Reviewed by Grant Leishman for Readers' Favorite

Terco: A True Story of Love, Ego, and Corruption by Joseph Marchant is an eye-opening thriller that chronicles every traveler’s greatest fear: that of being “locked up abroad.” Simon was an expatriate Englishman living abroad. With both English and Mexican citizenship, Simon had made his home in Guadalajara with his Mexican partner Karina and their little daughter. As time passed and the relationship began to sour, it soon became obvious that Simon and Karina would have to part ways. Concerned only for future access to their daughter, Simon had made the breakup as easy and painless as possible. When the police arrived at his friend’s gated community and informed him that he was under arrest for the crime of extortion, according to Karina, he was stunned. So begins Simon’s terrifying journey into the Mexican prison service and its justice department.

Terco, although presented as fiction, is clearly based on real events, and author Joseph Marchant does an incredible job of creating ancillary characters and fleshing out their backstories to give the narrative the grittiness and suspense it deserves. I particularly appreciated the detailed summary of both prison life, especially for a “gringo” in a Mexican prison, as well as the convoluted and at times incredibly corrupt Mexican justice system. Simon’s ability to speak Spanish was an enormous benefit to him within the prison walls, and one can only imagine how much harder it would have been for him without that skill. The suspense built up with regard to tension in the prison and Simon’s desperate attempts to prove his innocence to the system will keep readers hooked and relentlessly turning the pages. I particularly enjoyed Simon’s ability to create useful and meaningful relationships among his fellow prisoners, although there was definitely an underlying thought that perhaps nobody could be trusted. His attempts to recreate the relationships outside the prison walls remind us that the environment inside is unique and, once outside, is best left behind. This is an intriguing peek at human connection and survival inside the worst possible place imaginable, especially for someone unaccustomed to that environment. I enjoyed and highly recommend this book.