Bones, Joe Tone
Bones, Joe Tone
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Bones
Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream

Author: Joe Tone

Narrator: Ray Porter

Unabridged: 11 hr 40 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/08/2017


Synopsis

The dramatic true story of two brothers living parallel lives on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border—and how their lives converged in a major criminal conspiracy

José and Miguel Treviño were bonded by blood and a shared vision of a better life. But they chose different paths that would end at the same violent crossroads—with considerable help from the FBI and an enigmatic, all-American snitch.

José was a devoted family man who cut no corners in his pursuit of the American dream. Born in Nuevo Laredo, a Mexican border town on a crucial smuggling route, José was one of thirteen children raised by a hardworking ranch hand. He grew up loving the sprawling countryside and its tough, fast quarter horses, but in search of opportunity he crossed the border into Texas to look for work as a bricklayer. He kept his nose clean. He stayed out of trouble.

Back in Mexico, José’s younger brother Miguel was leading a different life. While José struggled to make ends meet, Miguel ascended to the top ranks of Los Zetas, a notoriously bloody drug cartel—his crimes had become the stuff of legend and myth on both sides of the border. He was said to have burned rivals alive, murdered Mexican and American law enforcement officers, and launched grenades at a U.S. consulate. 

José, married with kids and now a U.S. citizen, gave every indication of rejecting his brother’s criminal lifestyle. Then one day he showed up at a quarter-horse auction and bid close to a million dollars for a horse—the largest amount ever paid for a quarter horse at an auction. The humble bricklayer quickly became a major player in the quarter-horse racing scene that thrived in the American Southwest and Mexico. That caught the attention of an eager young FBI agent named Scott Lawson. He enlisted Tyler Graham, an American rancher who would eventually breed José’s champion horse—nicknamed Bones—to help the FBI infiltrate what was revealing itself to be a major money-laundering operation, with the ultimate goal of capturing the infamous Miguel Treviño.

Joe Tone’s riveting, exquisitely layered crime narrative, set against the high-stakes world of horse racing, is an intimate story about family, loyalty, and the tragic costs of a failed drug war. Compelling and complex, Bones sheds light on the perilous lives of American ranchers, the morally dubious machinery of drug and border enforcement, and the way greed and fear mingle with race, class, and violence along America’s vast Southwestern border. 

Praise for Bones

“The true-life tale of the Zetas’ foray into quarter horses is masterfully recounted. . . . [a] finely-painted cast of characters . . . Tone weaves the threads together with skillful pacing and sharp prose, marking him as an important new talent in narrative nonfiction. . . . Tone adds some vivid details [and] digs deep into the colorful world of quarter-horse racing.”—The New York Times Book Review

About The Author

Joe Tone was most recently the editor of the award-winning Dallas Observer. He has written extensively about sports, crime, and immigration, among other topics, and has been honored for his investigative reporting, sportswriting, and narrative storytelling. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The Village Voice, LA Weekly, and elsewhere. Tone holds a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He was born and raised in Northern California, and now lives in the Washington, D.C., area with his wife and two sons. This is his first book.


Reviews

Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream is a true crime story examining the infiltration of quarter-horse racing by drug cartels seeking to launder money through the story of José Treviño Morales, brother to the infamous Miguel Treviño Morales (40) who led the Zetas and Scott Laws......more

Joe Tone has taken three subjects I like a lot, the Mexican drug wars, cops, and racehorses, and written an in-depth true-life study of their intricacies. In “Bones: Brothers, Horses, Cartels, and the Borderland Dream,” he has researched the tangle of their being and tries to explain it to his reade......more

Goodreads review by RMazin

The Trevino brothers, Jose and Miguel, were raised in a large family in Nuevo Laredo. Jose migrated to the American side in pursuit of a dream – opportunity and economic independence. He became a bricklayer and worked his way up to afford a modest living for himself and his family. It may be said th......more


Quotes

“The true-life tale of the Zetas’ foray into quarter horses is masterfully recounted. . . . [a] finely-painted cast of characters . . . Tone weaves the threads together with skillful pacing and sharp prose, marking him as an important new talent in narrative nonfiction. . . . Tone adds some vivid details [and] digs deep into the colorful world of quarter-horse racing.”The New York Times Book Review

Bones is an important addition to the literature on the U.S.-Mexico drug trade and a fascinating window into the subculture of American quarter-horse racing.”Outside

“Riveting . . . Working with rich material, Tone constructs a powerful narrative that reveals tensions of class and race—and unbreakable family bonds.”National Book Review Online

“Action and intrigue spill off the pages: there are scenes of tense surveillance operations, feverishly manic horse races, confrontations between lawmen competing for their slice of investigative glory, unnerving meetings between Zeta operatives who have snitched and the bosses they’re hoping don’t realize they’ve snitched, and, at the end, a dramatic courtroom showdown.”Texas Monthly

“Much of Bones reads like . . . a colorful thriller. But this book is the result of reporting that took Tone from North Texas to tracks across the Southwest, as he explored how the murderous Zeta drug cartel came to be a major player in quarter-horse racing.”D Magazine

“[Bones] stands out for its excellent reporting . . . [and] its first-rate narrative.”The Dallas Morning News

“A riveting read that transcends the larger-than-life cartels, cowboys, and fast horses at its heart. It’s about how hard it is to determine what makes a good guy and a bad guy along our embattled border.”—Joe Drape, author of the New York Times bestseller American Pharoah

“One magnificent piece of border reporting.”—Sam Quinones, author of Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic

“Joe Tone has brought us a riveting tale about the pursuit of justice in the most dangerous of worlds.”—Skip Hollandsworth, author of the New York Times bestseller The Midnight Assassin

“Joe Tone takes us deep into the harsh, violent, and fascinating world of drug cartels and quarter horses along the Texas-Mexico border, and what a great and harrowing ride it is. Full of inside dope on everything from racetracks to money laundering to the finer points of smuggling, Bones delivers a killer tale that is a scary joy to read.”—Doug J. Swanson, author of Blood Aces

Bones shows you the inner workings of a Mexican drug cartel, via the intriguingly oddball sport of quarter-horse racing. The outstanding reporting takes you back and forth across the border, from the perspectives of kingpins, traffickers, federal agents, and stooges. It’s a gripping story, and totally satisfying.”—Ben Westhoff, author of Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap

“A suspenseful story as well as a fascinating depiction of the mechanics of money laundering, the largely unfamiliar world of quarter-horse racing, and the dynamics of an extended family, the book draws readers into the complexities of life at the border.”Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Tone’s fluid style and light touch reveal the detention, riches, obscurity, or horrifying death that awaits all the major players, including law-enforcement agents and collusive American ranchers. Tone’s thoughtful coverage tells a tale of a borderland dream turned nightmare.”Booklist