This is how it began…Just Another Day in Paradise

It was just another day in paradise, except that the dead body in the speedboat was my boss.

A brilliant blue sky arched over the Pacific. Waves shimmered in the sun as the ocean rolled relentlessly toward the dock belonging to the Palacio Réal, Acapulco’s most luxurious hotel.

The boat rocked under my feet. Red and expensive, it had been spotted drifting on the gentle swells of Puerto Marques on the southeastern side of Acapulco. The coastal patrol towed it in and called the police.

Lieutenant Inocente’s body was sprawled on the deck. I didn’t need to get closer; the cause of death was easy to spot. The back of his head was caved in, bludgeoned until his brains spilled out. Dried blood had stiffened his shirt into a sheet of rust.

It was a gruesome scene. Sweat trickled down the back of my neck under my ponytail, dampening my tee and denim jacket hiding my gun in its shoulder holster.

My partner Rico Portillo squinted up at me as he knelt by the body. “It’s the lieutenant all right,” he said. “This is gonna be bad.”

I knew what he meant.

Lieutenant Inocente was a dirty cop.

Two years ago, he had tried to prevent me from becoming the first female police detective in Acapulco and would have succeeded if Rico hadn’t agreed to partner with me. In retaliation, Rico and I were assigned to minor cases and administrative tasks. Bigger investigations were reserved for favored detectives who generated bribes and kickbacks and shared with the boss.

The dock was getting crowded. The coroner was there, along with crime scene techs, coastal patrol sailors, hotel security staff, and army soldiers from the checkpoint at the entrance to the hotel’s private road.

Plus Kurt Rucker, the gringo general manager of the Palacio Réal hotel. He had yellow hair and eyes the color of the ocean beyond La Quebrada where cliff divers risk their lives for tourists.

We’d met before.

Kurt lived in the rarified Acapulco of picture postcards. Hollywood A-listers, rock stars, and global tycoons came to his hotel. No dirty cops there. I was from the real Acapulco, where hookers, thieves, and drug gangs ruled and the rest of us were always one step away from poverty.

The crime scene techs swarmed over the boat while Rico and I took statements. I managed to stay cool and professional even as Kurt’s eyes followed me.

It was noon before Rico and I headed for the police station. There to my utter shock Victor Obregon, head of the police union, announced to every detective in the squadroom that I would lead the investigation into Lieutenant Inocente’s murder.

Me?! It felt like a bucket of cold water over my head. I didn’t have the experience for a case like this. By all rights it should be assigned to senior detective Franco Silvio. But my protests fell on deaf ears.

Having thrown his bombshell, Obregon swept out.

The squadroom exploded in chaos, everyone shouting at me, at Silvio, at each other.

Part of me wondered how I was going to handle the situation.

Another part wondered what Kurt Rucker was doing.

Cliff Diver, A Detective Emilia Cruz Mystery Book 1
Genre: Crime Thriller
Format: Print, Digital
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Acapulco’s acclaimed female police detective dives into an ocean of secrets, lies, and murder when she investigates her own lieutenant’s death.

In this explosive start to the award-winning mystery series set in Acapulco, Emilia Cruz beat the odds to become the city’s first woman police detective. Now she lives in a pressure cooker of danger and distrust.

Famous for beaches, resorts and nightlife, Acapulco is ground zero for the war on drugs. Drug cartels fight over smuggling routes into the United States for fentanyl and cocaine. Human trafficking is on the rise. Missing persons are never found. Homicide rates are exploding and every murder is an unsolved mystery.

Even worse, the police department is riddled with corruption.

No one is more corrupt than Emilia’s own lieutenant.

When he’s murdered, Emilia is assigned to lead the investigation and uncovers an ugly mess no one wants exposed. Both the mayor and the head of the police union pressure her to close the case. Their reasons have nothing to do with justice.

Meanwhile, another detective is her prime suspect.

Feeling like one of Acapulco’s famous cliff divers praying not to smash into the rocks below, Emilia must choose between truth and survival. Either way, she won’t be ready for the impact.

Neither will you.

And this is where we are now. . .

Narco Noir, A Detective Emilia Cruz Mystery Book 8
Genre: Crime Thriller
Release: August 2023
Format: Print, Digital
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Meet the author
A 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, Carmen Amato writes crime fiction loaded with danger and deception. Starting with Cliff Diver, the contemporary Detective Emilia Cruz series pits the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico’s cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Optioned for television, it’s a 2-time winner of the Outstanding Series award from CrimeMasters of America and a winner of the Silver Falchion 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.