newest Detective Emilia Cruz audiobook
PACIFIC REAPER
Has Acapulco’s first female police detective been cursed by Santa Muerte, Mexico’s feared and forbidden saint of death?
Emilia Cruz, the first female police detective in Acapulco, takes on a voodoo-like cult in an effort to stop a range war between rival cartel gangs. But when she does, everyone close to her has a brush with death.
Now it’s her turn . . . Will Emilia be the next victim when she goes undercover on the eve of the Day of the Dead?
Listen to the audiobook, narrated by Leanne Maksin in a compelling, award-worthy performance.
Mystery Author
Carmen Amato
There’s a piece of my 30-year CIA career in everything I write.
In the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series, you'll go on a gripping journey through Mexico's drug war. Based on my own counterdrug experience, it's a place where loyalty is for sale but violence comes cheap.
There’s more action and drama in my standalone contemporary thrillers and the historical Galliano Club trilogy, inspired by my grandfather who was a deputy sheriff in New York during Prohibition.
Thanks for being on this journey with me!
I spy mystery ahead
Your Invitation
If you’re an armchair sleuth happiest when solving a mystery in far-flung parts of the world, I invite you to join the Mystery Ahead newsletter community.
Praise for Detective Emilia Cruz
Read the Reviews
Carmen Amato has created a character that deserves to be recognized as an equal alongside well known favorites by created by by Hammett, Larson and Padura. I can’t wait to spend more time with Detective Cruz. – Felix Contreras, host, ALTLatino, National Public Radio
Astounding . . . a haunting page-turner . . . The tragedy of decent members of society caught in the crossfire stayed with me long after I finished the book. – Nightstand Book Reviews
The story is full of nonstop action and suspense, but what really got to me in this book is the range of strong emotions I’ve felt while reading it . . . Emilia is a character that is close to my heart. – MysterySequels
Amato brings her characters to life with her vivid writing style and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and corruption . . . Unique and gripping. – OnlineBookClub.org
A real page-turner . . . Detective Cruz is a fully fleshed out character. Tough, but not above shedding a few tears, she bears the scars of a violent past while handling being the first and only female detective in Acapulco. – BookLife Prize
Amato weaves a vivid tapestry that depicts both the beauty and ugliness of Acapulco. Her attention to clothing, food, and other details of the cityscape bring life to her characters . . . with danger and betrayal never more than a few pages away. – Kirkus Reviews
Danger and Deception
Books by Carmen
DETECTIVE EMILIA CRUZ SERIES
Emilia Cruz is the first female police detective in Acapulco, fighting drug cartels, official corruption and Mexican machismo.
2019, 2020 Outstanding Series award, CrimeMasters of America
2019 Silver Falchion Award, Killer Nashville
CLIFF DIVER | HAT DANCE | DIABLO NIGHTS
KING PESO | PACIFIC REAPER | 43 MISSING
RUSSIAN MOJITO | NARCO NOIR |BARRACUDA BAY
MADE IN ACAPULCO
GALLIANO CLUB TRILOGY
Lido, NY. 1926. At the height of Prohibition, an Italian immigrant and a trigger-happy Chicago bootlegger battle for control of the Galliano Club, where trouble is always on tap.
Based on tales told by my late grandfather, a Deputy Sheriff of Oneida County, NY in the 1920's.
2023 Silver Falchion Award, Killer Nashville
ROAD TO THE GALLIANO CLUB
MURDER AT THE GALLIANO CLUB
BLACKMAIL AT THE GALLIANO CLUB
REVENGE AT THE GALLIANO CLUB
STANDALONE THRILLERS
Contemporary thrillers featuring complex plots, unforgettable characters and layers of risk, power, and deception.
Longlist, 2020 Millennium Book Award
Progress report
Working on
- DRAGON CARTEL: Detective Emilia Cruz #10 60%
- MOSCOW SYNDROME (contribution) 95%
Events
Coming Up
28 Nov Better on Draft podcast guest appearance
The Shop Talk Blog
Follow Along
Seeing Strength as the Earth Shakes
The floor tilted. Pictures crashed to the floor. Beyond the French doors, water slopped out of the pool as if it was an overfilled bowl about to fall. Our maid Johanna stood there and screamed. As the house continued to tremble, I grabbed our passports and dragged the...
The next name they stitch could be yours or mine
When I was growing up, embroidery was a common craft. Everyone knew the basics: chain stitch, blanket stitch, satin stitch. My mother made cocktail napkins decorated with tiny daisies and embroidered geometric designs on clothing and hand towels. When preppy fashion...
A Crime Fiction Lesson from Jennifer Aniston
The low tire pressure light came on. I pulled off the highway, found a gas station and put air in the tire. But air continued to bleed out all the way home. So I watched tv Twelve hours later, I stared dully at a chirpy morning show in my local Firestone shop’s...
If you went missing, would you want the government or your mother to look for you?
If you go missing in Mexico, your family becomes the search party. If the government looks, chances are high someone will fumble the search. Out of incompetence? Or something more sinister? Eleven years ago this month, 43 students disappeared. From the Ayotzinapa...
AI Scams and Spam Targeting Authors: My Inbox is Still Laughing
Blogger extraordinaire Anne R. Allen recently posted a warning to authors who get lots of emails gushing over their books. All those emails are an AI-driven scam, which Anne detailed here: Authors, Those Flattering Emails Filling Your Inbox—They’re All an AI Scam I'm...
Mexico Transfers More Cartel Crime Bosses to US
In my previous career as a CIA intel officer, I focused on counterdrug efforts. Bringing Mexican cartel kingpins to justice was a big goal. So I gave a silent cheer when Mexico transferred 26 organized crime figures to the US this week. Federal Security Minister Omar...