Diamonds in the Rough

Commenting on Cuban crime fictionist José Latour’s new novel, January Magazine critic David Thayer writes: “Mystery fans may complain, but Hidden in Havana has greater ambitions than the average whodunit.” That isn’t to suggest that this genre lacks ambition or excellence--not at all. But Latour does want his book about a search for secreted gems and the awakening of a young woman to the deceptions around her to serve as a doorway into the lives of his characters, as much as it works as a mystery tale.

Thayer introduces the players here succinctly:

A blind expatriate named Carlos Consuegra dispatches two people, Marina Leucci and Sean Abercorn, to Havana. Marina is Argentine, while Sean is American, a Vietnam vet with a Special Ops background. Their mission is to meet a brother and sister who’ve lived their entire lives in the same apartment in the Cuban capital. Posing as a married couple, they win the confidence of Elena Miranda and her brother, Pablo. Elena is a teacher, her brother a low-life. To further complicate this family’s strange dynamic, Elena and Pablo are the children of a legendary Cuban general who’s serving time for murder in their country’s special prison for fallen heroes.

From there the book’s plot becomes a tangle of seduction, murder, and ultimately realization, at least on lovely Elena Miranda’s part. “José Latour bends a few rules,” Thayer explains, “while managing to unroll a yarn that’s grounded in a realistic portrayal of Havana as it is today, coupled with an undertone of romantic escapism as he traces Elena’s improbable triumph as a woman of the world.”

You’ll find the full review here.