Prepare for an adrenaline-fueled ride through a dark and treacherous world when Detective Emilia Cruz investigates Mexico's most notorious true crime and finally solves it.

“Astounding” – Nightstand Reviews

Emilia finds herself in Mexico City, part of a national task force examining the forced disappearance of 43 college students from a city in central Mexico. Despite its high profile, the task force is a paper exercise to cover somebody's political you-know-what.

Nobody expects to find out how the 43 students disappeared. Nobody expects to make an arrest.

As the task force heads to the scene of the crime, a supposedly trustworthy diplomat offers Emilia $50,000 to spike the investigation. The offer raises profound questions of loyalty, conscience, and her future as an honest cop.

43 MISSING is a gripping police drama based on the true events of September 2014, when 43 students from the Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers College were the victims of a mass kidnapping from Iguala, Guerrero. Carmen Amato's masterful storytelling solves the crime, which in real life remains shrouded in mystery.

Fans of Don Winslow's cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico, will be captivated by the intricate plots, pulse-pounding suspense, and exotic locations of Detective Emilia Cruz's world. She takes on the real and complex issues of Mexican cartels, corruption, and social inequality portrayed in Netflix's "Narcos."

43 MISSING is the 6th book in the Detective Emilia Cruz which features the first female police detective in Acapulco as she confronts cartels, corruption and social inequality amid the hunt for Mexico's missing. The setting, characters, and connection to current events in Mexico make this a highly appealing series for international readers.

Author Carmen Amato learned a few things about danger, deception and resilience during a 30-year career with the CIA focusing on counterdrug and technical collection. Now those lessons play out on the page, especially in the Detective Emilia Cruz mystery series set in Acapulco.