Pacific Reaper — Carmen Amato

Acapulco detective Emilia Cruz confronts a death-worshipping cult in PACIFIC REAPER, the fifth novel in the series that takes you inside Mexico's drug wars 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 deadly and breathtaking. Mexican drug cartels battle for control and politicians are bought with blood money.Murder victims are sacrificed to Santa Muerte, Mexico's forbidden saint of death.Other bodies swing from billboards.Will you investigate? Or be cursed?In the remote Coyuca Lagoon reserve, Detective Emilia Cruz Emilia and her partner Franco Silvio find an elaborate altar to Santa Muerte next to the body of a known gang member. Prayers to the so-called Skeleton Saint deliver a dire warning to the death saint's enemies.When a rival gang retaliates with mutilations and public messages, warfare sweeps across the city. Emilia's investigation is soon a maze of unholy clues. At the same time, everyone close to her has a brush with death. Bad luck? Or is the Skeleton Saint's curse coming true? From a beachfront hostel to a voodoo market, the closer Emilia gets to the truth, the worse things get. When she goes undercover as a Santa Muerte worshipper on the eve of the Day of the Dead, her life will be stripped of everything she holds dear. Her family.Her lover.Her job.Herself.MEET EMILIA CRUZShe's 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 ACAPULCOThe Acapulco that tourists know has luxury hi-rises, fabulous sunsets, the sweep of the most beautiful bay in the world, and the majesty of the clear blue Pacific. But Acapulco is also a prize to be fought over by drug cartels and is populated by hookers and thieves; a place 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.Grab a margarita and come on down to Acapulco . . . If you can take the heat.