What do you think?
Rate this book
Agent Kay Hamilton #1
Rosarito Beach
The start of a big, commercial, crackling, suspense filled series featuring a sexy, tough-gal DEA agent, Kay Hamilton—perfect for fans of Karin Slaughter, Patricia Cornwell, and Sara Paretsky.
Bold, brash, and beautiful, DEA agent Kay Hamilton doesn't always like to play by the rules, even though she's charged with upholding them. Having recently been transferred to San Diego after a case in Miami brought her more notoriety than medals, Kay once again finds herself embroiled in an international bust.
Tito Olivera, younger brother of drug czar Caesar Olivera, is within her grasp. If she takes down Tito, Kay is positive that Caesar will follow -- and when Caesar falls, so does the largest and most vicious cartel in Mexico.
But when a mysterious stranger shows up on her doorstep, the Olivera case suddenly becomes far more personal -- and far more dangerous. Now, Kay must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to get her man….
Bold, brash, and beautiful, DEA agent Kay Hamilton doesn't always like to play by the rules, even though she's charged with upholding them. Having recently been transferred to San Diego after a case in Miami brought her more notoriety than medals, Kay once again finds herself embroiled in an international bust.
Tito Olivera, younger brother of drug czar Caesar Olivera, is within her grasp. If she takes down Tito, Kay is positive that Caesar will follow -- and when Caesar falls, so does the largest and most vicious cartel in Mexico.
But when a mysterious stranger shows up on her doorstep, the Olivera case suddenly becomes far more personal -- and far more dangerous. Now, Kay must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to get her man….
353 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 31, 2013
106 people are currently reading
1196 people want to read
About the author
M.A. Lawson
4 books42 followersM. A. Lawson is a pen name for award winning novelist Mike Lawson, former U.S. Navy and creator of the eight novels in the Joe DeMarco series.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
November 4, 2013
For the most part I enjoyed this book. It is definitely action packed and captured my attention to the very end.
My main issues with this book lie with the main character. I wanted to like her - her being a bad-ass DEA agent, with a strong personality, but I just couldn't. The focus seemed to be on HOW bad-ass she is, bossing people around, threatening to fire them or suspend them, formulating plans with no regard to herself or others, etc. There seemed to be nothing else to her. Her blaise attitude towards the safety of others made me wonder why bother being in law enforcement? Is it all about the thrill and who cares about everything else?
Even the part where we should see a softer side to her - meeting her long lost daughter fell flat. The scenes between them felt forced and cliche.
I was also kind of annoyed how they portrayed her "strong" personality sexually. Strong women apparently sleep with everyone to get their way. I get it. Strong women are free sexually. But do they really need to screw their way to the top? I just find it kind of insulting that she couldn't just be great at her job and back stab her co-workers, but had to sleep around too with married men. That seemed to contradict how strong she was. Do strong women really need to rely on giving favors to others to get ahead?
My main issues with this book lie with the main character. I wanted to like her - her being a bad-ass DEA agent, with a strong personality, but I just couldn't. The focus seemed to be on HOW bad-ass she is, bossing people around, threatening to fire them or suspend them, formulating plans with no regard to herself or others, etc. There seemed to be nothing else to her. Her blaise attitude towards the safety of others made me wonder why bother being in law enforcement? Is it all about the thrill and who cares about everything else?
Even the part where we should see a softer side to her - meeting her long lost daughter fell flat. The scenes between them felt forced and cliche.
I was also kind of annoyed how they portrayed her "strong" personality sexually. Strong women apparently sleep with everyone to get their way. I get it. Strong women are free sexually. But do they really need to screw their way to the top? I just find it kind of insulting that she couldn't just be great at her job and back stab her co-workers, but had to sleep around too with married men. That seemed to contradict how strong she was. Do strong women really need to rely on giving favors to others to get ahead?
April 3, 2022
Rosarito Beach by M. A. Lawson is the first book of the Kay Hamilton mystery series set in almost-contemporary California and Mexico. Kay Hamilton, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent, is tough. She's more macho than the men, has no use for fools. Zealously guards her privacy; is working through 'baggage' from a former case in Florida.
She has hidden a key witness, prepared to go up against the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico. Kay knows her stuff, is just about to take down Caesar Olivera, when her long-ago past sideswipes her. Suddenly her focus is diverted. Her personality begins to round out, in ways she never expected (or wanted). And the "minders" assigned to the key witness get bored, and careless...
Cartel kingpin Olivera is no slouch. He knows Kay is planning to use the witness to destroy the cartel. He assigns his most capable (and ruthless) henchman to take Kay down instead, now that she is much more vulnerable than ever before. And of course, he has the key witness and minders massacred.
The cartel gives Kay an impossible ultimatum: break the law and all her career with DEA stands for, or sacrifice something more important to her than her own life. Well, Kay is tough. She's going to pretend to comply, but do things her own way. Except of course, events don't go as planned.
Kay is continually up against the odds, challenging all her skills. She calls in many favors from contacts built up through the years. She builds a fantastic "house of cards" caper, which could easily fail. At each failure, she must pivot, try something else. But she must succeed. Over-the-top, suspenseful and enjoyable. Go Kay!
Funny to remember: I picked this book by its title, solely because I've been to Rosarito Beach Hotel.
She has hidden a key witness, prepared to go up against the most powerful drug cartel in Mexico. Kay knows her stuff, is just about to take down Caesar Olivera, when her long-ago past sideswipes her. Suddenly her focus is diverted. Her personality begins to round out, in ways she never expected (or wanted). And the "minders" assigned to the key witness get bored, and careless...
Cartel kingpin Olivera is no slouch. He knows Kay is planning to use the witness to destroy the cartel. He assigns his most capable (and ruthless) henchman to take Kay down instead, now that she is much more vulnerable than ever before. And of course, he has the key witness and minders massacred.
The cartel gives Kay an impossible ultimatum: break the law and all her career with DEA stands for, or sacrifice something more important to her than her own life. Well, Kay is tough. She's going to pretend to comply, but do things her own way. Except of course, events don't go as planned.
Kay is continually up against the odds, challenging all her skills. She calls in many favors from contacts built up through the years. She builds a fantastic "house of cards" caper, which could easily fail. At each failure, she must pivot, try something else. But she must succeed. Over-the-top, suspenseful and enjoyable. Go Kay!
Funny to remember: I picked this book by its title, solely because I've been to Rosarito Beach Hotel.
January 21, 2014
Rosarito Beach by M.A. Lawson
This is a fast paced page turner that is a very easy and enjoyable read. The larger than life law enforcement officer is a female who is willing to do anything to get her man. The plot has everything: Mexican cartels, a long lost daughter, a mother who will go to the ends of the earth to save her child, wild law breaking by the law enforcers, deceptive chess playing by the good and evil at its best, and oh yea, and the bad guys not getting out of the story in one piece.
This is a fast paced page turner that is a very easy and enjoyable read. The larger than life law enforcement officer is a female who is willing to do anything to get her man. The plot has everything: Mexican cartels, a long lost daughter, a mother who will go to the ends of the earth to save her child, wild law breaking by the law enforcers, deceptive chess playing by the good and evil at its best, and oh yea, and the bad guys not getting out of the story in one piece.
December 30, 2014
I am tired of male authors who, after having success with a male protagonist series, try their hand at a female lead. And then treat her like their favorite wet dream of a tough girl.
Kay Hamilton is yet another cookie-cutter brass-balled b*tch with an impressive rack, authority issues, and the sexual mores of an alley cat. She is unsympathetic and her turnaround is hard to believe. The one or two times that true emotional scenes or possible character development seem about to happen Lawson introduces the idea, then cuts to the next scene.
Rosarito Beach (and its heroine) is like a churro, all spice and sugar on the outside and nothing of substance inside.
Kay Hamilton is yet another cookie-cutter brass-balled b*tch with an impressive rack, authority issues, and the sexual mores of an alley cat. She is unsympathetic and her turnaround is hard to believe. The one or two times that true emotional scenes or possible character development seem about to happen Lawson introduces the idea, then cuts to the next scene.
Rosarito Beach (and its heroine) is like a churro, all spice and sugar on the outside and nothing of substance inside.
January 2, 2014
DEA Agent Kay Hamilton doesn't play well with others not even coworkers but she brings in the bad guys and she doesn't care. And when she arrests the young brother of powerful drug lord Caesar Olivera she knows that there is nothing Caesar wont do to do get him out of jail. Including declaring open war on the U.S.
But she doesn't count on him kidnapping her daughter to get her to help his brother escape. Things don't go as well as Kay or the Cartel hopes. Now Kay's only hope on saving her daughter and herself is calling in every favor she has on both sides on the border.
This is a good introduction into a new series. It sucks you in quickly without over loading you with character development. In fact I didn't like Kay at first. I thought she was an annoying person and was annoyed by her. The more I read the more I started to understand her the more I started to kind of like her. I still thought she was a little annoying but at least I understood why.
Despite Kay's personality problems the book was addictive, I couldn't put it down and read it in one marathon session. I wanted to now what happened next. I forgot it was the beginning of a series and started to wonder if she would make it out of this mess alive and who was she going to take down with her.
Thankfully it was a quick read and I zoomed right through it. I would considered reading the next book in the series. I am curious to see what happens to Kay next. I guess I ended up liking her more than I thought.
But she doesn't count on him kidnapping her daughter to get her to help his brother escape. Things don't go as well as Kay or the Cartel hopes. Now Kay's only hope on saving her daughter and herself is calling in every favor she has on both sides on the border.
This is a good introduction into a new series. It sucks you in quickly without over loading you with character development. In fact I didn't like Kay at first. I thought she was an annoying person and was annoyed by her. The more I read the more I started to understand her the more I started to kind of like her. I still thought she was a little annoying but at least I understood why.
Despite Kay's personality problems the book was addictive, I couldn't put it down and read it in one marathon session. I wanted to now what happened next. I forgot it was the beginning of a series and started to wonder if she would make it out of this mess alive and who was she going to take down with her.
Thankfully it was a quick read and I zoomed right through it. I would considered reading the next book in the series. I am curious to see what happens to Kay next. I guess I ended up liking her more than I thought.
October 20, 2013
I should start this review by saying that I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of this book through the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway program.
Heading the investigation into a Mexican drug cartel, DEA Agent Kay Hamilton is willing to take any risk to bring down Tito Olivera in the hopes that it will lead to convicting his older brother, Cesar Olivera, as well. With Tito's arrest, things seem to be falling in line perfectly for Kate until Cesar Olivera retaliates. When a person from Kay’s past reappears in her life, the stakes suddenly become very personal.
Kay was just as described: bold, brash, and beautiful, I would have liked to have seen a little more of the “softer” side of her. The story was fast-paced and very suspenseful. There were lots of unpredictable plot twists. Although I did think that the conclusion of the story stretched reality a bit (I think that she got off too lightly), I was glad that we will be seeing more of Kay in future novels.
Heading the investigation into a Mexican drug cartel, DEA Agent Kay Hamilton is willing to take any risk to bring down Tito Olivera in the hopes that it will lead to convicting his older brother, Cesar Olivera, as well. With Tito's arrest, things seem to be falling in line perfectly for Kate until Cesar Olivera retaliates. When a person from Kay’s past reappears in her life, the stakes suddenly become very personal.
Kay was just as described: bold, brash, and beautiful, I would have liked to have seen a little more of the “softer” side of her. The story was fast-paced and very suspenseful. There were lots of unpredictable plot twists. Although I did think that the conclusion of the story stretched reality a bit (I think that she got off too lightly), I was glad that we will be seeing more of Kay in future novels.
March 4, 2014
An interesting one from the author of the (very entertaining Joe DeMarco series). Here, under a slight variation of his name, Mike Lawson gives us a strong female protagonist thrown into a story with considerable pace.
Kay Hamilton is a DEA agent, passionate about what she does, ambitious and a little bit self-obsessed. She manages to capture the little brother of a ruthless Mexican cartel leader and the fallout from that is considerable in the fact that the bad guy will stop at nothing to get his brother back. And he is ruthless with endless resources at his disposal.
At the same time, a stranger turns up on Hamilton’s doorstep that will change her life forever.
So we have a strong character (with flaws) and a very action packed pacey thriller.
I very much enjoy the author’s other works, but I hope to see more of Kay Hamilton.
Kay Hamilton is a DEA agent, passionate about what she does, ambitious and a little bit self-obsessed. She manages to capture the little brother of a ruthless Mexican cartel leader and the fallout from that is considerable in the fact that the bad guy will stop at nothing to get his brother back. And he is ruthless with endless resources at his disposal.
At the same time, a stranger turns up on Hamilton’s doorstep that will change her life forever.
So we have a strong character (with flaws) and a very action packed pacey thriller.
I very much enjoy the author’s other works, but I hope to see more of Kay Hamilton.
February 6, 2018
Kay Hamilton - one woman wrecking crew!
Kay Hamilton - one woman wrecking crew! I ‘m frustrated when I have things I must do but just CANNOT stop reading because I need to read just another page, and then another. Guess that’s what is meant by “PAGE TURNER”
M.A. Lawson very skillfully develops his characters, story line and depicting each scene.
Kay Hamilton - one woman wrecking crew! I ‘m frustrated when I have things I must do but just CANNOT stop reading because I need to read just another page, and then another. Guess that’s what is meant by “PAGE TURNER”
M.A. Lawson very skillfully develops his characters, story line and depicting each scene.
November 30, 2014
I've read several books by this author and liked them. This one has a female lead who is a real jerk and the other characters are paper thin. The plot is totally unbelievable and I don't like reading about drug lords anyway.
September 18, 2021
This is a new character by Mike Lawson who has written the Joe DeMarco series. A great way to start the new character.
Bold, brash, and beautiful, DEA agent Kay Hamilton doesn't always like to play by the rules, even though she's charged with upholding them. Having recently been transferred to San Diego after a case in Miami brought her more notoriety than medals, Kay once again finds herself embroiled in an international bust.
Tito Olivera, younger brother of drug czar Caesar Olivera, is within her grasp. If she takes down Tito, Kay is positive that Caesar will follow -- and when Caesar falls, so does the largest and most vicious cartel in Mexico.
But when a mysterious stranger shows up on her doorstep, the Olivera case suddenly becomes far more personal -- and far more dangerous. Now, Kay must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to get her man…
Bold, brash, and beautiful, DEA agent Kay Hamilton doesn't always like to play by the rules, even though she's charged with upholding them. Having recently been transferred to San Diego after a case in Miami brought her more notoriety than medals, Kay once again finds herself embroiled in an international bust.
Tito Olivera, younger brother of drug czar Caesar Olivera, is within her grasp. If she takes down Tito, Kay is positive that Caesar will follow -- and when Caesar falls, so does the largest and most vicious cartel in Mexico.
But when a mysterious stranger shows up on her doorstep, the Olivera case suddenly becomes far more personal -- and far more dangerous. Now, Kay must decide how much she's willing to sacrifice to get her man…
July 12, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ — I couldn’t put this book down!
Wow, this book was full of fast-paced action! It gave me Jack Reacher vibes, but with a woman protagonist. I actually can’t believe it isn’t a more popular series. (But maybe people just don’t like the idea of a woman being as deadly as Jack Reacher?)
I don’t know that I’ll keep reading the series because just like Jack Reacher, I feel like the books might all be the same premise or procedure, and that’s not really what I’m looking for.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced, dark, adventurous, and tense read!
Trigger warnings include death, violence, racial slurs, and mentions of rape and suicide.
Wow, this book was full of fast-paced action! It gave me Jack Reacher vibes, but with a woman protagonist. I actually can’t believe it isn’t a more popular series. (But maybe people just don’t like the idea of a woman being as deadly as Jack Reacher?)
I don’t know that I’ll keep reading the series because just like Jack Reacher, I feel like the books might all be the same premise or procedure, and that’s not really what I’m looking for.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fast-paced, dark, adventurous, and tense read!
Trigger warnings include death, violence, racial slurs, and mentions of rape and suicide.
January 23, 2018
Rosarito Beach is a suspense novel involving a ballsy DEA agent, who happens to be female, working to take down the ruthless Mexican Olivera clan. Kay Hamilton has no personal life. She lives for the job. Until her 15 year old daughter shows up on her doorstep. Kay was 15 herself when she had Jessica and gave her up for adoption to a distant relative. So this sets the stage for making Kay vulnerable to retaliation of a loved one if she is successful in bring down the heads of the cartel. It held my interest and kept me guessing as to the end. But I don't plan to read the two sequels that have already been published. I would classify as mildly suspenseful.
May 26, 2025
I don't think I've ever hated a main character so much and so fast. Within the first chapter she's already insufferable - you're trying to get a person to become an informant and you call them a racial slur and threaten them with ICE? big ick.
I kept reading, hoping there would be a redemption arc but nope. The main character pissed me off so much that there were times I was rooting for the cartel.
It seemed as though the author was trying to make her seem like a badass but she was really just rude and selfish. If the character had been male - I never would have made it to the second chapter.
I kept reading, hoping there would be a redemption arc but nope. The main character pissed me off so much that there were times I was rooting for the cartel.
It seemed as though the author was trying to make her seem like a badass but she was really just rude and selfish. If the character had been male - I never would have made it to the second chapter.
January 22, 2018
The first entry in the Agent Kay Hamilton series introduces a female character to rival Reacher.
She's tough, good with a gun and a bit of a rogue. She is in San Diego, working for the DEA to arrest the brother of a Mexican drug cartel head. Everything is going fine (well, her fellow agents don't like her because she is fairly headstrong) until a young girl shows up on her doorstep.
That sets in motion a series of events that conclude with lots of fireworks at Rosarito Beach.
I liked this more than a 3 but less than a 4, enough to try the next couple of books in the series, at any rate.
She's tough, good with a gun and a bit of a rogue. She is in San Diego, working for the DEA to arrest the brother of a Mexican drug cartel head. Everything is going fine (well, her fellow agents don't like her because she is fairly headstrong) until a young girl shows up on her doorstep.
That sets in motion a series of events that conclude with lots of fireworks at Rosarito Beach.
I liked this more than a 3 but less than a 4, enough to try the next couple of books in the series, at any rate.
September 3, 2020
I did read the book, it followed a fairly interesting activities of a DEA agent, Kay Hamilton, engaged in activities of Southern California, searching and arresting top drug cartel personnel spending time in both the San Diego area and Rosario Beach, California. Her plans for arrests were hampered when they captured her 11 year old daughter. The language used and the bedtime activities for multiple participants were tiring to read. I chose to read this book because I had vacationed in the title community of Rosarito beach.
January 1, 2025
Another book I struggled to finish. Lawson should stick to DeMarco books because this one was bad. While I am not a woman, it was simple too see that Lawson has no idea of what goes through a woman's mind. Kay Hamilton could easily have been a man thinking through her problems. That was the least of the problems. The story was predictable, the problems were overcome with only a storybook conclusion and I had a hard time finished it. I knew the ending probably 75 to 100 pages before the end.
June 16, 2017
This was an easy read; fast paced, and enough action to keep me interested. The plot was a little far fetched and the ending pretty implausable, but it was good escapism. I didn't like the main character too much. She was a cold, hard woman doing (and loving) a brutal job as DEA agent Kay Hamilton and not much else. The connection with her daughter after 15 years doesn't change her very much. The author did a OK job, though, and I would read another of his books.
April 22, 2020
This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it. DEA Agent Kay Hamilton is quite a formidable law enforcement agent. She wants to take down the younger brother of a Mexican drug czar but there is a major kink in her plans when they kidnap the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was 15. The stakes are high and the action is fierce.
November 26, 2020
Mike Lawson's laid backstories about Joe DeMarco now seem superseded by the high voltage thrillers about Kay Hamilton. The ingenious plotting Mike Lawson produced has flowed over to M.A. Lawson's work, and his stories rush one along with exhilaration and a firm grip on the imagination. Put this in the 'stuttering start but hard to put down' category.
Recommended.
Recommended.
May 17, 2022
A very technical read following the young life of a DEA Marshall,this fast paced novel is a true page turner. The twists and turns are spellbinding. The reader may find it necessary to set aside the book as the story becomes quite intense . The ongoing battle with cross border drug running and the Mexican cartels seems challenging .
February 18, 2023
This is my first M.A. Lawson book and the first of the Kay Hamilton series. Kay is a tough, gritty, no rules DEA agent fighting the drug cartels of Mexico. The story was complex, the characters were likeable, and equally dislikeable but the action never stopped. This definitely has me interested in reading a few more of these to see where they go.
July 20, 2019
This is everything I want in a crime thriller. And I love the protagonist Kay who is tough as nails, perhaps a bit too tough and fast paced. I read another with her and it was good too, VIKING Bay I think. This was a library book. Read my thrillers.
May 9, 2020
Refreshing
I liked the Kay Hamilton-she is a brash can't wait to get started get out of my way government type that you hope will help you with your problems. Enough twists and turns to satisfy the most critical reader.
I liked the Kay Hamilton-she is a brash can't wait to get started get out of my way government type that you hope will help you with your problems. Enough twists and turns to satisfy the most critical reader.
didn-t-finish
August 20, 2021Didn’t grab me like his Joe DeMarco series. (Which I really enjoyed!) I haven’t given it any stars yet as I didn’t really get far enough into it to give it a fair rating and I may revisit this book in the future.
April 29, 2024
I tried reading this one because I read Kay Hamilton #2 (which was ok) and because I like Lawson's DeMarco series. But this book was heavy to start with a lot of explanations and I didn't like the characters so I dnf'd it. I will not be continuing this series.
October 13, 2024
What a great, action packed read. Once again, Lawson has the potential for a movie or series. There is so much packed into the first book in this series that you hunger for more and wonder what Kay is going to get herself into next. Have a gander, I think you’ll like it.
January 6, 2025
I found this book at an adorable used bookshop out of state, knowing nothing about the book or the author but was intrigued by the premise. Kay Hamilton is a strong-willed, smart character and it was an enjoyable ride for the most part. I would recommend the series as an easy-breezy fun read.
March 7, 2017
I quit this book because I really didn't care for the main character.
September 3, 2017
Kay Hamilton DEA Agent, has a daughter, gets involved with a Mexican drug cartel.
Suspenseful all the way.
Suspenseful all the way.
March 10, 2019
This was a quick, enjoyable read. The plot is a little hard to believe, but that's all right. Hamilton is an interesting character.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews