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 Radio

2022 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. Even as the threat of another murder has all the drivers including Emilia, scared to death, the investigation is soon stuck in neutral.

Everything turns upside down when Emilia's worst enemy gets into her taxi. She has no choice but to stick to her cover story and pretend she doesn't recognize him. It's easy, because her nemesis clearly doesn't recognize her.

Soon she's earned both his trust and an invitation to act as an understudy in a movie he's producing.

It's a big 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.