Mystery Ahead 16 Mar 2025 😎 Namedropper | SUBSTANCE OF FEAR | DEAD RECKONING
A name, a confession and 2 riveting police procedurals
Top secrets, exclusive excerpts and reviews of must-read mysteries every other Sunday from author Carmen Amato. Find more at carmenamato.net/links.
#topsecret
Namedropper?
First, a little background. The titles of all the books in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series make reference to Mexico and/or Acapulco, the iconic Mexican resort city on the country’s Pacific coast where the series is set.
The first book in the series is CLIFF DIVER, named for the daring divers who leap off the famed cliffs of La Quebrada on the west side of Acapulco Bay. I’ll never forget watching divers make the sign of the cross, then launch themselves off the cliff and plunge into the rock-strewn ocean far below.
The title of 43 MISSING was inspired by a 2014 true crime in Mexico. PACIFIC REAPER referred to Santa Muerte, Mexico’s forbidden saint of death. NARCO NOIR is a reference to not only the narco characters who populate Acapulco’s underworld of organized crime but also a fictional movie produced to lure a narco jefe out of hiding (inspired by both El Chapo and Pablo Escobar who wanted to have autobiographical movies made.)
Anyway, the original title of BARRACUDA BAY, the latest release in the Detective Emilia Cruz series, was VIVA ACAPULCO because in the book, Viva Acapulco is the mayor’s re-election campaign slogan and the election is a pivotal element in the whodunit plot.
But the more I wrote, the more that VIVA ACAPULCO felt like the title of an Elvis movie instead of a highly charged thriller dealing with political corruption and ruthless cartel killers.
A fresh title changed everything. The word barracuda conjures up menace and fear, two emotions that stalk Emilia through the book.
No spoilers, but the title also refers to a character who doesn't say much but packs a big punch . . . er, bite.
Amato writes authentic stories that are meticulously crafted, well-researched, and exciting. Drawing on her experiences in Acapulco as a CIA intelligence officer, the Detective Emilia Cruz novels are a heady mix of political intrigue, federal corruption, payoffs, and murder for hire. She will keep you guessing to the end. I devoured Barracuda Bay, reading late into the night. - Lynda L. Lock, author of the Isla Mujeres mystery series
Thank you, Lynda! Reviews like the one above tell me that I’ve met the goal of putting the reader in Emilia Cruz’s shoes.
If you have enjoyed BARRACUDA BAY and would like to rate or review the book, you can use these links:
· Amazon: https://geni.us/bbay2025
· Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/barracuda-bay-carmen-amato/1146877496
· Books-a-Million:
https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Barracuda-Bay/Carmen-Amato/9798989140374
· Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/223520438-barracuda-bay
· BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/barracuda-bay-a-detective-emilia-cruz-novel-by-carmen-amato
Thriller Author Directory
David Bruns, co-writer of the riveting Command and Control military-espionage thriller series, has created a directory of thriller authors who are active on the Substack newsletter hosting platform (where this newsletter now lives). The idea is to have a cohort supporting each other on the platform.
If you fit that description, please check out the directory and submit your information. Here’s the link:
#excerpt
This is from the very first draft of a pivotal conversation in BARRACUDA BAY between Emilia and her long-lost brother, Rafa Gamboa, a federale agent under deep cover who has done some very bad things in the quest to capture a drug kingpin.
~
“I had the best of everything and nothing that I wanted.” Gamboa swirled the whiskey in his glass. “I thought that starring in a telenovela was going to make the feeling go away but it didn’t. So now here I am on the biggest, most challenging stage in the world. I got this tattoo and was branded for life. I could never do anything else, trapped in a play with an audience of one and if the show isn’t good enough he’ll kill me. That’s all I was. Until you came along.”
He stared into the fire. The rain slashed at the windows. Emilia shifted uncomfortably.
“It doesn’t really matter. I’m Santa Muerte’s creature now. Pursuing Barrielos Luna until I kill him or he kills me.”
As harsh as his words were, Emilia glimpsed something raw and disturbingly vulnerable behind them. “Don’t say that,” she said.
“Why not? It’s true.”
“Then get out of the undercover business. If the federales don’t want you for a desk job, just quit. Get out. Go somewhere Barrielos Luna won’t find you. Do something that doesn’t involve selling your soul.”
“This is my life. This is what I am. I hunt and I kill.”
“Or an actor trapped in a bad role. Get out. You still have choices.”
“You sound like a priest.” Gamboa snorted as he refilled his glass. “What choices does Manuel Bernal have? Or the man formerly known as Rafael Gamboa? His reputation as an actor was completely shredded so no one would be surprised when he left Mexico City. I was no angel, so it was easy to make it worse. As El Acólito, the kind of men who followed me were ignorant, superstitious fools, warped beyond understanding. Brutes. Beasts. And contagious. When you spend weeks at a time with them, that sort of behavior becomes almost normal. The more sick and violent the better. It almost becomes a contest. Your life is worth nothing, then everyone’s life becomes nothing. Whatever conscience I had died a little more every day until I forgot what it was to be alive.”
#review
To make up for the lack of a review in the last edition of Mystery Ahead, today I’m serving up two police procedural book reviews from series I’ve really enjoyed.
THE SUBSTANCE OF FEAR by Richard F. McGonegal
A solid investigative thriller with an everyman hero every reader can relate to and cheer for.
Missouri sheriff Francis Hood and his signature line (“I’m your sheriff, Francis Hood”) seem tailor-made for television. He’s a man of few words and keen focus but is not without a few demons nipping at his heels. A recovering alcoholic, Hood has recently reunited with his wife and daughter but tensions remain.
Amid this precarious personal life, he’s teamed with a beautiful crime scene investigator with severe OCD to investigate a violent assault on the owner of a junk shop in a small town with deep German roots.
Good old-fashioned detective work prevails over technology in an engrossing story that alternates between Hood’s point of view and the machinations of a local gang. There’s an uneasy link between the gang and the crime scene investigator that keeps the pages turning swiftly.
Amid zigs and zags, the plot never bogs down, the investigative pace stays steady and the writing is crisp throughout. Get it on Amazon.
DEAD RECKONING by Berrick Ford
Third in the Cornish Crime Thriller series, DEAD RECKONING will command your attention with jaw-dropping moments, a unique mix of protagonists and a compelling sense of place.
Tamsyn Poldhu is a newly minted cop who previously survived a tangle with an Albanian drug gang using Cornwall’s remote coves to bring drugs into the UK. Now she’s in a London court, testifying against the gang’s vicious enforcer who murdered a close family friend. An explosive attack on the courtroom allows the enforcer to escape, but he takes time for a last interaction with Tamsyn that literally made me gasp.
Tamsyn’s boss, DCI Robert Rego leads the hunt for the fugitive Albanian gangster, butting heads with a boot-licking police hierarchy. Luckily, Rego has friends in the intelligence service and military who are willing to help.
Yet the fugitive has friends, too.
Written with touches of wry humor and deep knowledge of UK police procedures, both main characters are relatable and likeable. We’re on a roller coaster with them through tumultuous events and absolutely shocking twists, all the way to a gripping race-against-time climax. Get it on Amazon.
That’s it for this edition of Mystery Ahead. Thank you for spending this time with me.
Wishing you health, happiness, and more great reads.
All the best, Carmen
PS: To keep this newsletter free, consider buying a book. Or invite me on your podcast or book blog to promote the release of BARRACUDA BAY. Thank you!
Another great newsletter, Carmen! I've finished reading "Barracuda Bay" and gave it four stars on Goodreads. Please don't be disappointed. I rarely give five stars to anything except time-tested literature like "Schindler's List" or "The Old Man and the Sea" or "The Pearl." Now, I'm trying to find the right words to write a short review for Goodreads.
Thanks for the interesting information on how you named your books. It's particularly useful now, as I try to decide the title of my first book!