Hat Dance ― An Emilia Cruz Novel

Imagine if you were the first and only female police detective in Acapulco, investigating crime in a city both breathtaking and deadly. Mexican drug cartels battle for control and politicians are bought with blood money.Your partner once vowed to destroy you. Your new lieutenant is a drunk. Your lover might leave Acapulco.And then the restaurant you just left blows up.That’s the situation for Detective Emilia Cruz in HAT DANCE, the second book in the sensational police procedural series taking the mystery scene by storm. Terrified by her nightmares of the restaurant fire and shaken by norteamericano hotel manager Kurt Rucker’s possible move, Emilia must catch a violent firebomber and find a missing girl before the iconic beach city is destroyed. Neither investigation is easy, because the influence and impact of Mexico’s drug war is everywhere, just like the salt breeze coming off the ocean. Emilia’s police work is soon hijacked by savage political rivalries, a corrupt Vice cop, and a woman in prison who knows more than she’ll say. As Acapulco screams for an end to the flames, the arsonist evades Emilia’s sting operation. Meanwhile, the missing girl’s trail leads to Acapulco’s famous lucha libre fighters. Inside the coliseum, the heat of the investigation ignites into an inferno. If Emilia’s only chance to survive is to dance with the devil, will she take it?Would you?“Emilia . . . is a force to be reckoned with . . . I loved Hat Dance just as much as Cliff Diver” – MysterySequels.comMEET EMILIA CRUZDetective Emilia Cruz is a good liar, a fast thinker, a determined investigator and a mean kickboxer. An Acapulco native forced to grow up too fast, she’s been a cop for nearly 12 years and a detective for two; a strong woman in a squadroom that didn’t want her and is still trying to break her. But Emilia isn’t afraid to defend herself and get what she’s rightfully earned. She knows that many women in Mexico don’t get the chances she’s had and the proof is in a log she tracks of women who have gone missing. But she can't handle Kurt Rucker, the manager of a luxury hotel in Acapulco. A former U.S. Marine, he has the confidence and leadership qualities she admires. A triathlete, he’s calm under pressure and knows what he wants. But does Emilia?THE TWO FACES OF ACAPULCOThere’s the Acapulco that tourists know; luxury hi-rises, candlelit nights on the beach, the sweep of the most beautiful bay in the world, the majesty of the clear blue Pacific. There’s also the Acapulco that is a prize to be fought over by drug cartels--the city that is home to hookers and thieves, the streets where life is cheap and poverty is as pervasive as the wind off the ocean. Both of these versions of Acapulco claw at the each other and force Emilia to survive between them. No investigation will be easy, no crime will be simple.Grab a margarita and come on down to Acapulco . . . If you can take the heat.