She’s the first female police detective in Acapulco.
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Barracuda Bay
Detective Emilia Cruz Book 9
by Carmen Amato
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Female Detective
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Political corruption turns Acapulco’s first female police detective into a fugitive on
the run . . . in Washington DC.
on the body of a woman brutally shot to death. Incredibly, the victim was the
sister of Acapulco’s ambitious mayor, who is running for re-election against an
opponent with deep pockets.
victim’s ex-boyfriend has a suspiciously weak alibi but is the crime scene the
key to finding the murderer? The building was once used for a secret Mexican
government operation targeting a ruthless drug lord.
out.
errand of mercy to Washington, DC.
desperate and on the run, Emilia turns for help to a man she once vowed to
murder.
wrong side of the border.
be higher in this electrifying, page-turning thriller.
America
MysterySequels
and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and
corruption” – OnlineBookClub.org
experience in Mexico and Central America, this is a female detective mystery
series like no other.
Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, Donna Leon and Liza Marklund, plus the
Department Q series by Jussi Adler-Olsen. Fans of Don Winslow’s cartel and
border thrillers set in Mexico love the plots torn from the headlines of the
Detective Emilia Cruz police series set in Acapulco.
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Casa de Plata looked just the same except for the yellow crime scene tape proclaiming PROHIBIDO EL PASO zigzagging across the massive front entrance. Emilia peeled it back on one side and unlocked the door.
The huge echoing foyer was the same as well. Emilia didn’t bother to turn on the chandelier. She wasn’t there to gaze upward.
The crime scene techs had come and gone but she combed the entire building, checking for door locks that looked to have been jimmied open and finding nothing. She even studied the balconies from all angles and concluded that the only way someone could have accessed a balcony from the outside would be to swing Tarzan-style over the razor-topped perimeter wall.
Each of the two ground floor apartments had a French door that opened to a patio running the full width of the rear of the building. In Casa de Plata’s heyday, the doors would have allowed for a beautiful view of gracious living. Now all that remained were paving stones choked with weeds, shards of half a dozen terracotta planters, and an abandoned wrought iron table slowly turning into a heap of rust.
She went back inside and unlocked the door to the apartment where Monica had been killed. She stood in the silent dining room. The crime scene techs had taken the armchair away, presumably for forensic study, but Emilia was more interested in the faint streaks it left on the terrazzo floor.
“You were sitting here,” Emilia muttered as she squatted by the chair. Dust motes swirled gently in the air, illuminated by sunlight filtered through the grimy windows. “Eating all sorts of different tapas. There must have been lots of small plates or takeout boxes.”
Certainly Monica had not been there by herself. No, someone else sat across from the woman, sharing an impromptu but elegant picnic complete with linens and champagne.
Until something spooked her. Monica pushed herself away from the table hard enough to leave skid marks on the floor. Raised her hands to ward off danger. The killer had faced her, with the table between them. Two shots, one through each hand.
She straightened up, looking at the clean tabletop and mute row of chairs on the other side. A tablecloth would have prevented fingerprints and made cleanup easy. No extra bullets that missed the target and hit the wall or chair. No wasted energy. The nerve to shoot a defenseless woman while staring straight at her.
“Her date was either lucky or a pro,” Emilia said, thinking aloud. “He shoots her. Takes her purse and cell phone, then gathers up the tablecloth with all the leftovers and walks out.”
Either way, the killer was someone Monica knew and trusted. Was comfortable eating and drinking with them.
But why here? Why Casa de Plata? Was there a federale angle to this? Lieutenant Campos rose up in her mind’s eye. He was slick and trendy. Not at all the somber federale officer of public imagination.
Help me.
An invisible hand touched Emilia’s cheek. She flinched so hard that her feet went out from under her.
Her hip hit the floor first, then her right shoulder. Emilia twisted to keep her head from cracking like an egg against the terrazzo. She was instantly dazzled by sparks of pain shooting from thigh to neck.
Her phone rang. Breathing hard, Emilia managed to roll onto her stomach and extract it from the back pocket of her jeans.
“Where the hell are you?” Silvio thundered. He didn’t wait for an answer. “Never mind. Meet me downtown. We found Monica Montoya’s car.”
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**Don’t miss the rest of the Detective Emilia Cruz Series!**
Find out more on the Author’s Website!
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- Your Ticket to Acapulco
Ask someone to name a vacation spot in Mexico and chances are good that they’ll say Acapulco.
Name recognition is one of the reasons I set the Detective Emilia Cruz series in Acapulco. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Viewed from the famous Las Brisas neighborhood, the city is a picture postcard with its sweeping bay, gorgeous sandy beaches, white skyscrapers and sparkling nightlife.
Not only is Acapulco a spring break destination, but it used to be a playground for Hollywood stars. John Wayne and Johnny Weissmuller owned the Hotel Los Flamingos, which they ran as a private club for friends. Rita Hayworth celebrated her 28th birthday on Errol Flynn‘s yacht, while Elizabeth Taylor married producer Mike Todd there. Elvis starred in Fun in Acapulco in 1963.
But Acapulco has fallen on hard times. Thanks to the drug trade, the city is a prize fought over by rival drug cartels. Chinese precursor chemicals used to make meth and fentanyl come through its ports. Drugs of all types pass through on the way to the United States.
This duality—Hollywood glam vs dangerous drug waypoint–makes Acapulco a unique setting for a mystery series. Trying her best to be an honest cop in a tough situation, Detective Emilia Cruz is caught in the middle. How does she balance investigating gruesome homicides, then having cocktails in a hi-rise?
Resilience is a theme through all the books in the Detective Emilia Cruz series. Especially in BARRACUDA BAY, Emilia’s resilience will be tested like never before. On the eve of city elections in Acapulco, a violent murder leads her to Washington DC where she is stalked by killers determined to make sure she never makes it home alive.
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A 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency,
Carmen Amato writes the contemporary Detective Emilia Cruz series pitting the
first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico’s cartels, corruption,
and social inequality. Beginning with Cliff Diver, it’s a 2-time winner
of the Outstanding Series award from CrimeMasters of America and a 4-time
finalist for the Silver Falchion award, lauded by Kirkus Reviews as “Danger and
betrayal never more than a few pages away.”
Carmen Amato is also the 2023 winner of the Silver
Falchion Award for Best Historical for Murder at the Galliano Club,
inspired by her grandfather’s experiences as a deputy sheriff during
Prohibition. Her standalone thrillers include The Hidden Light of Mexico
City, which was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.
Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence
Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. She has been a judge for the BookLife
Prize and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award. Her work has appeared in Huffpost,
Criminal Element, Publishers Weekly, and other national publications.
Originally from upstate New York, after years of
globe-trotting she and her husband enjoy life in Tennessee.
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Baracuda Bay sounds like a book that would be impossible to put down!
Nancy
allibrary (at) aol (dot) com
Sounds like a great book.