The countdown is officially on.
In exactly 10 days—on Tuesday, June 16—DRAGON CARTEL, the 10th milestone novel in the Detective Emilia Cruz series, will finally hit your e-readers.
If you’ve been following Emilia’s journey as Acapulco’s first female police detective, you know she’s survived brutal cartels, deep-seated official corruption, and personal betrayal. But this time, she enters new territory that hits shockingly close to real world headlines.
As a CIA veteran, my favorite stories to write are the ones where true events spark character-driven mystery. For DRAGON CARTEL, the spark came from an eye-popping statistical report: During 2022-24, there was a massive, unprecedented spike in unauthorized border crossings by military-age Chinese nationals.
At the same time I was seeing reports of Chinese nationals gate-crashing and photographing restricted U.S. military installations.
For the sake of fiction, I asked myself a dangerous question:
Believing it is competing for global dominance, is China intentionally using the chaos of an overtaxed US-Mexico border to insert operatives into the US tasked with gathering intel on military and industrial capabilities?
Any enterprising Chinese spymaster with a world map could easily see how useful Mexico and its Pacific ports could be . . .
Pacific shipping routes, courtesy of ontheworldmap.com
Bottom line? Emilia’s hunt for a missing Customs inspector leads to a web of deception that stretches far beyond Acapulco.
The intelligence consortium of US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, known as Five Eyes, released a warning this week about China targeting government and military personnel with fake job ads.
Using job posting sites like LinkedIn and Indeed, Chinese military intelligence operatives pose as private businesses or think tanks, advertise cool jobs, then pressure candidates for classified or sensitive information as part of the bogus hiring process.
This came as no surprise to me. When I retired from the CIA 10 years ago and joined LinkedIn, Chinese accounts swarmed my profile.
To map out DRAGON CARTEL’s plot, I had to create two new villains, bring back Rafa Gamboa who is definitely the most gray character in the series, and sacrifice an entire 6-pack of sticky notes.
To help build the buzz and heighten the suspense over the next 10 days, here is your mission—should you choose to accept it:
Secure your digital declassification: The ebook launches on June 16 across all major platforms, with the paperback following on June 30. Ensure you are ready the second it drops!
Share the countdown: Think of one friend who loves atmospheric crime fiction, smart female leads, or international intrigue. Forward this email to them and tell them that a brand-new thriller is dropping in less than two weeks.
Explore the backstory: While we wait for the clock to run out, head over to The Acapulco Archive on my newly expanded Reader Hub at carmenamato.net to brush up on character files and secrets from the Detective Emilia Cruz series.
Immerse yourself in Emilia Cruz’s world: Listen to one of the new audiobooks narrated by Leanne Maksin. Emilia’s inner voice comes alive in PACIFIC REAPER, 43 MISSING and RUSSIAN MOJITO. All available on Audible now.
In DRAGON CARTEL, Emilia’s first encounter with Yan Jinping, a Chinese national who comes to the attention of the Acapulco police, does not go well.
Here they are in an interview room where she is translating for her boss.
~
The bird-like Chinese man gave a polite cough. “I am Peng Huafang, Second Secretary of the consulate of the People’s Republic of China. I am honored to represent a Chinese citizen in this time of misunderstanding. Mister Wang Zedong is a tourist here in Mexico. You have no authority to detain or question him.”
He sat back and clasped his hands as Emilia translated for Cardona and Obregon.
“Explain the rules to them,” Cardona ordered.
Emilia cleared her throat. “Here in Mexico, we must follow the procedures established under the Mexican Constitution and the National Code of Criminal Procedures. This means we have 48 hours to decide whether to charge your friend with the two passports.”
Peng and the man in the tracksuit conferred in whispered Chinese, then the diplomat straightened in his seat. “I have told you that he is Wang Zedong,” he announced. “Your department risks an international incident that will be very damaging and embarrassing to your country if you persist in misnaming and holding Mister Wang hostage. China will not tolerate the abuse of our citizens by those with malicious intent.”
Emilia flipped to the sheet showing the passport pages. “If you are Mister Wang Zedong, how do you explain a second passport in the same of Yan Jinping?”
“Mister Wang does not have to answer your questions,” Peng shrilled. “He is not under arrest.”
“I told you,” Emilia countered. “He’s being held as a person of interest. If he’s smart, he’ll cooperate.”
The man in the tracksuit gave her a cold, appraising stare.
I’m so grateful for all for the emails and comments over the past year asking when the next Emilia Cruz book would be out.
You are all the most incredible readers an ex-CIA-intel-officer-turned-crime-fiction-author could ask for.
Let the countdown begin!
That’s it for this newsletter. Thank you for spending this time with me.
I hope you are as excited to read Detective Emilia Cruz’s next adventure as I am to share it!
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.
Please tap the heart at the top or bottom of this email, to make it easier for others to find this publication. Thank you!
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.
In case you missed earlier newsletters:
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.