Narco Noir

A bitter past drives Acapulco's first female police detective into a Hollywood film starring lies and murder when she goes undercover to catch a killer. As the camera rolls, Detective Emilia Cruz will face her toughest case yet."A thrilling series" - National Public Radio2022 Finalist for Best Investigator -- Silver Falchion Award,After witnessing the execution-style murder of a taxi driver, Emilia replaces him behind the wheel. Undercover with a false identity, she's determined to catch the killer who is part of a shadowy gang extorting protection money from the upscale taxi service.Oddly enough, no one in Acapulco has heard of the gang. The investigation is soon stuck in neutral even as the threat of another murder has all the drivers, including Emilia, scared to death.Everything changes unexpectedly when Emilia's worst enemy gets into her taxi. Sticking to her cover story and relieved that he doesn't recognize her, she decides to lure him into a trap.Soon she's earned both his trust and an invitation to act as an understudy in a movie he's producing.It's Emilia's biggest mistake. The script is a nightmare. The director's cut is a double-cross. The leading man has looks that could kill.Can Emilia act her way out of murder?Could you?Author Carmen Amato infuses the Detective Emilia Cruz series with authenticity and intrigue from counterdrug experiences during her long career with the CIA. Amato is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.Forget what you think you know about crime fiction. Narco Noir plunges you into the high-stakes real world of hunting cartel kingpins. The danger is urgent, the search is all-consuming, and there's no turning back.If you love international police procedural mystery series by Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Peter May, Louise Penny, and Jussi Adler-Olsen, you'll want to read the Detective Emilia Cruz series. With suspenseful twists, complex characters, and a taste of the exotic, it's a must-read for fans of Don Winslow's cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico. Carmen Amato turns lessons from a 30-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency into crime fiction loaded with danger and deception.

The Detective Emilia Cruz series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's drug cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Dubbed "A thrilling series" by National Public Radio, the series was awarded the Poison Cup Award for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America in both 2019 and 2020 and has been optioned for television.

Her Galliano Club historical thriller series was inspired by the stories told by her grandfather who was a deputy sheriff during Prohibition.

Originally from upstate New York, Carmen was educated there as well as in Virginia and Paris, France, while experiences in Mexico and Central America ignited her writing career.

She is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.

Every other Sunday, Carmen's Mystery Ahead newsletter unlocks her top secrets with exclusive announcements, sneak peeks at her next book and reviews of must-read mysteries.

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