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
Mexico, Two Dogs, and An Unexpected Gift
A few weeks ago, I cleaned out the room I use as an office and writing lair. Piles of paper got shifted from one side of the room to the other, new artwork went up (thank you, Command hooks) and some much-needed tax receipts got organized. And I found a CD...
Writing for Water: Meet the Team Writing Clean Water for Life
In 2014 I will donate $1 for each Kindle book sold to water.org, the charity co-founded by Matt Damon and Gary White to bring clean water and decent sanitation to communities worldwide. My little effort has expanded into the Writing for Water team of authors. The...
El Chapo, Soft Power, and Dirty Faces
When I heard that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, notorious head of the Sinaloa Cartel had been arrested, two things came to mind: Monocle, the British magazine about all things cultural, and a great old James Cagney movie.Wait. This will make sense.Soft Power...
12 Influential Bloggers Debate the Future of Bookstores
What will be the future of bookstores? Many brick-and-mortar bookstores, including the US-based Borders chain, have closed in recent years, unable to compete in the era of ebooks and ecommerce. Yet bookstores are talked about in terms of being an "oasis," a magical...
The Water Diaries: My Chat With Matt Damon
"Every 21 seconds a child under the age of 5 dies because he or she doesn't have access to clean water," Matt Damon told me. "I know," I replied, simpering a bit and feeling like an advertisement for my mystery series. "That's why a dollar from every Kindle book I...
When the News Writes Mystery Novels for You
I can look at the problem in one of two ways: either the news gives me great ideas for my mystery novels or all the good stuff has already been written as fact, not fiction.As the author of a mystery series set in Acapulco, I often run across plot ideas in the news...