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

 

Crime fiction author Carmen Amato, a CIA veteran and creator of the Detective Emilia Cruz series, smiling in a professional portrait.

LATEST RELEASE

Dragon Cartel thriller cover

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.

Explore

3D cover of CLIFF DIVER the 1st Detective Emilia Cruz police procedural

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

3D cover of Murder at the Galliano Club historical fiction thriller

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

Political thriller The Hidden Light of Mexico City by Carmen Amato

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 Trespasser by Tana French

THE TRESPASSER by Tana French is the 6th novel in the chronicles of the fictional Dublin Murder Squad. Each is narrated by a different member of the squad, whose private life is somehow linked to—and tragically impacted by—the central crime. When in Dublin last year,...

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Author to Author with Susan Spann

I’m thrilled to host Susan Spann, author of the Hiro Hattori mystery series. Even if you don't like sushi, you'll be riveted by this series featuring a ninja warrior in medieval Japan. 1  Carmen Amato: Susan, thanks so much for stopping by. I found your mystery series...

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Playing Big as an Author

I was on Facebook recently (who among us can’t start a sentence that way?) and someone in a writers group asked what was our biggest concern. My answer was “Playing small.” Does anybody else feel like this? Although I’ve been a published author for 5 years, I can’t...

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Author to Author with Brian Stoddart

I’m thrilled to host mystery author Brian Stoddart, creator of the Superintendent Le Fanu historical series set in India in the 1920’s. Think Sherlock Holmes meets The Jewel in the Crown, with a bit of my favorite thriller, too. Brian is a New Zealand-based but...

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