Hat Dance

A greedy arsonist. A missing girl.

Acapulco's award-winning female police detective is back, desperately searching for two people who don't want to be found.

Detective Emilia Cruz has serious problems.

Her new lieutenant is a drunk. Her new partner is a surly ex-boxer who refuses to work with women. Her new romance with hotel manager Kurt Rucker is already on the rocks.

When a restaurant explosion interrupts their date, Emilia and Kurt barely escape a fiery death, along with Acapulco's popular mayor. Never one to let a good crisis go to waste, the mayor insists she was the target of an assassination attempt.

Another arson attack and suddenly the city's all-important tourism industry is threatened. Acapulco's citizens take to the streets, turning a protest rally into a fiery call for action.

As tensions and tempers soar, Emilia is feeling the pressure to find the arsonist. Yet she can't refuse a plea to look for a missing girl from her own neighborhood.

The trail leads to Acapulco's famous lucha libre fighters. Their response? Kindle an inferno.

If Emilia's only chance to survive the fire is to dance with the devil, will she take it?

Would you?

"A thrilling series" - National Public Radio

Poison Cup award, Outstanding Series 2019 and 2020 -- CrimeMasters of America

Acapulco, the fabled resort city known for nightclubs and cliff divers, now has the highest homicide rate in Mexico. The Detective Emilia Cruz series takes on cartels, corruption and social inequality. It's not just a walk on the beach.

With unflinching authenticity drawn from the author's own counterdrug experiences in Mexico and Central America, this is a female police detective mystery series like no other.

For fans of international murder mystery series, such as Ian Rankin's John Rebus series, Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole series, and Ann Cleeves's Shetland and Vera Stanhope series, the Detective Emilia Cruz series offers an exhilarating and captivating experience. Fans of Don Winslow's cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico will also find themselves hooked on Emilia Cruz's relentless pursuit of justice.