A human finger sold as a religious relic lures Acapulco's first female police detective into a brutally dangerous arena of drug smuggling and corruption.

"A thrilling series." -- National Public Radio

Police detective Emilia Cruz is convinced she's found a religious relic related to Padre Pro, a Catholic martyr in Mexico's long-ago Cristero War. But it's more likely to be the finger of a kidnap victim whose captors want to encourage someone to pay a hefty ransom.

At the same time, a dead body aboard a cruise ship is the first evidence of a new drug being smuggled into Acapulco. To Emilia's surprise, the new drug is connected to a string of random murders across the city.

Hunting for answers, she's saddled with a clueless rookie detective as her new partner.

With influential connections and a questionable agenda, he'd rather be flirting with his reluctant mentor than learning how to survive the drug war. He doesn't understand that this is El Chapo's Mexico and honest cops are in short supply.

With the rookie in tow, Emilia will uncover the horrifying link between the two investigations.

Is she strong enough to handle it?

Are you?

Acapulco, once the glittering playground of Hollywood's Rat Pack, now has the highest homicide rate in Mexico. Loaded with intrigue and action, the Detective Emilia Cruz police procedural mystery series takes on cartels, corruption and social inequality.

Carmen Amato's 30-year career as a CIA intelligence officer with counterdrug experience gives readers authentic and thrilling mystery crime fiction loaded with danger and deception. Fans of police procedural murder mystery series by renowned authors such as Ian Rankin, Jo Nesbo, Ann Cleeves, and Peter May, as well as the Department Q novels and Don Winslow's cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico, also love Detective Emilia Cruz's complex plots, fast action, pulse-pounding suspense, and exotic location.

2020 and 2019 Poison Cup award, Outstanding Series -- CrimeMasters of America

"Carmen Amato knows how to bring Acapulco to life... Emilia is definitely a character that is close to my heart." - Mystery Sequels

"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... A unique and gripping mystery novel." - OnlineBookClub.org

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