Made in Acapulco

Meet Emilia Cruz, first female police detective in Acapulco. She's fighting crime in the iconic resort city, where corruption lines pockets, drug cartels have declared war, and Mexican machismo runs deep.

2019 & 2020 Poison Cup award for Outstanding Series -- CrimeMasters of America

Made in Acapulco is the riveting introduction to the award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz police procedural mystery series. Torn from today's headlines, these five stories show you what it takes to survive as an honest cop in Mexico.

This is the Acapulco tourists never see. These are the stories of those fighting to reclaim their country from the cartels.

A 30-year veteran of the Central Intelligence Agency, author Carmen Amato delivers a unique blend of masterful storytelling and an unforgettable woman who will become your new favorite crime fighter.

"A thrilling series" -- National Public Radio

"Emilia is a character who is close to my heart" - MysterySequels

"Amato brings her characters to life with her vivid writing style and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and corruption" - OnlineBookClub.org

With unflinching authenticity from the author's own counterdrug experience in Mexico and Central America, this is a female police detective mystery series like no other.

The Detective Emilia Cruz series is for fans of international mystery and crime by Ian 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 will also want to read the Detective Emilia Cruz police series.

From the author: Acapulco is now one of the most violent cities in the Western Hemisphere. Drug cartels fight over points of entry and routes to lucrative markets in the United States where drug-related overdoses and deaths are reaching record highs.

Emilia Cruz is the first and only female police detective in Acapulco. She's a good liar, a fast thinker, and a mean kickboxer in a department that didn't want her and is still trying to break her. Even as she fights to keep what she's earned, Emilia keeps a record of women who have gone missing and is always searching for Las Perdidas, the Lost Ones.

Now eight novels into the series, readers have embraced Emilia, recognizing that there is more to her story than drug war violence and official corruption. Emilia represents hope for Mexico, with its rich and diverse cultural heritage, beautiful landscapes and architecture, and of course, glorious food.