MYSTERY AUTHOR | CIA VETERAN
Carmen Amato
I learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA. As an author, those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco.
Join me for high-stakes crime fiction fueled by authentic tradecraft and tomorrow's headlines.
"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 at your favorite online book store.
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
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...
New York to Mexico and Back Again
ONCE UPON A TIME My hometown of Rome, New York, was a close-knit community where almost everyone was Italian, Irish, or Polish and a Roman Catholic. Five hours away from New York City and the Statue of Liberty by train, the city was surrounded by dairy farms, with...