Mystery Ahead 22 June 2025 😎 5 Secrets | How to Say “No” | INTO THIN AIR
Lieutenant Silvio's back. But first, a question for you.
Top secrets, exclusive excerpts and reviews of must-read mysteries every other Sunday from author Carmen Amato. Find more at carmenamato.net/links.
#topsecret
Secret(s) Sauce
After 13 years and 18 books, I’ve figured out that the magic happens when 5 things align:
Basic story elements: Plot, characters and setting mesh together.
Sequencing: Things happen in the right order.
Consistency: Characters act AND react in a way that’s consistent to how they are portrayed.
Wordsmithing: Word choices elevate the story and never halt the flow.
Mood: It’s not just a book, it’s a reader experience.
I pay attention to all 5 aspects, especially during final edits. I ask myself lots of questions:
Does the ending tie the story together?
Did anyone do something out of character? (no pun intended)
Could I use a better phrase or word?
» Help me out! As a reader, what other aspects of a book are important to you?
Lights! Camera! Action!
I’ve been on-screen recently, talking with some of my favorite fellow authors.
» On the Amato2Berrick Crime Conversations YouTube channel, UK crime writer Jane Harvey-Berrick and I dissect our buddy read, THE TRESPASSER by Tana French.
Here we discuss interrogation scenes:
» L.M. Whitaker hosted me on her cool Fact to Fiction Substack that asks how much of a fiction book is real. We discussed KARLA’S CHOICE by Nick Harkaway, an espionage thriller in the vein of John le Carré who was Harkaway’s father.
We tackle questions from the book like, Are Russian assassination teams a real thing?
There’s a 2-minute video trailer followed by the full interview:
#excerpt
In the work-in-progress, DRAGON CARTEL, Detective Emilia Cruz is investigating the disappearance of a Customs agent. She goes to the home of her former partner and boss, Franco Silvio for help.
~
Uneven footsteps came closer and then Silvio appeared in the opening wearing a faded tee shirt, basketball shorts and high-top cross trainers. His crew cut glistened with water as if he’d just gotten out of a shower. “Mi amor,” he murmured, bending to kiss Mercedes. Emilia got a quick peck on the cheek.
His left foot dragged slightly as Silvio filled a glass of water from the garrafon. He was thinner than before the shooting, when he still carried the bulk of the heavyweight boxer he’d been long ago. But for someone who had been shot multiple times, lost liters of blood, got stitched together in a marathon surgery session, and spent three days in a coma, Silvio looked remarkably fit. The man had the constitution of a bull.
“What are you doing here, Cruz?” he asked after taking a slug of water. “Hiding from Cardone?”
Emilia gave a wry smile. “I need to talk business with you,”
Mercedes swiveled out of her chair, whisked a tray of crusty bolillo rolls filled with jamón Serrano off the counter and put it on the table. “Here, you two talk. I have things to do.”
She left the kitchen. Silvio settled into the seat she’d vacated and picked up a roll. “You in some kind of trouble, Cruz?”
“I’m heading out of the city with the El Barracuda team,” Emilia said. “I might be gone a couple of days.”
Silvio managed to chew and frown at the same time. “You want me to check up on Hollywood for you?”
“Kurt’s fine.” The two men were friends. Emilia knew Silvio persisted in using the old nickname just to needle her. “I need someone to look into the disappearance of a Customs agent while I’m gone. If I was only going to be a day or two, I wouldn’t ask. But if we find Flores, I could be stuck at some military base for weeks trying to pry information out of him.”
Silvio finished the little sandwich and licked a crumb off his thumb.
Emilia pulled a copy of the Lastra file out of her shoulder bag. “He’s been gone for two weeks. His wife filed a Missing Persons report but Cardone wants all Missing Persons to be sent to the federales so nobody did anything about it.”
Silvio took a bite out of a second ham-filled roll.
“Look.” Emilia pushed the tray aside and opened the file so that the papers faced him. “Here’s the initial Missing Persons report. Gregorio Lastra. Been with Customs for years. Model employee, nice record of advancement up the food chain.”
Silvio chewed. Drank some water.
“I’ve already interviewed the wife.” Emilia shoved the beach picture at him. “Happy family. Lots of friends. No enemies.”
Silvio’s arm was heavy with hard muscle as he reached over her hand to get another roll.
“Here’s the thing.” Emilia swallowed her impatience and put down the photo. “I talked to the head of the local Customs detachment and Lastra’s team. They all claim Lastra killed himself, but that doesn’t make sense. I think his team knows something they aren’t saying. It was all so scripted. The younger agents were quiet, like they didn’t have permission to talk. Anyway, I want you to--.”
“No,” Silvio said.
“Look, it’s not going to take much. Go down to the port. Press them a little bit.” Emilia fished out her report on the meeting with Lastra’s team, which included her perception of Beltran and Frias. “Get these two alone. I think it’s possible that they had an issue with Lastra and arranged to make him disappear. Either they made all the others on the team go along with the plan or convinced them that he really did commit suicide.”
“No,” Silvio repeated.
Emilia blinked “What do you mean, no?”
Silvio scowled. “No. As in no, I’m not going to investigate your Missing Persons case.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m on sick leave.”
It was Emilia’s turn to scowl. “It’s not like you’re stuck in an iron lung. You look perfectly capable of asking questions and scaring people.”
“Chief Salazar just extended my leave.” Silvio glared at her. “Indefinitely.”
~
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#review
INTO THIN AIR by Ørjan Karlsson
As a rule, I’m not fond of the serial-killer-with-mommy-issues-preying-on-young-women trope but this thriller breaks the mold. The book is so cleverly plotted that you don’t recognize the trope until the very end bursts like a dam, leaving you torn between gasping in shock and saluting in admiration at the writer’s outstanding grasp of the craft.
The first thing I loved about this book, first in the new Arctic Mysteries series (hopefully many more to come!) is that the lead character is introduced during a time of transition in his life. Jacob Weber’s wife has passed away and he’s slowly getting used to life on his own. Luckily, he has an empathetic dog that comes into the office with him.
Jacob is head of a tiny team of police detectives in Bodø, Norway, above the Arctic Circle. When a young woman who has applied to the police academy goes missing during a run through a popular wooded trail, the prime suspect is her on-again, off-again boyfriend from a wealthy family.
Seen through Jacob’s eyes as well as those of a female cop who has something to prove, the investigation into the runner’s disappearance unfolds at the same time as seemingly unrelated events. On the nearby island of Røst, a disabled young man is locked in a feud with a violent and erratic neighbor. A popular Scandinavian wellness influencer visits the area to introduce her millions of followers to the healthy northern lifestyle. The unnamed killer drives around in a specially outfitted van, stalking unwary female travelers at highway rest stops.
Jacob’s investigation jumps into high gear when he connects two previous murders to the runner’s disappearance and is able to pinpoint the time and place when the app she was using to time her runs stopped working.
The pacing is sensational, with the various points of view swapping places at crucial high-tension moments. Short chapters, a drumbeat of suspense, and strong characters you want to root for made it a fast and compelling read. Not to mention the setting, which makes the most of Bodø’s remote location and sparse population.
Norway is one of my favorite places, which is why I read Jo Nesbo’s BLOOD TIES and INTO THIN AIR is quick succession. Both are wonderfully atmospheric books, but to be honest, INTO THIN AIR had me flipping pages faster. I can’t wait for the second book in the series!
Highly recommended.
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
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PPS: Were you looking for the Detective Emilia Cruz Starter Library and other free downloads? Find all my reader freebies here.
Hi Carmen - I'm always amazed at how much interesting information you pack into one newsletter. Keep up the good work!
One of the elements i always look for in a book, is the setting, where does this take place. While there are several authors i follow { you being my favorite}, i seem to always lean toward books about the south, from Mexico to Florida. I love the south, palmtrees, great southern food, the swamps of Louisanna!! I am also a sucker for books about road trips.Sorry, i got carried away!