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
What I #amreading in December
I hereby declare December to be Discover a Good Book Month. Between decoration envy when I look at the neighbor’s artfully placed lanterns, red candles, and sprays of greenery; and the self-induced pressure to choose the right gift for everybody, by the end of the day...
Detective Emilia Cruz’s gambling addiction
Detective Emilia Cruz is a gambler. You could even go so far as to say she has a gambling addiction. The Gambler As a cop in Acapulco, one of the most deadly cities in the world thanks to Mexico’s drug cartels, Emilia gambles every day that she’ll survive the violence...
Music and Mystery with NPR’s Alt.Latino
My turn as a guest DJ on National Public Radio’s Alt.Latino show with host Felix Contreras has aired! Click below to listen to the show or find it here on the NPR webpage which includes expanded audio excerpts of books we discuss on the show, including HAT DANCE, the...
Romantic thriller with a paranormal twist hits #KindleScout
"She inherited a secret her soul doesn't know." That's the tagline on the cover of AWAKENING MACBETH, my latest romantic thriller. I want your vote Amazon's Kindle Scout program allows readers to nominate books they would like to see published and AWAKENING MACBETH is...
5 Presidential Election Thrillers Better Than #Election2016
Exhausted by the run-up to the US presidential elections on 8 November 2016? Exchange those robo calls and campaign ads for some election thrills of the literary variety with 5 presidential election thrillers These novels are a definite improvement over the real...
Book Review: Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbo
For those mystery lovers who reveled in Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, his new stand-alone novel Midnight Sun will be a bit of a surprise. Midnight Sun is easier on the blood pressure than Harry, with a sympathetic protagonist and the wooded setting of Norway’s remote...