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
A Tale of Two Murders, courtesy of the John Feit trial
A few days ago I got an email from Josh Gaynor, a producer for the CBS show 48 Hours. He had run across my short story “The Angler” about the 2007 murder of Father Richard Junius in Mexico City. Father Richard was the pastor of Saint Patrick’s Church when I was...
The real story behind 43 MISSING
43 MISSING, the latest Detective Emilia Cruz novel, is fiction but is based on a true, unsolved crime. A big, terrible, words-fail-me unsolved crime. 43 Missing In September 2014, forty-three students from the Ayotzinapa Normal School disappeared while in...
Desert Island Folllies
There used to be a British radio show called Desert Island Disks. Guest DJs shared the 3 albums they’d want to listen to if shipwrecked on a deserted island. If you’re familiar with the classic BBC comedy The Vicar of Dibley, you’ll recall the episode in...
Gripping Audible Mystery Series Flies You to Acapulco
The first four books in the Detective Emilia Cruz series set in Acapulco are all available on Audible from Tantor Media! The books are narrated by the fabulous Johanna Parker, who also voiced the Sookie Stackhouse series. Johanna has really...
On the Rocks with Thriller Author Tim Tigner
This week I went behind the writing scenes with with thriller author Tim Tigner, who shared details about his Kyle Achilles series and some great protips for creating sensational thrillers. Driven by great reviews, his books are zooming up the thriller and...
Living With a Thief
"Comparison is the thief of joy." -- Teddy Roosevelt I mentioned to someone recently that my goal for the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series is to eventually be as well known as the Chief Inspector Gamache series by Louise Penny. And got a not-so-subtle...