She’s the first female police detective in Acapulco.
Barracuda Bay
Detective Emilia Cruz Book 9
by Carmen Amato
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Female Detective
Political
corruption turns Acapulco’s first female police detective into a fugitive on
the run . . . in Washington DC.
thrilling series” — National Public Radio
on the body of a woman brutally shot to death. Incredibly, the victim was the
sister of Acapulco’s ambitious mayor, who is running for re-election against an
opponent with deep pockets.
victim’s ex-boyfriend has a suspiciously weak alibi but is the crime scene the
key to finding the murderer? The building was once used for a secret Mexican
government operation targeting a ruthless drug lord.
out.
errand of mercy to Washington, DC.
desperate and on the run, Emilia turns for help to a man she once vowed to
murder.
wrong side of the border.
be higher in this electrifying, page-turning thriller.
America
MysterySequels
and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and
corruption” – OnlineBookClub.org
experience in Mexico and Central America, this is a female detective mystery
series like no other.
Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Donna Leon and Liza Marklund, plus the
Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Fans of Don Winslow’s cartel and
border thrillers set in Mexico love the plots torn from the headlines of the
Detective Emilia Cruz police series set in Acapulco.
**Don’t miss
the rest of the Detective Emilia Cruz Series!**
Find out more on
the Author’s Website!
From Spy to Mystery Author
Now a mystery and thriller author, I was an intelligence officer for 30 years with the Central Intelligence Agency. Most of that time, I dealt with technical intelligence collection and counterdrug issues. I also spent a great deal of time overseas, finishing as the head of one of the US national intelligence schools.
I poured my experiences into the 9-book Detective Emilia Cruz series (BARRACUDA BAY, CLIFF DIVER, NARCO NOIR, etc.) Traveling at night through a strange country, with only my passport for protection? Check.
Getting stalked through a store by a thief? Check.
Being told by a colleague that he didn’t want to work with a woman? Check.
The Detective Emilia Cruz books are loaded with danger, deception, and authenticity. She’s the first female police detective in Acapulco, taking on official corruption, drug cartels, and Mexico’s social inequalities. The series won the 2019 and 2020 Poison Cup award for Outstanding Series from Crime Masters of America, the 2019 Silver Falchion from Killer Nashville, and was optioned for television.
One particular experience motivated me to begin the series when an armed drug addict came into our church in Mexico City during midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. No one was hurt, but it was a wake-up-and-smell-the-coffee moment. I turned to fiction to show what was happening not so very far from home.
Fiction doesn’t get more authentic than BARRACUDA BAY and the rest of the Detective Emilia Cruz series.
A 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency,
Carmen Amato writes the contemporary Detective Emilia Cruz series pitting the
first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico’s cartels, corruption,
and social inequality. Beginning with Cliff Diver, it’s a 2-time winner
of the Outstanding Series award from CrimeMasters of America and a 4-time
finalist for the Silver Falchion award, lauded by Kirkus Reviews as “Danger and
betrayal never more than a few pages away.”
Carmen Amato is also the 2023 winner of the Silver
Falchion Award for Best Historical for Murder at the Galliano Club,
inspired by her grandfather’s experiences as a deputy sheriff during
Prohibition. Her standalone thrillers include The Hidden Light of Mexico
City, which was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.
Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence
Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. She has been a judge for the BookLife
Prize and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award. Her work has appeared in Huffpost,
Criminal Element, Publishers Weekly, and other national publications.
Originally from upstate New York, after years of
globe-trotting she and her husband enjoy life in Tennessee.
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Pack with a signed copy of the book, a mini poster with a Frida Kahlo quote, a
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I can’t wait to meet your readers! No doubt we all love coffee and mysteries!
The blurb sounds really good. Thanks for sharing.