Review: Wheels Up: A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival by Jeanine Kitchel

When Layla takes over as head of the Culiacan Cartel with her uncle in prison, she strikes her first drug deal to prove her mettle in the machismo world of the cartels. Things go sideways fast: planes crash, bodyguards die, and a Mariachi band unwittingly fronts for an assassin. Her Canadian partner, Clay, sticks by her side as they face down Guatemalan kingpin Don Guillermo and her uncle’s slimy business partner.

Smart and beautiful Layla tangles with a cast of characters as she and Clay plot their deal, trample through a jungle, and seek revenge on Guillermo. In Mexico, the drug business is brutal. Cartels buy off everyone, and murder sits beside logistics as a business tactic. Layla negotiates all this both stoically and impulsively – her actions create the novel’s pivotal point, an act of kindness turned tragic that demands revenge.

In Wheels Up: A Novel of Drugs, Cartels and Survival, author Jeanine Kitchel has created an exciting adventure back-dropped by Mexico’s people, places, and culture. Layla is complicated, and Kitchel slowly peels back the layers that inform her actions. Even when the characters could possibly fit stereotypes, Kitchel makes them interesting: drug dealers practice Buddhism, and bodyguards fall in love with their bosses. The dialogue crackles as deals and death guide the journey through the Mexican drug world.

Kitchel has flipped the script on mobster novels, giving us a strong, nuanced female lead character. Sympathetic drug lords are hard to find, but Kitchel creates one in Layla. She is tough when she needs to be, and she learns from her mistakes. Layla is even vulnerable at moments, making the reader and other characters care about her.

By the time they execute their bold plan, Layla and Clay have become heroes – as far as that’s possible for people who sell cocaine. Over the novel’s three-week setting, they bond while eluding the law and Guillermo, waiting for the right time to strike. Kitchel fills out the stories for these two main characters wonderfully, giving the reader just enough backstory to understand who they are and what motivates them. Clay sees balance in the world; he is kind and strives to protect the bystanders who innocently fall between the bad guys and their money. Layla seeks to heal old wounds, ones that she wouldn’t wish on anyone.

Wheels Up is a fast and fun read, reminiscent of sunny South Florida crime novels. Like the novels set in the keys, drinks abound and colorful side characters roam in and out of the narrative. The beauty of Mexico punctuates the story, which gives the book a great sense of uniqueness and authenticity, and Kitchel adds just enough flavor to set the right mood as Layla and Clay fly, hike and drive to set up their revenge. It’s not a lightweight story by any means, but there’s a breeziness mixed with intrigue that makes a perfect summer beach read.

All in all, Wheels Up is an expertly crafted work of crime fiction – fast-paced when it needs to be, with gripping detail about the Mexican drug trade, and well-drawn characters to match.