Interview with Carmen Amato, Author of Barracuda Bay

What’s the story behind the story? What inspired you to write Barracuda Bay?

Police detective Emilia Cruz’s story started in Cliff Diver, the first in the series set in Acapulco. Now in Barracuda Bay (Book 9), she’s a seasoned cop assigned to investigate the murder of the mayor’s sister. Of course, nothing is easy, and before Emilia can arrest her prime suspect, she’s sent to Washington, DC. There, she becomes a fugitive on the run from killers disguised as cops. Emilia has to turn to her brother, a shady Mexican federal cop she once vowed to kill. I wanted to put Emilia to the ultimate test in Barracuda Bay. She’s on the run in a strange place, having to speak a foreign language, with no money, phone, car, or place to sleep. How will she survive? What would you do? Like all the books in the series, Barracuda Bay gives enough backstory to read as a standalone.

What’s your favorite genre to read? Is it the same as your favorite genre to write?

Definitely mystery, especially books set in exotic (to me, anyway) locations. I love seeing how other authors build clues and insert red herrings. I never read intending to figure out “whodunit.” I want to be led along the twisting, winding road to the end. Some favorites are books by Peter May, Jussi Adler-Olsen, and Brian Klingborg.

What books are on your TBR pile right now?

Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway (a continuation of the George Smiley books by John LaCarre) and Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin, the latest Inspector Rebus novel.

What scene in your book was your favorite to write?

The first scene must qualify as my favorite, because I rewrote it so many times! The killer is “off-screen” for much of the book, so I knew the reader needed to know who is causing so much havoc. He almost leaps off the page in the short and breathless start to the book. The scene sets a fast pace for the action to come.

Do you have any quirky writing habits? (lucky mugs, cats on laps, etc.)

I am a plotter with a love of the number 3. Every Detective Emilia Cruz mystery has at least 3 strands that are braided together throughout the book: the main crime/investigation, a secondary crime, and a personal issue that Emilia is struggling with. In Barracuda Bay, the main crime is the murder of the mayor’s sister, and the secondary crime is the murder of a Mexican federal cop connected to her undercover brother. Her personal issue is just as explosive: she continually faces discrimination for being the first female police detective in Acapulco. The chief of police sees her plans to marry hotel manager Kurt Rucker as an opportunity to force her out.

Do you have a motto, quote, or philosophy you live by?

“If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it.” I don’t know who was the first to say it, but it is so true!

If you could choose one thing for readers to remember after reading your book, what would it be?

Grappling with murder, deception, and uncertainty, Detective Emilia Cruz is resilient, courageous, and resourceful. If she can be all that, so can you.