I’m not sure why so many Amazon reviewers insist on rehashing the plot. You can read about the plot in the publilsher’s summary. A review should be a subjective analysis of the pros and cons of the book. So here goes:
Pros
The author is amazing at setting a scene. You feel as if you are literally dropped into wherever she’s writing about, with the sights and sounds and smells entering your mind.
Her main character is well-developed and multi-layered. She’s got her strengths and weaknesses. Unlike many fictional detectives, she doesn’t instinctively know everything.
Her writing moves relatively quickly. And her setting is unique. There are enough detective novels set in NYC, LA and the English countryside.
This book will (or at least should) open your mind to the fact that Mexico in general (and Acapulco in particular) is not full of the stereotypes North Americans hold. While reading, I Googled and was surprised to learn Acapulco has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Cons
I’m surprised more reviews don’t point Amato’s mystery storyline is so confusing. I consider myself a well-read person, but I had a difficult time following it. She has numerous suspects and motives, and they change from chapter to chapter.
While her main character is well-drawn, her supporting characters...not so much. There are so many of them, and everything they do revolves completely around the main character. Amato even gave the main character’s mother borderline dementia so she can’t really have a fully formed life.
One final note: To the negative reviewers complaining the book has Spanish words in it: Did you happen to notice it is set in Mexico??
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![Cliff Diver (Detective Emilia Cruz Book 1) by [Carmen Amato]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cnVZx1rAL._SY346_.jpg)
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From the Publisher
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CLIFF DIVEREmilia investigates the death of a dirty cop in the explosive series debut. |
HAT DANCEAs Acapulco burns, Emilia hunts for a violent arsonist and a missing girl in Book 2. |
DIABLO NIGHTSA religious relic, a cruise ship murder, and a rookie cop put Emilia’s life in danger in Book 3. |
KING PESOEmilia gambles it all to save her partner from a serial killer targeting cops in Book 4. |
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PACIFIC REAPEREmilia goes undercover as a devotee of Santa Muerte, Mexico’s forbidden saint, in Book 5. |
43 MISSINGBased on a true crime, Emilia grapples with a shocking mass kidnapping in Book 6. |
RUSSIAN MOJITOCan Emilia deliver a dose of Mexican justice to a Russian killer in Book 7? |
NARCO NOIREmilia plays both a taxi driver and a movie star in the undercover role of a lifetime in Book 8. |
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Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Walter Scott
One of the best female lead characters in the last 10 years
Reviewed in Canada on August 31, 2019
J.O. Quantaman
Carmen Amato has just become my favorite mystery-suspense writer
Reviewed in Canada on December 10, 2014
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