Carolina Garcia-Aguilera is a Cuban-born American author, well-known for her mystery and thriller books. She has written standalone novels, mystery series, short stories, and contributed to several anthologies. Garcia-Aguilera moved to the United States at the age of 10 and attended Miss Porter Preparatory School in Farmington, Connecticut. She later went to Rollins College in Winter Park and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science. She has also earned a Master's in Language and Linguistics, an MBA in Finance, and a PhD in Latin American Affairs.
In 1986, Garcia-Aguilera became a private investigator with the goal of authoring a book series featuring a private investigator based in Miami. She published Bloody Waters, the debut novel in the Lupe Solano series, in 1996. The series contains six novels, and Havana Heat, the fifth book in the series, won the Shamus Award for Best P.I. Hard Cover Novel in 2001. Garcia-Aguilera's works are celebrated for their rich and detailed coverage of the Cuban American, Catholic, exile community in Florida, their history, and the differences and conflicts between the generations regarding Cuba and Fidel Castro.
Garcia-Aguilera is currently married with three daughters and resides in Miami Beach, Florida. She became a licensed private investigator in Florida to gather realistic information for her mystery books and started a successful business in the field. In addition to the Lupe Solano series, she has also written two standalone novels. Her latest novel is Magnolia. Although she has not published any books since 2003, her works continue to be widely read and celebrated in the mystery and thriller genre.