Hat Dance

A greedy arsonist. A missing girl.

Acapulco's first female police detective is desperately searching for two people who don't want to be found.

Detective Emilia Cruz has problems.

Her new lieutenant is a drunk. Her new partner is a surly ex-boxer who refuses to work with women. Worst of all, her new romance with hotel manager Kurt Rucker is already on the rocks.

When a restaurant is firebombed, Emilia and Kurt barely escape a fiery death along with Acapulco's popular mayor.

As more upscale restaurants are targeted by an unknown arsonist, Emilia is assigned to investigate who is behind the attacks. At the same time, a shadowy group on social media incites rage-fueled protests that bring Acapulco to a standstill.

Despite intense pressure to find the firebug, Emilia can't refuse a grandmother's plea to look for a missing girl from her own neighborhood.

The girl's trail leads to Acapulco's famous lucha libre fighters. Inside the coliseum, Emilia will find a shocking link to the fires.

If a female police detective's only chance to survive is to dance with the devil, will she take it?

Would you?

Ex-CIA author Carmen Amato infuses the Detective Emilia Cruz series with the authenticity and intrigue from counterdrug experiences during her own career. Perfect for lovers of international detective and crime fiction by Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves and Peter May, as well as Don Winslow's Mexican cartel and border thrillers.

2-time winner, Outstanding Series Award -- CrimeMasters of America

"A thrilling series" -- National Public Radio

"A story far richer than the thriller-factories of the big publishing houses. If she continues writing this series, I'll keep reading it."– LibraryThing

Acapulco, the fabled resort city known for nightclubs and cliff divers, now has the highest homicide rate in Mexico. The Detective Emilia Cruz series takes on cartels, corruption and social inequality. It's not just a walk on the beach.