Signature Series
Detective Emilia Cruz
Narcos meets Hawaii 5-0 in this award-winning police series set in Acapulco.
With a fierce, unforgettable female cop who's looking for Mexico's missing.
Latest Release
Barracuda Bay
From Acapulco’s beaches to the streets of Washington, DC, the stakes couldn’t be higher in this electrifying, page-turning thriller.
Acapulco’s latest homicide is the sister of the city’s mayor. It’s up to Detective Emilia Cruz to find the killer. The victim’s ex-boyfriend has motive but no link to the crime scene, which has a sinister past complicating Emilia’s investigation.
Before Emilia can solve the case, she’s given a task in Washington, DC where a deadly gave of political intrigue awaits.
Her only chance to survive lies with a man she once vowed to kill.
Praise for Emilia Cruz
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
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
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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
The Face that Launched 1000 Words
Some authors look for visual cues to help create setting and characters. Most call it research. I call it antiques hunting. THE FACE OF THE GALLIANO CLUB To build the Galliano Club series, I have my grandfather’s account books from when he was City Marshall, as well...
Longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award
10 November 2020 Political thriller THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY has been longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award. The novel features a Mexican attorney who fights an insidious plot to use drug cartel money to buy the Mexican presidency, even as his lover...
Paranormal Romance Tops BookLife’s October Indie Spotlight
15 October 2020 AWAKENING MACBETH, a romantic thriller with a paranormal twist by Carmen Amato, tops BookLife's Indie Spotlight of paranormal and supernatural offerings for October 2020: ...
Fiction author asks: Why do we fall in love?
True Story I met my husband at a Memorial Day picnic. After burgers and hot dogs, our host hauled out Trivial Pursuit. Teams were assembled and a fierce no-holds-barred game ensued. To my chagrin, his team won. Nonetheless, when he called a few weeks later, we made a...
Virgibooks Publishes Detective Emilia Cruz Stories in Italian
27 September 2020 The Italian translation of MADE IN ACAPULCO was released this week by Italian publisher Virgibooks. Specializing in short stories and novellas, Virgibooks will translate and distribute additional Detective Emilia Cruz titles in 2020 including "The...
2020 Poison Cup Award from CrimeMasters of America
13 September 2020 The Detective Emilia Cruz police procedural series received the 2020 Poison Cup Award from CrimeMasters of America, the second year in a row that the series has been honored with the award. A peer award, the Poison Cup is a significant and coveted...