MYSTERY AUTHOR | CIA VETERAN
Carmen Amato
Hello, I’m Carmen. I learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA. Now a mystery author, those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco. All declassified, of course 🙂
“A must-read for lovers of smart, character-driven crime fiction with a global edge.” – Reader’s House
LATEST RELEASE
DRAGON CARTEL
Acapulco police detective Emilia Cruz is already stretched to the max hunting cartel assassin El Barracuda when she agrees to take on the case of a missing Customs inspector.
At the same time, the interrogation of a mysterious Chinese national turns a local crime into an international puzzle.
A missing inspector. A cartel assassin. And a conspiracy that links Mexico and the United States to China.
DRAGON CARTEL is the 10th mystery in the award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz series. Available now on all ebook platforms. Look for the paperback and audiobook editions later this summer.
SIGNATURE SERIES
Meet Detective Emilia Cruz, the first female police detective in Acapulco.
Think Narcos meets Hawaii 5-0, as she navgates cartels, corruption and social inequality while hunting for Mexico’s missing.
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DETECTIVE EMILIA CRUZ SERIES
Emilia Cruz is the first female police detective in Acapulco, fighting drug cartels, official corruption and social inequality amid the hunt for Mexico’s missing.
2019, 2020 Outstanding Series Award, CrimeMasters of America
2019 Silver Falchion Award, Killer Nashville
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
STANDALONE THRILLERS
Contemporary thrillers featuring complex plots, unforgettable characters and layers of risk, power, and deception.
Longlist, 2020 Millennium Book Award
Latest Posts
Book Review: THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron
The Secret Hours by Mick Herron is a must-read spy vs spy thriller. Like John le Carré’s A LEGACY OF SPIES, which tells the backstory of his iconic spy thriller THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD, this tale of espionage cross and double-cross reveals past lives of…
New Audiobook! Listen to LISTMAKER
The audiobook version of the Detective Emilia Cruz novella, THE LISTMAKER OF ACAPULCO was just released on Audible. This is a “Virtual Voice” audiobook from Amazon. It sounds surprisingly lifelike but the voice is not a human narrator. If you have listened to any of…
Book review: The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Molly Gray is the crime-solving Head Maid at London’s Regency Grand Hotel in THE MYSTERY GUEST the second book in the adorable and bestselling Molly the Maid series. Socially challenged, Molly has an eye for details that others miss. The Regency Grand is thrilled to…
Writing advice from a balky mule and a train derailment
Readers often connect with me over the deep point of view style of the Detective Emilia Cruz series. Writer and podcaster Patrick Greenwood specifically asked about this while taping an episode of his Writers on Espresso podcast, which you can find here: The…
The Forgotten Masters of World War II Thrillers
In the aftermath of World War II and horror of the Holocaust, the now-forgotten masters of World War II thrillers including Herman Wouk, Ken Follett, and Leon Uris wrote sweeping sagas of lives torn apart by war for an audience that had lived through the violence and…
I think of you
This week, the Rome Arts Hall of Fame from my hometown sent out their annual call for nominations to previous inductees, including me (Hall of Fame Class of 2019.) The letter came from Maria Rich, who scribbled a note in the margin of the letter: “I think of you every…