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King Peso: A Detective Emilia Cruz Novel
Acapulco detective Emilia Cruz will gamble on her instincts when she's prevented from investigating a cop killer in KING PESO, the fourth novel in the series that takes you inside Mexico's drug war with a fearless style and an unforgettable woman.
Imagine if you were the first and only female police detective in Acapulco, investigating crime in a city both breathtaking and deadly. 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?
More than any other cop in Acapulco, Emilia has reason to be shaken by the execution-style murders of three law enforcement officers in as many weeks. When her partner Franco Silvio's wife is killed, it's obvious to Emilia that the murders are connected and she could be the cop killer's next target.
She expects to join a task force to investigate but Emilia is reassigned instead. Her new police unit is a political time bomb championed by Acapulco's ambitious mayor and overseen by a shady union strongman. Corruption and paranoia rule the day.
Home is no refuge for Emilia; hotel manager Kurt Rucker has a shocking secret that could tear their relationship apart.
A falsified report leads Emilia to conduct a private investigation, even as a fifth victim is left as a stark message on Emilia's doorstep. Unexpected help comes from a frightened attorney and a famous movie star, but each new clue unravels the one before. Meanwhile, Emilia's ongoing hunt for a missing girl leads to the infamous El Pharaoh casino, a place she and Silvio know only too well.
When the chips are down, Emilia has only two choices.
Hold or fold.
Either could cost her life. Which would you choose?
Amato weaves an intricate assortment of themes into a vivid tapestry . . . with danger and betrayal never more than a few pages away. -- Kirkus Reviews
MEET EMILIA CRUZ She's is a good liar, a fast thinker, a determined investigator and a mean kickboxer. An Acapulco native forced to grow up too fast, Emilia has been a cop for a dozen years. She fought her way through the ranks and into a detective squad that didn't want her and is still trying to break her. Being the first female police detective in Acapulco can be a crushing weight, as Emilia struggles against official corruption, threatening colleagues, and drug cartel violence. Despite it all, she knows many women in Mexico don't get the chances she's had. The proof is in a log she tracks of women who have gone missing.
The one thing Emilia doesn't know how to handle is gringo Kurt Rucker, the manager of a luxury hotel in Acapulco. A former US Marine, he has the confidence and leadership qualities she admires. A triathlete, he's calm under pressure and knows what he wants. But does Emilia?
THE TWO FACES OF ACAPULCO There's the Acapulco that tourists know; luxury hi-rises, fabulous sunsets, the sweep of the most beautiful bay in the world, and the majesty of the clear blue Pacific. There's also the Acapulco that is a prize to be fought over by drug cartels and populated by hookers and thieves, where life is cheap and poverty is as pervasive as the wind off the ocean. Both of these versions of Acapulco claw at each other and force Emilia to survive between them. No investigation will be easy, no crime will be simple.
Carmen Amato has taken the classic mystery and given it a contemporary Mexican twist. Grab a margarita and come on down to Acapulco . . . If you can take the heat.