A review by ajith
Fear Is Just a Word: A Missing Daughter, a Violent Cartel, a Mother's Quest for Vengeance by Azam Ahmed

dark emotional informative sad fast-paced

4.0

The subtitle of this book is sufficient enough to grab one's attention for it alludes to something akin to the fight between David and Goliath. And it makes sense when we learn that the Zeta, one of the most dreaded cartels in Mexico who has been responsible for drug trafficking, abductions for ransom, wanton killings and macabre beheadings, was confronted by Miriam Rodriguez, a 50+ commoner mother from San Fernando, Tamaulipas.The vigilante in her stemmed from, to avenge, the disappearance of her 21 year daughter by the cartel in 2014, gut wrenching it was notwithstanding she also realized the state's ineptitude in delivering her speedy justice.

Over the course of the following years Miriam championed expedited actions by state authorities on the drug cartel induced violences and disappearances.To give you an idea of how menacing the problem was, a staggering 100,000 people have “disappeared” in Mexico because of the cartel violence.The book, in many places where the cartels were described, reminded me of the movie “Sicario”.