Review: A religious relic, a cruise ship murder victim, cartel smuggling and revenge killings: Enter Detective Emma Cruz!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2014
Carmen Amato is that kind of writer that would be a terrific coffee partner in a sidewalk café, discussing world events and hearing how she can make even the most mundane of events electric. She has style, she's smart, and she can weave a hell of a story. DIABLO NIGHTS is the third installment in her series The Detective Emilia Cruz mysteries, and reading one will likely turn the reader to add the others of the collection to the self. From her own words found on her website she states, `I'm originally from New York but love to travel. My family tree includes a mayor, a Mensa genius, and the first homicide in the state of Connecticut with an automatic weapon. The perpetrator, my great-grandfather, eluded a statewide manhunt after killing two people-one of whom was his wife-and was never brought to justice. When I'm not writing, drinking coffee, or otherwise getting into trouble as a mystery author, I am a reluctantly recovering Furla handbag addict. I was educated in New York as well as Paris, France, and Virginia. I married the smartest man I could find and together we've lived in some unexpected places. Mexico and Central America provided the impetus for my writing career. I don't flinch from issues like corruption, cartels, and the region's social inequalities. I write about risk, power, and corruption. Don't read my books unless you like exotic locations, relationships with heat, and action torn from today's headlines.'Jumping into DIABLO NIGHTS without the luxury of having read her first two Emma Cruz mysteries may seem like missing some needed information, but by the time the reader finishes the first chapter the speed of the adventure takes off on a solo flight and no background other than what has been provided is necessary. And as condensed on her site the story proceeds as follows: `Ora Ciega, a rare heroin strain from Colombia, is found on the cruise ship body, promising more drug war violence for Acapulco's already bloody streets. At the same time, the relic points toward a gruesome kidnapping case. Nothing is clear as Emilia and her partner, senior detective Franco Silvio, find more victims: Yolanda Lata, the mother of a girl for whom Emilia has been searching; as well as a dead Customs official who had valuable information about the cruise ship murder. When stalkers shadow Emilia, it must be proof she's getting close to the Ora Ciega smugglers. Or is she getting too close to a rookie detective she's assigned to train? Detective Flores is fresh out of college. He's thrilled to be playing cops and robbers with his new mentor. The destinies of Ora Ciega, the religious relic, the rookie detective, and the missing girl merge into a fateful trip into the hills above Mexico's Costa Chica coast south of Acapulco. In a lonely place where vigilante groups have replaced civil authority and the crash of surf competes with gunshots, Emilia will face the biggest challenge of her police detective career. But it's nothing compared to the shocking climax waiting for her back in Acapulco.'For pure entertainment and a gripping story likely resulting is nail biting, read Carmen Amato's addictive prose. She has created an iconic figure in Emilia Cruz - a good liar, a fast thinker, a determined investigator, and a mean kickboxer. Amato knows this territory of Acapulco like a jaguar! Few mystery writers can outrun her! Grady Harp, July 14