Cliff Diver

Acapulco's first female police detective dives into an ocean of secrets, lies, and murder when she investigates her own lieutenant's death.

"Consistently exciting" -- Kirkus Reviews

In this explosive start to the award-winning crime fiction series set in Acapulco, Emilia Cruz beat the odds to be the city's first female police detective.

Now she has to navigate the corruption that turned the department into a pressure cooker of danger and distrust.

Drug cartel money can buy anyone, it seems. Including Emilia's own lieutenant.

When he's murdered, Emilia is assigned to lead the investigation. She uncovers an ugly mess no one wants exposed.

Both Acapulco's mayor and the head of the police union want Emilia to sweep evidence under the rug and close the case. Male colleagues are ready to sabotage her, resentful of a woman in the squadroom.

But Emilia won't walk away because her prime suspect is another police detective.

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.

"A thrilling series" -- National Public Radio

Awarded the National Intelligence Medal for her counterdrug work, ex-CIA author Carmen Amato guides you through a world torn from today's headlines. Detective Emilia Cruz isn't just solving crimes, she's showing you the pervasive darkness of Mexico's narco underworld. Acapulco is ground zero. In today's war on drugs, cartels fight over smuggling routes into the United States for fentanyl and cocaine, homicide rates spiral, human trafficking is on the rise and missing persons are never found.

The danger is real, the stakes couldn't be higher and every cop is a target.

Yet each day, Emilia Cruz finds another reason to keep fighting for the people of 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--casualties of Mexico's drug violence--and is always searching for Las Perdidas, the Lost Ones.