Escape of drug lord 'El Chapo' boosts sales for Don Winslow novel 'The Cartel'

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Escape of drug lord 'El Chapo' boosts sales for Don Winslow novel 'The Cartel'

The Associated Press Published Wednesday, July 15, 2015 4:29PM EDT

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, head of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, is escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City Feb. 22, 2014. (AP / Eduardo Verdugo)

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NEW YORK - The escape of Mexican drug lord "El Chapo" has meant more sales for a crime novel that features the escape of a Mexican drug lord.

Don Winslow's "The Cartel," published last month to enthusiastic reviews, jumped within 24 hours from No. 287 to No. 66 as of midday Wednesday on Amazon.com's bestseller list. Winslow's novel is a follow-up to a previous work on the drug wars, "The Power of the Dog," and centres on a deadly rivalry between a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and a Mexican cartel kingpin based on El Chapo.

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escaped Saturday from a maximum security prison in Mexico. He also escaped in 2001, which was fictionalized in "The Cartel."