Every Wednesday The Latina Book Club features excerpts from exciting novels by
Latino authors.
Happy Reading and Happy
Holidays!
Take a break
from your holiday shopping! Find a comfy chair, grab a mojito and lose yourself
in this thrilling and hair-raising novel about Acapulco’s first female
detective, Emilia Cruz, who’s taking on Mexico’s drug cartels and the culture
of machismo. Good thing she can take the heat.
Can you?!
By
Carmen Amato
CreateSpace
EXCERPT
The
reunion in the squad room was less than overwhelming. Loyola was gone, retired
on disability. Ibarra was acting lieutenant but had already filed his papers
for a transfer to Vice. Macias and Sandor weren’t there but at a conference on
criminal network analysis. Castro and Gomez were subdued, unsure of what all
the changes meant for them.
Emilia
went to her old desk. The Las Perdidas binder went back into the big
file drawer. She’d already gone over to the building on Avenida Almendros,
collected her things, and said goodbye to everyone.
Natividad
would step into her shoes, ready to make Las Palomas part of the hunt for
missing women. The younger woman would be a better advocate for the unit;
already she was more politically adroit than was Emilia. They would stay in
touch.
Ibarra
avoided her eye as he handed out a robbery report from Dispatch. Silvio looked
in Loyola’s office and found the keys to his official vehicle. Clad in leather
jacket, white tee, and jeans, Silvio led the way to the parking lot as if he’d
never been gone. Like him, Emilia pretended it was simply another day.
She
settled into the passenger seat. Silvio put the key into the ignition and
started the car.
Emilia
tapped the address from Dispatch into the GPS app on her phone. “Got it,” she
announced. “Should take us about 15 minutes.”
Silvio
turned on the air conditioning, found the control for the side view mirrors,
and played with the settings. Emilia looked out the window and waited. The lot
was full of standard Acapulco police cars, emblazoned with lights and
lettering, as well as unmarked official vehicles. The morning sun glinted off
chrome and paint. Three rows over, a couple of uniforms milled around the guard
shack, trading weekend war stories and waiting to check the identification of
incoming drivers.
“You
ready?” Emilia finally asked.
“Yeah.”
Silvio fiddled with his seat, adjusting it back and forth.
“What
are we going to do about Castro?” Emilia asked. “He stole evidence to use as a
bribe.”
“I’ll
think of something.”
“Regretting
not having taken the promotion?” Emilia asked. “Chief Salazar would have made
you lieutenant. Even a captain, you know.”
“Stuck
in an office with a mountain of paperwork.” Silvio gave her a sideways look.
“No, thanks. I’m better off on the street.”
“Yeah,”
Emilia said. “That’s what I figured.”
Silvio
played with the side mirrors again. The electronic whine of the adjustment
mechanism got on Emilia’s nerves. She checked her phone for text messages.
“I
shouldn’t have said that you were a shit partner,” Silvio mumbled.
Emilia
lowered her phone, surprised that Silvio would offer anything even remotely
resembling an apology.
“I
didn’t want you involved,” he went on. “I knew this thing was fucked up and if
you poked around, something bad would happen.”
“But
you were right,” Emilia said softly. “I was a shit partner. You called when you
needed me and I didn’t answer. Or call back.”
Silvio
looked away.
“I
thought you were drunk,” Emilia continued. “Calling to tell me I’d lost my bet.
A better partner would have known you were in trouble. I should have trusted
you.”
A
hoarse gasp cut the air. Silvio’s shoulders heaved and he began to weep, making
no effort to hide his tears. The car filled with the raw and rusty sound of the
big man’s breakdown.
His
pain, hidden for so long, was gut wrenching. Emilia reached across the console
and pried his right hand off the steering wheel. Silvio hung on to her as if
he’d never let go.
Emilia
didn’t say anything. She kept her hand in his as Silvio wept, letting the
pressure of her fingers be a message, telling him that tomorrow he’d be able to
pick up the pieces and go on.
Telling
him that he wasn’t alone. ###
Book Summary: Imagine if you were the first and only female police detective in
Acapulco, investigating crime in a city both deadly and breathtaking. Mexican
drug cartels battle for control and politicians are bought with blood money. Three
cops have been murdered. You worked with them all. Your partner’s wife is
killed in a home invasion. Was he the real target? Are you the next? Such is the life of Detective Emilia Cruz in
KING PESO, the 4th book in this sensational police procedural series
set in Acapulco.
About
the Author: Carmen Amato is the author
of romantic thrillers and the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in
Acapulco. Originally from New York, her travels around the world inspire many
of her books. Readers can find her website at carmenamato.net,
where they are invited to subscribe to Carmen’s newsletter and get a free copy
of the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library. Connect with her on Facebook, follow on Twitter and Pinterest.
Order
your copy today by clicking here.
Happy Reading. Happy Holidays.
READ LATINO!