Official Review: Diablo Nights by Carmen Amato
Posted: 11 Aug 2014, 16:43
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Diablo Nights" by Carmen Amato.]
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Carmen Amato’s novel Diablo Nights is part of a series she has written that revolves around a female detective named Emilia Cruz in Acapulco, Mexico. Amato brings her characters to life with her vivid writing style and sets them on the streets of a Mexico steeped in Catholicism and corruption. The third book in the series, Diablo Nights is well worth the read.
In Diablo Nights, Detective Emilia Cruz fights against time, Mexican and Honduran drug cartels, and corrupt members of her own department to find justice for the dead. A woman’s finger is sold as an alleged relic of a long dead saint. A man is shot and stuffed in the meat freezer of a luxury cruise ship. A prostitute dies in an alley of a drug overdose. While working these seemingly unrelated cases, Emilia begins to put together pieces of a larger pattern that lead her to a horrifying discovery and put her job, her relationships, and her life in jeopardy. As she juggles a sick mother, a still-new relationship, and a rookie partner with a dangerous crush, she must race against time to find the truth before it is lost forever.
At first glance, this series is quite similar to the In Death books by J.D. Robb. Both feature a plucky female detective with a dark past who has a thirst for justice and a rich foreign lover who plays back-up on occasion. While I couldn’t help but make note of the similarities, Amato’s unique setting, realistic characters, and intriguing plot set her apart. She brings Mexico to life in Emilia’s world of glittering tourist destinations and dangerous back alleys, where luxury cruise ships and rich spring-breakers collide with drug cartels, vigilantes, and corrupt government officials.
Diablo Nights is well written and well researched, providing a fascinating glimpse into a culture Amato is clearly well familiar with. She uses a number of Spanish words and phrases, but they are wonderfully integrated into conversation in a fluid manner that still manages to make the meanings clear for those with no knowledge of the language. There is some heavy subject matter discussed in the novel, which some readers might find disturbing. Aside from the grisly violence of the murder scenes and cartel involvement, the book also deals with drug use, mental illness, the threat of sexual violence, prostitution, and extreme miscarriages of justice. While the case is closed at the end, Amato’s commitment to realism ensures that readers are left with the knowledge that there are some battles that cannot be won and there are some enemies that are too powerful to defeat. Sometimes, the truth must be enough.
I am giving Diablo Nights four out of four stars. I very much enjoyed figuring out the clues alongside Detective Emilia Cruz and learning more about Mexican history, modern martyrs, and the violence that cartels unleash every day. It was a very unique and gripping mystery novel and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from Carmen Amato in the future.
***
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In Diablo Nights, Detective Emilia Cruz fights against time, Mexican and Honduran drug cartels, and corrupt members of her own department to find justice for the dead. A woman’s finger is sold as an alleged relic of a long dead saint. A man is shot and stuffed in the meat freezer of a luxury cruise ship. A prostitute dies in an alley of a drug overdose. While working these seemingly unrelated cases, Emilia begins to put together pieces of a larger pattern that lead her to a horrifying discovery and put her job, her relationships, and her life in jeopardy. As she juggles a sick mother, a still-new relationship, and a rookie partner with a dangerous crush, she must race against time to find the truth before it is lost forever.
At first glance, this series is quite similar to the In Death books by J.D. Robb. Both feature a plucky female detective with a dark past who has a thirst for justice and a rich foreign lover who plays back-up on occasion. While I couldn’t help but make note of the similarities, Amato’s unique setting, realistic characters, and intriguing plot set her apart. She brings Mexico to life in Emilia’s world of glittering tourist destinations and dangerous back alleys, where luxury cruise ships and rich spring-breakers collide with drug cartels, vigilantes, and corrupt government officials.
Diablo Nights is well written and well researched, providing a fascinating glimpse into a culture Amato is clearly well familiar with. She uses a number of Spanish words and phrases, but they are wonderfully integrated into conversation in a fluid manner that still manages to make the meanings clear for those with no knowledge of the language. There is some heavy subject matter discussed in the novel, which some readers might find disturbing. Aside from the grisly violence of the murder scenes and cartel involvement, the book also deals with drug use, mental illness, the threat of sexual violence, prostitution, and extreme miscarriages of justice. While the case is closed at the end, Amato’s commitment to realism ensures that readers are left with the knowledge that there are some battles that cannot be won and there are some enemies that are too powerful to defeat. Sometimes, the truth must be enough.
I am giving Diablo Nights four out of four stars. I very much enjoyed figuring out the clues alongside Detective Emilia Cruz and learning more about Mexican history, modern martyrs, and the violence that cartels unleash every day. It was a very unique and gripping mystery novel and I will definitely be on the lookout for more from Carmen Amato in the future.
***
Buy "Diablo Nights" on Amazon
