and the hell that some of us citizens have lived.

Really well done

The writing, the narration, all of it. Top notch. I’ve known about the cartel child-soldier situation peripherally for years and having heard the book, I now have a much greater understanding of this insane phenomenon. It really is a glimpse into hell on earth. Highly recommended.

Really Good True Crime Book

Very interesting and violent topic. Well written. Performance was great. I was a little disappointed in performer's poor Spanish pronunciation but otherwise he has a great voice and is a great reader. Well done.

Liberal Ending

It was good until the author started injecting his own liberal ideologies at the end.

Frighteningly true story

Fast moving, tragic account of the ages old drug war in Mexico, an insidious virus making relentless inroads in our own country where our drug users and many of our politicians, law enforcement, and financial institutions make it possible. As our social fabric and traditional institutions unravel and violence escalates, most of us stick our heads in the sand, unable or unwilling or ignorant or too fearful or overwhelmed, to take a stand to confront this brutal menace which may be the ultimate end of our nation. Disturbing and unforgettable read.

Learn Spanish or at least Spanish Pronunciation

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

NOT the audiobook but this book YES, my reason the story was great and informative and even a little chilling however I could not get past the constant mispronunciation of spanish words completely distracted from the story. There were certain words I had to look up in my hard copy because I was not 100% sure about the reference. Just did not flow well at all and was very hard to listen to even though it was a great book.

What did you like best about this story?

The fact that it tells the truth about the real life struggles people go through in border towns on both sides of the Mexican/American border.

How could the performance have been better?

Learn Spanish.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The truth about life in border towns

A ton of information

I actually enjoyed this audio-book. The author definitely did his homework, and the narrator was great.
There was a lot of info and a lot of names - I kind of had a hard time keeping up with everything.
I will listen to it again.