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The Hidden Light of Mexico City
A stunning political thriller from a former CIA officer on the front lines of Mexico’s drug war. Expect characters who leap off the page and a chilling border scenario that could be tomorrow’s headlines.
As presidential elections near, Mexico City attorney Eduardo Cortez Castillo discovers evidence of collusion between a powerful government official and Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel.
Coded messages . . . A secret website . . . Clever money laundering.
The conclusion is terrifying. With deep state help, a ruthless druglord is poised to buy Mexico’s presidency.
As he digs for evidence and violence spills across the US-Mexican border, Eduardo is marked for death by cartel assassins. Instead of abandoning the dangerous investigation, he follows the money trail deep into drug smuggling territory where violence buys loyalty and votes are for sale.
The odds are against survival.
Back in Mexico City, a woman whose name means Light of Mary faces a painful choice. Wait for Eduardo or join the immigration train?
But the cartel is looking for her, too.
* Get your copy today *
This brilliant political thriller takes you on a riveting ride through Mexico's rigid class system and the country's spiraling drug violence, to the harsh realities of the US-Mexican border. Authentic and revealing, much of the action is drawn from the author’s own experiences.
"Enthralling political drama" -- Literary Fiction Review
“Captivating and thrilling” – InDTale Magazine
Love international thrillers by Nelson DeMille, Andrew Gross, Ken Follett, Lee Child and David Morrell? Riveted by AMERICAN DIRT or Don Winslow’s cartel and border thrillers set in Mexico?
You won't want to miss THE HIDDEN LIGHT OF MEXICO CITY.
Author Carmen Amato is a former CIA intelligence officer who uses her own counterdrug and espionage experiences to craft intrigue-filled crime fiction that keeps you guessing until the very end. Amato is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal. Her award-winning Detective Emilia Cruz police series pits Acapulco’s first female police detective against cartels and corruption.
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2011
135 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
Carmen Amato
36 books383 followersCarmen Amato is the author of the Detective Emilia Cryz mystery series pitting the first female police detective in Acapulco against Mexico's cartels, corruption, and social inequality. Starting with Cliff Diver, the series is a 2-time winner of the Outstanding Series award from CrimeMasters of America and was hailed by National Public Radio as “A thrilling series.”
Her standalone thrillers include The Hidden Light of Mexico City, which was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.
A 30-year veteran of the CIA where she focused on technical collection and counterdrug issues, Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.
A judge for the BookLife Prize and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award, her essays have appeared in Criminal Element, Publishers Weekly, and other national publications. She writes the popular Mystery Ahead newsletter on Substack with her top secrets, exclusive excerpts and book reviews: https://mysteryahead.substack.com.
Originally from upstate New York, after years of globe-trotting she and her husband enjoy life in Tennessee. https://carmenamato.net/links
Her standalone thrillers include The Hidden Light of Mexico City, which was longlisted for the 2020 Millennium Book Award.
A 30-year veteran of the CIA where she focused on technical collection and counterdrug issues, Carmen is a recipient of both the National Intelligence Award and the Career Intelligence Medal.
A judge for the BookLife Prize and Killer Nashville’s Claymore Award, her essays have appeared in Criminal Element, Publishers Weekly, and other national publications. She writes the popular Mystery Ahead newsletter on Substack with her top secrets, exclusive excerpts and book reviews: https://mysteryahead.substack.com.
Originally from upstate New York, after years of globe-trotting she and her husband enjoy life in Tennessee. https://carmenamato.net/links
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 1, 2023
Let's meet a couple of domestic servants:
Luz had inherited her father's height and lithe build, along with his high cheekbones and wide mouth.
and
Rosa was barely 21, with a short, wiry perm and boyish frame.
Anyone want to guess which one is still a domestic servant by the end of the book?
Similarly with the men: Guess which one is the good guy and which one is the bad guy?
His hair was silvery gray and his features were sharp and aristocratic but never cold or aloof.
vs this guy:
thick jaw, flat nose, greasy hair, and pockmarked skin.
The author handled the romance aspect of this book far better than the crime part. In fairness to the author, the sex scenes were well done, and probably would have lost some sparkle if the flat-nosed, greasy-haired guy and boyish girl were the ones being described. But for those of us who are pure of heart but unlovely of face, it would be great if we didn't have our noses rubbed in it in our fiction as well as everyday life.
So: A well-plotted, well-written Cinderella story, except Cinderella didn't make us wade through page after page of tedious wire fraud elements. With the exception of John LeCarre, I've never read an interesting book in which characters spent a lot of time trying to get past passwords and userids. And Le Carre did it by showing how deeply corrupt the entire banking system has to be in order for these things to work. While drug money is more sophisticated than it used to be, it is as nothing compared to the nearly-legal structures in place to hide the financial workings of the ultra wealthy.
Just write a romance, for crying out loud. In a romance novel, there's no need to ask questions like, how does this guy run a billion dollar corporation and serve as Attorney General of the nation and have time to work on his chiseled abs?
Luz had inherited her father's height and lithe build, along with his high cheekbones and wide mouth.
and
Rosa was barely 21, with a short, wiry perm and boyish frame.
Anyone want to guess which one is still a domestic servant by the end of the book?
Similarly with the men: Guess which one is the good guy and which one is the bad guy?
His hair was silvery gray and his features were sharp and aristocratic but never cold or aloof.
vs this guy:
thick jaw, flat nose, greasy hair, and pockmarked skin.
The author handled the romance aspect of this book far better than the crime part. In fairness to the author, the sex scenes were well done, and probably would have lost some sparkle if the flat-nosed, greasy-haired guy and boyish girl were the ones being described. But for those of us who are pure of heart but unlovely of face, it would be great if we didn't have our noses rubbed in it in our fiction as well as everyday life.
So: A well-plotted, well-written Cinderella story, except Cinderella didn't make us wade through page after page of tedious wire fraud elements. With the exception of John LeCarre, I've never read an interesting book in which characters spent a lot of time trying to get past passwords and userids. And Le Carre did it by showing how deeply corrupt the entire banking system has to be in order for these things to work. While drug money is more sophisticated than it used to be, it is as nothing compared to the nearly-legal structures in place to hide the financial workings of the ultra wealthy.
Just write a romance, for crying out loud. In a romance novel, there's no need to ask questions like, how does this guy run a billion dollar corporation and serve as Attorney General of the nation and have time to work on his chiseled abs?
May 3, 2022
“So you’re too afraid to save our country?….What will you leave your grandchildren? A country that’s just a playground of violence for the cartels?”
Eddo hated what he was forced to do just to be able to do the right thing. People will get hurt, but he couldn’t sit back and do nothing just because it was dangerous and may cost him his life.
Luz has sacrificed everything for her family. I feel so bad for her and I wonder when or if she will have her turn. Her family ticks me off. What gives them the right to treat her the way they do. Even her brother walks a fine line in my book. Family is family, but when is too much enough?
An indepth look at the brutality and corruption of Mexico’s’ drug trade and the war for territory.
Whoa…I was brought up short. I thought I knew what the story would be: betrayal, corruption, power hungry, brutal, savage, and those who try to do the right thing. I’ve always heard how Mexico was driven by the drug cartels, so on that front I wasn’t surprised.
The twist with the romance…
The Hidden Light Of Mexico City by Carmen Amato is a great police procedural, suspense/thriller. At times my heart was in my throat and I love the characters, good and bad.
The ending is excellent. Not too short, not too long, just right.
Eddo hated what he was forced to do just to be able to do the right thing. People will get hurt, but he couldn’t sit back and do nothing just because it was dangerous and may cost him his life.
Luz has sacrificed everything for her family. I feel so bad for her and I wonder when or if she will have her turn. Her family ticks me off. What gives them the right to treat her the way they do. Even her brother walks a fine line in my book. Family is family, but when is too much enough?
An indepth look at the brutality and corruption of Mexico’s’ drug trade and the war for territory.
Whoa…I was brought up short. I thought I knew what the story would be: betrayal, corruption, power hungry, brutal, savage, and those who try to do the right thing. I’ve always heard how Mexico was driven by the drug cartels, so on that front I wasn’t surprised.
The twist with the romance…
The Hidden Light Of Mexico City by Carmen Amato is a great police procedural, suspense/thriller. At times my heart was in my throat and I love the characters, good and bad.
The ending is excellent. Not too short, not too long, just right.
October 17, 2019
There are too many compelling characters in this book to mention them all, but in a nutshell... Luz feels trapped. Her sister has just become pregnant and she's the only one earning money to put her brother through school and food on the table. Her dream of becoming an artist and helping her talented brother get a college education feels like an impossibility. Eddo has influence and connections and isn't willing to sit back and let the next Mexican president be bought and paid for by the cartels. He's willing to risk it all for the sake of his country and what he believes in. When Eddo and Luz meet, there's a strong connection - emotionally and physically. But will their relationship be able to survive the strain of class differences, violence, and long separations?
This was a fabulous read. Just amazing. I live in Mexico most of the time and I experienced with all my five senses the pulse of life in Mexico. And Amato's brings you up close to it all. The glamorous lives of the wealthy, the desperation and hopelessness of so many living in poverty, the constant undercurrent of the drug culture. It's all woven into a romantic and sometimes nail-biting suspense story that you won't be able to put down.
This was a fabulous read. Just amazing. I live in Mexico most of the time and I experienced with all my five senses the pulse of life in Mexico. And Amato's brings you up close to it all. The glamorous lives of the wealthy, the desperation and hopelessness of so many living in poverty, the constant undercurrent of the drug culture. It's all woven into a romantic and sometimes nail-biting suspense story that you won't be able to put down.
February 2, 2025
Gripping Mexican thriller!
July 12, 2014
Luz de Maria is going nowhere.
Three, short chapters into author Carmen Amato’s gutty telenovela, her weary heroine leans against a bus window and stares out at Mexico City, a rundown, smog-choked metropolis of 28 million struggling souls.
“The bus passed block after block of sooty concrete cut into houses and shops and shanties and parking garages and mercados and schools and more shanties where people lived surrounded by hulks of old cars and plastic things no one bothered to throw away. Sometimes there wasn’t concrete for homes, just sheets of corrugated metal and big pieces of cardboard that would last until the next rainy season. It was the detritus of millions upon millions of people who had nowhere to go and nothing to do and were angry about it.”
Everyone is on the take. The police and government are corrupt; drug cartels battle and behead their rivals; the rich live behind 20-foot high walls topped with rolled barbed wire and security cameras; private police in bulletproof vests guard upscale malls while the pampered teens of the upper crust shop for their Prada totes and Hermes scarves ; drug money and dollars sent home from family members working legally and illegally in "El Norte" account for half the national income – and unmarried, 29-year old Luz de Maria Alba Mora, scraping by as a housemaid on $500 a month while struggling to support her brother and pregnant, unmarried sister, dreams of escaping the barrio for New York to become an artist.
You’re hooked.
Amato nails the gritty setting, the tug of a dream, and Luz’s despair at her dead-end job just before aristocratic, handsome Eduardo Cortez Castillo accidentally bumps into her and her sketchpad in Chapultepec Park, where both have gravitated to in their loneliness. Dressed in a well-cut leather blazer and a pair of Ray-Bans, hero “Eddo” is a (rare) honest detective, risking everything to investigate a powerful superior in the Ministry of Public Security suspected of drug-dealing with vicious narco-kingpin “El Toro.” It seems there’s hope for poor Mexico yet – and for our muchacha Luz who gets drawn into his dangerous world and his comforting arms. The next morning, he says he loves her and wants to see more of her. Dare she love him back? Mexico’s rigid class system looms disapprovingly. Eddo is castellano; he can trace his family’s roots back to royal Castile, home of kings and conquistadores. Luz is a mestizo of mixed Spanish-Indian blood, a domestic from the barrio. Mama Maria’s hard advice to her daughter? “You keep with your own kind.”
"The Hidden Light of Mexico City" is a gritty, political thriller – with dark, violent Mexico in the cross-hairs. It’s also 19th century Dickens redux. The great Victorian novelist knew how to create a commercial best-seller, but he also employed his pen to illuminate the crushing poverty, institutionalized social injustice, and stifling class system which defined Victorian England. Amato originally imagined Hidden Light as a non-fiction look at Mexico's social pyramid, and infuses her fictional novel with a similar, quiet, moral subtext. In Luz’s world, maids do the homework for their rich employers’ spoiled brats; mom irons 40 shirts a day for a miserable twenty cents each; cars left overnight on the street get stripped; you carry your money in a zippered sweatshirt to avoid pickpockets; the rich cut in line at the bank, confident the poor won’t make a peep; medical care is a crowded charity clinic; half the nation completes only six years of primary school (25 percent of adults are functionally illiterate); and everyone knows someone who’s tried to cross the border into "El Norte."
A lousy place to live poor, but great grist for a novel.
The next time drugs and immigration pop up on Fox or CNN, turn off the talking heads, pick up "Hidden Light,"" and let Luz de Maria explain to you why so many proud but discouraged mexicanos are dying – literally – to start a new life north of the border.
Amato lived ten years in Mexico and Central America. In addition to Hidden Light, she’s penned a suite of well-reviewed thrillers featuring a female cop in Acapulco simultaneously battling narco gangs and Mexico’s entrenched culture of machismo. The third and latest, Diablo Nights," just debuted on Amazon.com.
Three, short chapters into author Carmen Amato’s gutty telenovela, her weary heroine leans against a bus window and stares out at Mexico City, a rundown, smog-choked metropolis of 28 million struggling souls.
“The bus passed block after block of sooty concrete cut into houses and shops and shanties and parking garages and mercados and schools and more shanties where people lived surrounded by hulks of old cars and plastic things no one bothered to throw away. Sometimes there wasn’t concrete for homes, just sheets of corrugated metal and big pieces of cardboard that would last until the next rainy season. It was the detritus of millions upon millions of people who had nowhere to go and nothing to do and were angry about it.”
Everyone is on the take. The police and government are corrupt; drug cartels battle and behead their rivals; the rich live behind 20-foot high walls topped with rolled barbed wire and security cameras; private police in bulletproof vests guard upscale malls while the pampered teens of the upper crust shop for their Prada totes and Hermes scarves ; drug money and dollars sent home from family members working legally and illegally in "El Norte" account for half the national income – and unmarried, 29-year old Luz de Maria Alba Mora, scraping by as a housemaid on $500 a month while struggling to support her brother and pregnant, unmarried sister, dreams of escaping the barrio for New York to become an artist.
You’re hooked.
Amato nails the gritty setting, the tug of a dream, and Luz’s despair at her dead-end job just before aristocratic, handsome Eduardo Cortez Castillo accidentally bumps into her and her sketchpad in Chapultepec Park, where both have gravitated to in their loneliness. Dressed in a well-cut leather blazer and a pair of Ray-Bans, hero “Eddo” is a (rare) honest detective, risking everything to investigate a powerful superior in the Ministry of Public Security suspected of drug-dealing with vicious narco-kingpin “El Toro.” It seems there’s hope for poor Mexico yet – and for our muchacha Luz who gets drawn into his dangerous world and his comforting arms. The next morning, he says he loves her and wants to see more of her. Dare she love him back? Mexico’s rigid class system looms disapprovingly. Eddo is castellano; he can trace his family’s roots back to royal Castile, home of kings and conquistadores. Luz is a mestizo of mixed Spanish-Indian blood, a domestic from the barrio. Mama Maria’s hard advice to her daughter? “You keep with your own kind.”
"The Hidden Light of Mexico City" is a gritty, political thriller – with dark, violent Mexico in the cross-hairs. It’s also 19th century Dickens redux. The great Victorian novelist knew how to create a commercial best-seller, but he also employed his pen to illuminate the crushing poverty, institutionalized social injustice, and stifling class system which defined Victorian England. Amato originally imagined Hidden Light as a non-fiction look at Mexico's social pyramid, and infuses her fictional novel with a similar, quiet, moral subtext. In Luz’s world, maids do the homework for their rich employers’ spoiled brats; mom irons 40 shirts a day for a miserable twenty cents each; cars left overnight on the street get stripped; you carry your money in a zippered sweatshirt to avoid pickpockets; the rich cut in line at the bank, confident the poor won’t make a peep; medical care is a crowded charity clinic; half the nation completes only six years of primary school (25 percent of adults are functionally illiterate); and everyone knows someone who’s tried to cross the border into "El Norte."
A lousy place to live poor, but great grist for a novel.
The next time drugs and immigration pop up on Fox or CNN, turn off the talking heads, pick up "Hidden Light,"" and let Luz de Maria explain to you why so many proud but discouraged mexicanos are dying – literally – to start a new life north of the border.
Amato lived ten years in Mexico and Central America. In addition to Hidden Light, she’s penned a suite of well-reviewed thrillers featuring a female cop in Acapulco simultaneously battling narco gangs and Mexico’s entrenched culture of machismo. The third and latest, Diablo Nights," just debuted on Amazon.com.
November 9, 2016
There is a dark heart beating beneath the surface of this teeming, populated city. Power, class wars, corruption, lust, secrets....this book is like a multi-layered cake that you just keep slicing into and getting new flavors. Mexico City a character in its own right, and the dichotomy between the rich and the poor here is well fleshed-out. On the one hand, you have the elite: the politicians, the business owners, the government employees, and even the drug cartel--and on the other you have the people who keep the city running like a well-oiled machine: the maids, drivers, caretakers, and servants. Nowhere is the vast chasm between the two more pronounced than it is in the romantic entanglement between Luz de Maria, the main character, and Eddo Cortez, the attorney for whom she falls hard and fast. (And I loved the romance, for the record--it came at just the right point in the story, giving the book a different shape than it would have if it'd only played out as a suspense/family drama.)
I can honestly say that there was nothing I didn't love about this book. Amato writes fluidly about Mexico City, allowing her reader to dip into the culture and imagine the people and places as though they'd seen them before. There were a LOT of characters to keep straight, but somehow even the most minor characters felt developed enough to feel real--even when they were just passing through, the reader was able to look straight at them and get a strong visual or a feel for who they were. The senses are fully-employed here, too, from the smell of exhaust on the city buses, to the expensive mixed-grill dinner Luz and Eddo shared on their first date, to the feelings of nausea as Luz and her fellow maid got drunk on cheap booze while their employers slept. The author draws the characters with fines strokes, and this, in turn, draws the reader all the way in.
"The Hidden Light of Mexico City" is a masterful tapestry of scenarios, longings, family secrets, and drama. There are so many plates spinning here that it would have been easy for a less-talented author to drop a few, but Carmen Amato moves swiftly at all times, weaving deftly between the various storylines she has going. In fact, sometimes it feels like watching the jump-rope game "double dutch," where the jump-ropes are the storylines, and the jumper is the reader, standing in the center of it all and anticipating when to make the next jump.
It's light enough not to feel like work, full-bodied enough to pause and savor, and weighty enough to challenge the reader. I'm looking forward to reading Amato's Detective Emilia Cruz series next!
I can honestly say that there was nothing I didn't love about this book. Amato writes fluidly about Mexico City, allowing her reader to dip into the culture and imagine the people and places as though they'd seen them before. There were a LOT of characters to keep straight, but somehow even the most minor characters felt developed enough to feel real--even when they were just passing through, the reader was able to look straight at them and get a strong visual or a feel for who they were. The senses are fully-employed here, too, from the smell of exhaust on the city buses, to the expensive mixed-grill dinner Luz and Eddo shared on their first date, to the feelings of nausea as Luz and her fellow maid got drunk on cheap booze while their employers slept. The author draws the characters with fines strokes, and this, in turn, draws the reader all the way in.
"The Hidden Light of Mexico City" is a masterful tapestry of scenarios, longings, family secrets, and drama. There are so many plates spinning here that it would have been easy for a less-talented author to drop a few, but Carmen Amato moves swiftly at all times, weaving deftly between the various storylines she has going. In fact, sometimes it feels like watching the jump-rope game "double dutch," where the jump-ropes are the storylines, and the jumper is the reader, standing in the center of it all and anticipating when to make the next jump.
It's light enough not to feel like work, full-bodied enough to pause and savor, and weighty enough to challenge the reader. I'm looking forward to reading Amato's Detective Emilia Cruz series next!
September 20, 2019
It has been some time since I read this book and it still finds its way back inside my thoughts. It was that good.
Not only has Carmen Amato written a gripping story, she has also captured the essence of life in Mexico City and the nuances that convince she knows of what she speaks. I couldn't say that without thoroughly knowing the city and the country myself. I applaud her insight!
My personal mark of a five star rating is that a book, the story, must grab hold 'til the end and stay with me for a long while. Doesn't happen often.
Not only has Carmen Amato written a gripping story, she has also captured the essence of life in Mexico City and the nuances that convince she knows of what she speaks. I couldn't say that without thoroughly knowing the city and the country myself. I applaud her insight!
My personal mark of a five star rating is that a book, the story, must grab hold 'til the end and stay with me for a long while. Doesn't happen often.
August 16, 2014
Within minutes of reading the opening pages of this story, the reader is completely taken away and wrapped completely in the heart of Mexico City and its culture.
Read full review in the 2013 July/August double issue of InD’tale Magazine.
Read full review in the 2013 July/August double issue of InD’tale Magazine.
June 19, 2022
What a story - a political thriller and a romance!
Eduardo is a wealthy attorney working for the Mexican government involved with special investigations (drugs and corruption). He has discovered a link between his boss, the President's wife who is running for the presidency herself, and El Toro drug cartel. This link involves money laundering through Panama and several Mexican accounts. This scheme has its own bank which he has traced to a smuggling operation in northern Mexico. He was involved in a shootout, which I pictured very similar to shootouts in western movies. Who can he trust? He and other cops have formed an alliance called Los Hierros which is bound to fight the corruption and maintain the rule of law. He makes a "deal" with El Toro in Panama and later meets him aboard his yacht in Antigua. Yes, another shootout is involved.
Luz de Maria is a muchacha, domestic help. Although she is from a a small town in the state of Veracruz, she lives with the Vega family in the posh area of Mexico City. On her day off, she visits the Tamayo (art) Museum in the city where she likes to city and draw. Her senñora, Mrs Vega, has discarded some of her clothes which Luz and the other maid claim for themselves. On this particular day, she is wearing some of the chic castoff clothing. Eduardo meets Luz and the spend the day (and night) together. They are from different parts of society: Eduardo is a criollo and Luz is a mestizo. They aren't supposed to be a match. Luz and Eduardo form a relationship which is difficult because of his job. She, however, is a target and is kidnapped which she survives.
Can Eduardo catch El Toro and the corrupt officials and still remain alive? Will their romance relationship survive?
Good story but a lot of characters. I did put the book down for a few days. When I returned to this book, I forgot who some of the characters were. I quickly caught up, though. The author did use some Mexican terms but added the explanation in a smooth way.
Eduardo is a wealthy attorney working for the Mexican government involved with special investigations (drugs and corruption). He has discovered a link between his boss, the President's wife who is running for the presidency herself, and El Toro drug cartel. This link involves money laundering through Panama and several Mexican accounts. This scheme has its own bank which he has traced to a smuggling operation in northern Mexico. He was involved in a shootout, which I pictured very similar to shootouts in western movies. Who can he trust? He and other cops have formed an alliance called Los Hierros which is bound to fight the corruption and maintain the rule of law. He makes a "deal" with El Toro in Panama and later meets him aboard his yacht in Antigua. Yes, another shootout is involved.
Luz de Maria is a muchacha, domestic help. Although she is from a a small town in the state of Veracruz, she lives with the Vega family in the posh area of Mexico City. On her day off, she visits the Tamayo (art) Museum in the city where she likes to city and draw. Her senñora, Mrs Vega, has discarded some of her clothes which Luz and the other maid claim for themselves. On this particular day, she is wearing some of the chic castoff clothing. Eduardo meets Luz and the spend the day (and night) together. They are from different parts of society: Eduardo is a criollo and Luz is a mestizo. They aren't supposed to be a match. Luz and Eduardo form a relationship which is difficult because of his job. She, however, is a target and is kidnapped which she survives.
Can Eduardo catch El Toro and the corrupt officials and still remain alive? Will their romance relationship survive?
Good story but a lot of characters. I did put the book down for a few days. When I returned to this book, I forgot who some of the characters were. I quickly caught up, though. The author did use some Mexican terms but added the explanation in a smooth way.
October 18, 2024
Well executed story.
From the beginning of the story the reader can tell that this cuento is equal parts the author’s imagination and life experience. This story has the ring of authenticity that is missing from many novels. This is only the second story I’ve read by Amato but I felt that I was reading about my own family. Every once in a while I read a story that has such well developed characters done in such an organic manner that I can imagine the story being just as written. I can only say that it is the mark of excellence that I actually feel sadness when the story ends. Amato has written such a story.
From the beginning of the story the reader can tell that this cuento is equal parts the author’s imagination and life experience. This story has the ring of authenticity that is missing from many novels. This is only the second story I’ve read by Amato but I felt that I was reading about my own family. Every once in a while I read a story that has such well developed characters done in such an organic manner that I can imagine the story being just as written. I can only say that it is the mark of excellence that I actually feel sadness when the story ends. Amato has written such a story.
February 24, 2019
Excellent read- I’m so glad I found this author! Mexico City is a fascinating place- as a tourist, it’s beautiful and exciting. But this reality of the city - of the drug cartels, violence against women, the misogyny, class boundaries, lack of economic opportunities to move beyond your current situation, colorism and criollo- can’t be ignored. The author does a great job of capturing the misinterpretations that can arise between 2 people from widely different socioeconomic backgrounds and all of the trauma Luz has endured in life. Such an insightful and moving read.
April 26, 2021
Another entertaining novel by Carmen Amato
I have read all the Emilia Cruz, first Acapulco detective series and have thoroughly enjoyed them!
This too is a very insightful novel depicting the class rules of Mexico ..aye vay
Poor Luz repeatedly being told that she has to stay in her class and ridiculed for wanting better for herself and to use her talent as an artist to accomplish her goals.
Recommend Carmen's Amato s
I have read all the Emilia Cruz, first Acapulco detective series and have thoroughly enjoyed them!
This too is a very insightful novel depicting the class rules of Mexico ..aye vay
Poor Luz repeatedly being told that she has to stay in her class and ridiculed for wanting better for herself and to use her talent as an artist to accomplish her goals.
Recommend Carmen's Amato s
July 5, 2018
The book allows for some insight into the lives of those surviving off slim wages and spotty employment. I expect the climb out of the economic
mainstream is as difficult as portrayed. At times the writing is abrupt and not always clear to a North American. Mexico is a very interesting country as the turmoil in its most recent election suggests.
mainstream is as difficult as portrayed. At times the writing is abrupt and not always clear to a North American. Mexico is a very interesting country as the turmoil in its most recent election suggests.
January 19, 2022
A poor woman doomed to cleaning houses to support her family. A handsome, wealthy man who sees her talent for drawing and painting as he falls in love with her. Is this a doomed relationship? Drugs, murder and, finally, salvation. A crime story that will hold you tightly and not let go. Great information on Mexico City and the inner working of La Sopa. Excellent and Highly Recommended.
February 1, 2022
Good reading
This story is about a small percentage of the honest policemen and politicians in Mexico city. It is also about the gulf that exists between the descendants of the pure Spanish and those of mixed race. The story revolves around the pursuit of a drug Lord and the romance between a high born lawyer and a maid. Great reading thanks
This story is about a small percentage of the honest policemen and politicians in Mexico city. It is also about the gulf that exists between the descendants of the pure Spanish and those of mixed race. The story revolves around the pursuit of a drug Lord and the romance between a high born lawyer and a maid. Great reading thanks
February 25, 2018
Excellent!
A wonderful blend of information omitted in a new relationship, misunderstanding, lack of transparency, and eventual honest truth telling that leads to a critical resolution!
A wonderful blend of information omitted in a new relationship, misunderstanding, lack of transparency, and eventual honest truth telling that leads to a critical resolution!
September 12, 2021
I expected the book to be about the characters in most of Carmen Amato's books, but I enjoyed the Cinderella story with mystery and espionage with completely different characters.
December 25, 2022
Exciting and well written, with many colloquialisms which make it authentically Mexican
July 27, 2024
Don't waste your time or Moner in this book .
March 20, 2017
This book was given to me freely by the author. It's the second of Amato's books that I've read, the first being Awakening Macbeth. I liked this mystery which was really a thriller filled with lust, corruption, and death, weaving an intricate plot that will keep on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. I look forward to reading more of Amato's books. Check this out for a great suspenseful read.
May 31, 2013
This is a wonderful fiction, a sort of Cinderella story in disguise. Through her words Ms. Amato rich narrative draws a picture of the Mexico’s society and how its Caste System has had an impact on every aspect of life. The story illustrates how this inequality has given strength to the drug cartels, fosters a culture of corruption and made people take risk to escape to the United States.
The main players are Luz de Maria Alba Mora, a poor house maid sometime artist, and Eduardo “Eddo” Cortez Castillo, a rich Mexico City attorney. Opposite as can be on the echelon of society, Maria and Eddo unexpected and vulnerable relationship can only be a liability for a high profile attorney. It soon comes to the forefront when Eddo investigates links between the Minister for Public Security and one of the most elusive drug cartel leaders and definitely not a good time to uncover a political double-cross fueled by drug money.
This story is a mixed of fairy tale romance between Maria and Eddo and high suspense when Eddo follows the money trail deep into the underworld of Mexico’s drug culture. We have many exciting chases and some violent scenes in alternate chapters but we also have many tender moments. This is definitely a character and dialogue driven thriller.
“The Hidden Light of Mexico City” is a quality novel written with passion, has a polish prose, a beautiful style, great characterization and above all an excellent and creative plot that sounds authentic. I must admit being hooked from the start and engaged till the very end. Well done Ms. Amato can’t wait to read the “Cliff-Diver”..
The main players are Luz de Maria Alba Mora, a poor house maid sometime artist, and Eduardo “Eddo” Cortez Castillo, a rich Mexico City attorney. Opposite as can be on the echelon of society, Maria and Eddo unexpected and vulnerable relationship can only be a liability for a high profile attorney. It soon comes to the forefront when Eddo investigates links between the Minister for Public Security and one of the most elusive drug cartel leaders and definitely not a good time to uncover a political double-cross fueled by drug money.
This story is a mixed of fairy tale romance between Maria and Eddo and high suspense when Eddo follows the money trail deep into the underworld of Mexico’s drug culture. We have many exciting chases and some violent scenes in alternate chapters but we also have many tender moments. This is definitely a character and dialogue driven thriller.
“The Hidden Light of Mexico City” is a quality novel written with passion, has a polish prose, a beautiful style, great characterization and above all an excellent and creative plot that sounds authentic. I must admit being hooked from the start and engaged till the very end. Well done Ms. Amato can’t wait to read the “Cliff-Diver”..
September 10, 2016
This is a mixed genre novel that reads as both a real-life thriller and a fairy tale romance. Carmen Amato pulls it off exceptionally well by making us care deeply for the two main characters. The settings are vivid and realistic, and the plot is exciting. In terms of pure entertainment, the book is a good read.
What I liked best about the book, however, was the examination of Mexican politics and everyday life--the corruption, the racism, the classism, the violent drug cartels, and the overriding general poverty. This book reminded me of my own observations when I spent 4 months backpacking through Mexico in 1995, from Tijuana to Oaxaca...and as the story drew me in, it felt like I was in Mexico again.
I would recommend this book to anyone open to a good Cinderella story mixed up with a fast-moving plot not unlike some of Dan Brown's.
What I liked best about the book, however, was the examination of Mexican politics and everyday life--the corruption, the racism, the classism, the violent drug cartels, and the overriding general poverty. This book reminded me of my own observations when I spent 4 months backpacking through Mexico in 1995, from Tijuana to Oaxaca...and as the story drew me in, it felt like I was in Mexico again.
I would recommend this book to anyone open to a good Cinderella story mixed up with a fast-moving plot not unlike some of Dan Brown's.
June 3, 2012
This book was authored by a woman in my book club. A great start for a new author! Her details of Mexico were wonderful; she has a way of making you feel like you're right there. I thought a couple of the events could have been better researched and thus more realistic (ie the US visa interview, working with US officials to find the cheif narco, etc.). I also thought the two main characters were a little too perfect to be believable. However the love story was sweet, the writing quite good, and it was suspenseful. I would recommend it to anyone who follows Mexico, likes love stories, and/or likes crime novels.
February 1, 2015
Reminded me a bit of the J Lo movie Maid in Manhattan but in this case both the maid and the rich impossible love interest are Mexican. Many of us northerners are unaware of the entrenched class differences that exist in Mexico especially in a huge place like Mexico City where many, if not most, extremely wealthy Mexican live. Their servants are also Mexican but might as well be Martians for the differences in their social status. We are more used to seeing these kind of divides between employers and servants of a different race or ethnicity. A police procedural AND a love story both of which are a bit predictable but still a good read. Could be described as a Mexican Oprah pick.
April 4, 2015
The author had me from the first page, like a fish nibbling an enticing bait and becoming caught on the hook that would not let go. Fast-paced action kept me reading late into the night, and re-reading a couple of days later revealed nuances I missed the first time. Good plot, good character development; a very enjoyable read. Some may think it's a little like Cinderella, but the author is far more talented than that. Now I'm checking out her other books. (Note: this is from my review on Amazon; I HATE it when Amazon doesn't automatically transfer reviews to Goodreads....)
July 5, 2016
Cliff hanger
I loved this book and the author. Could not put this one down, some places broke my heart while others explained why people risk so much to come into this country. Really sheds light on the tragedy drugs cause.
I loved this book and the author. Could not put this one down, some places broke my heart while others explained why people risk so much to come into this country. Really sheds light on the tragedy drugs cause.
October 29, 2023
Mexican politics, drug cartels, a romance , and a bit of action round out this novel I didn't like the syrupy ending but most women will. I would like Carmen Amato to read my Mexican thriller TEETH OF THE COCODRILO
June 9, 2012
This books was written by a member of my book club. I am giving it 3 1/2 stars. Overall, I thought it was a good book, even though it was a bit predictable.
rom-contemporary
March 21, 2016For a complete review and star rating, visit InD'tale Magazine online July/Aug 2013 issue.
http://indtale.com/reviews/hidden-lig...
http://indtale.com/reviews/hidden-lig...
August 15, 2014
This is a great beach read for vacationing in Mexico, I gained more knowledge about Mexican culture and enjoyed the book. At times, I found it predictable which is why I didn't rate it higher.
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