I’m CIA veteran Carmen Amato, sharing the encounters, experiences and current events behind my crime fiction thrillers, including the award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz police series set in Acapulco.
Today I’m taking a look at the ominous family secrets shaping my latest crime fiction release. If any of these secrets mirror the skeletons in your family closet, you have my utmost sympathy.
Please read on.
DRAGON CARTEL, the latest Detective Emilia Cruz mystery thriller is now available in paperback on Amazon. Get your copy today.
DRAGON CARTEL was inspired by shocking statistics: an 8500% increase in the number of Chinese nationals arriving at the US-Mexico border between 2021 and 2024, followed by an FBI report documenting over 100 episodes of Chinese nationals caught at restricted U.S. military installations.
But there’s another major aspect to DRAGON CARTEL. As Detective Emilia Cruz stumbles upon a conspiracy linking Mexico to China and the United States, everything she does is affected by the legacy of three families:
Erik and Adelita Flores were once wealthy socialites. To help Adelita’s half-brother escape from prison, they used their bus company as a cover for a tunneling operation. When students commandeered buses, Erik and Adelita arranged for them to disappear. (Solve the crime with Emilia in 43 MISSING)
The Flores children were left on their own when the parents went to prison. The son fled to his uncle, fugitive cartel kingpin Diego Barrielos Luna, and became the assassin known as El Barracuda Emilia must find in DRAGON CARTEL.
The daughter hid . . .
Emilia’s father died in a car accident when she was a toddler. She was raised by her mother in the home of her aunt and uncle. The adults kept a terrible family secret: Emilia had an older brother who was taken away and raised by a wealthy woman. When Emilia suffers an assault during an undercover assignment, she finally learns the shocking truth.
Her long-lost brother is Rafael “Rafa” Gamboa Escobar, a deep cover federale gunning for Diego Barrielos Luna. What kind of relationship can Emilia have with a man without a moral compass? Why is he following Emilia now?
Emilia’s mother Sophia and Karina, the woman who raised Rafa Gamboa, are sisters. Born into poverty, as children Sophia and Karina were sold to a doctor named Valdez who scoured the countryside looking for attractive children for adoptive parents. The two sisters were abused by Dr. Valdez before being adopted by different families. (Solve the crime with Emilia in RUSSIAN MOJITO)
This sad beginning damaged both Sophia, who never recovered from a nervous breakdown, and Karina who became a cruel narcissist. She kidnapped her nephew, renamed him, and was an abusive parent.
Her legacy is the most lasting of all.
For Emilia, DRAGON CARTEL is a journey through a forest of tangled family trees.
Secrets are buried as deep as roots. Motives are as common as leaves—love, betrayal, mistrust, revenge. Every relationship twists the plot . . .
And plows the field for the next book.
I’m writing about family because my older brother Randy passed last week after a courageous battle with esophageal cancer.
Brother and sister, circa 2022.
A decorated first responder, Randy was a great storyteller, captivating us with tales of his park ranger days in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and ambulance calls in New York’s Adirondack Mountains where he was also a volunteer firefighter.
Randy always said that if he wrote his autobiography it would start with the fact that he had three heroes: John Wayne, General Patton and a particular Italian plumber named Joe.
If you knew my brother, you’d know why those men were his heroes and that he was ours.
The new paperback edition of DRAGON CARTEL is dedicated to him.
In this excerpt from the new RUSSIAN MOJITO audiobook narrated by Leanne Maksin, you’ll hear Emilia’s first encounter with the secretive Valdez family.
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Listen to the excerpt then get the book on Audible.
RUSSIAN MOJITO audiobook on Audible
In honor of the 4th of July weekend here in the US, two of my favorite businesses have special offers:
Public Square Marketplace, a gallery of Tennessee artisans, has a line of gorgeous stickers celebrating states, national parks, America’s 250th birthday and more. They’ll ship stickers to your door, too.
https://www.publicsquaremarketplace.com/shop/ssg-master/LO6D3ZR5XWMCECLY3IFJQZQI
Pepper Cottage Co, which makes heavenly small-batch perfumes and candles, is having a site-wide sale that ends at midnight today 5 July.
That’s all for this edition. Thank you for spending this time with me.
Until next time, Carmen
PS: A percentage of book sales and affiliate links go to support veterans and first responder organizations. When you buy a book, invite me on a podcast or recommend this newsletter, you help me help others. Thank you.
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MY BACKSTORY— I learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA focusing on counterdrug and technical collection. Now a mystery author, those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco. Starting with Cliff Diver, the series is a back-to-back winner of the Poison Cup Award for Outstanding Series from CrimeMasters of America. I’ve also written historical and political thrillers, essays about the craft of crime fiction, and live with a very large white dog named Bear.
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