In the upcoming NARCO NOIR: Detective Emilia Cruz Book 8, Emilia goes undercover as a taxi driver but is assigned to a new unit headed by Lieutenant Vicente Campos:

“Before you go, Detective.” Campos gave an embarrassed chuckle as he walked her to the door. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” Emilia said, disappointed. The phrase May I ask you a question from male supervisors, Silvio being the exception, was invariably followed by How about drinks after work? I’d like to get to know you better . . .

“Did I overplay my hand with Lieutenant Silvio the other day?”

“Overplay?”

“You know, calling him ‘Champ.’ Trying to get on his good side.” Campos mimed a couple of short jabs and chuckled again.

Emilia flushed with relief. “I don’t think he minded, but Lieutenant Silvio doesn’t have a good side.”

“Just my luck.” Campos mimed punching himself in the jaw. “You were his partner, weren’t you? Tough man to work with, I hear.”

“And he’s dating my best friend,” Emilia heard herself say.

Campos shook his head at the grave injustice. “Por Dios. I admire your resiliency, Detective.”

Their eyes met in a moment of solidarity against Lieutenant Franco Silvio, sinner and evildoer.

Emilia edged closer to the door. “Basically, don’t step on his toes and he won’t step on yours.”

“Good advice,” Campos said. “Thank you, Detective.”

Emilia fled back to her office with the files, gnawed by guilt. She didn’t know why she’d blabbed about Silvio dating Mercedes, except that Lieutenant Campos had an open, easy manner. He invited familiarity and created rapport, paying attention as if everything said to him was significant.

Hard to believe he was an accountant.

5 Must-read Favorite Mystery Series & 1 BONUS

These classic mystery series will keep your TBR list AND your binge-watching topped up. Links go to Amazon.com Prime Video.

You can also find a mini-review of a different mystery series every day on Facebook: https://facebook.com/carmenamato/

1  Spenser series by Robert B. Parker and Ace Atkins

Main character: Spenser, whose first name we never learn, is an ageless private investigator in Boston, Massachusetts who deftly moves between the city’s finest restaurants and its darkest criminal underworld. Series dialogue is a lesson for all wannabe mystery writers.

Have to start at the beginning? No. There are many Spenser novels and they can all be read on their own but starting from the beginning reveals how the characters have evolved over time and allows the reader to catch references to past events in the most recent books.

Recommended favorite: HUGGER MUGGER, in which Spenser investigates crooked horse racing is great, but the series’ triumph is POTSHOT, in which all the crime stoppers Spenser has run into over the lifespan of the series come together to take on a cult.

Mark Wahlberg just dropped a Spenser movie! But a moment of silence for the Spenser, For Hire series starring the late Robert Urich, available on Amazon Prime Video: https://amzn.to/33P8fWh

2  DI John Rebus series by Ian Rankin

Main character: Rebus is a hard drinking loner cop in Edinburgh, with a nemesis from the city’s underworld and a female partner who grows a bit more like him every day.

Have to start at the beginning? No. While the later books bring back characters introduced before, there is enough context to follow without any trouble.

Recommended favorite: RESURRECTION MEN is a great novel in which Rebus, whose superiors are fed up with his maverick behavior, is shoved off to a cop charm school with other troublemakers to investigate an old crime that no one wants solved.

3  Dublin Murder Squad by Tana French

Main character: Set in Dublin, Ireland, the books showcase a revolving door of cops rather than the typical mystery series built around one particular character.

Have to start at the beginning? No. Each book stands alone, with a different narrator, but most reference characters and events from other books.

Recommended favorite: IN THE WOODS is the first in the series, and sets a fast pace and unique narrative style. FAITHFUL PLACE was gritty perfection.

4  George Smiley series by John LeCarré

Main character: George Smiley is a polite and self-effacing spymaster in Britain’s intel service known as “the Circus,” whose demeanor masks his cunning, ruthlessness, and brilliant tradecraft during the Cold War with Russia.

Have to start at the beginning? Although Smiley first surfaces in A PERFECT MURDER, start with TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY.

Recommended favorite: SMILEY’S PEOPLE is a tour de force. Smiley finally matches wits against Karla, the Russian spymaster who recruited moles inside the Circus to bring down British intelligence.

I watched the original Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy film starring Alec Guinness as part of my CIA analyst training. But I prefer the 2011 movie starring Gary Oldman https://amzn.to/2WUHGgG

5  Shetland series by Ann Cleeves

Main character: Jimmy Perez is a Scottish police detective serving the stormy and remote Shetland islands between Scotland and Norway.

Have to start at the beginning? Yes. RAVEN BLACK starts the series with a shocking murder and a plunge into Perez’s personality, empathetic investigative techniques, and a wild and unique landscape.

Recommended favorite: Each one is a whodunit triumph, largely because Cleeves makes everyone a suspect by using quirky personalities and the restlessness of confined and gossipy island communities.

The BBC series starring Douglas Henshall was fantastic, with the first two seasons staying fairly true to the books. https://amzn.to/2UEIB29

 * BONUS *

Unforgotten is a British police procedural that rates 11 out of 10 stars.

DCI Cassie Stuart (Nicola Walker) and DI Sunny Khan (Sanjeev Bhaskar) untangle cold cases. What makes the show so well done is the way we're dropped into the current problems of those connected to the old crime. Simply outstanding. Watch on Amazon Prime Video. https://amzn.to/2UocEMI

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