Customer Reviews

Havana Blue (Mario Conde Mystery 3)

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4 star:		(1)
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I picked up Havana Blue in a small bookshop in NY a few weeks ago and was so impressed with the writing, I ordered the rest of the series plus Adios Hemingway from amazon (to get them as fast as possible). Padura is an incredibly gifted writer. The sensuality of his prose is visceral. I literally brewed coffee when reading about Lt. Mario Conde's attempts to get a good cup from his boss. I craved cigars again ... I took my wife out to a Cuban joint in Brooklyn for red beans and rice. I want to visit/live in Havana, at least for a while.

Padura has a genuine obsession (or was strongly influenced) with/by both Hemingway and Salinger and his writing is every bit as wonderful. He's a genuine wordsmith who I couldn't read fast enough. This entire series (the Mario Conde character) is very highly recommended. I hope Padura keeps going ... and Adios Hemingway--absolutely masterful.

Havana police lieutenant Mario Conde enjoyed the New Year's Eve celebration but he drank too much as he expected the day off to recover. Instead in spite of a four poster headache, his superior calls to tell him that Ministry for Industry official and party VIP Rafael Morin Rodriguez vanished.

Mario knew Rafael and the man's wife Tamara when the trio attended high school together and the cop was in unrequited puppy love for her. Hangover aside, Mario interviews Tamara, who offers nothing about what happened or why; instead she insists her loving spouse is an honest civil servant working for the benefit of the people. Although he prefers otherwise, Mario assumes either Rafael is dead or fled before a scandal destroyed him; either way the case has political ramifications that he knows he must gingerly walk carefully. However, the biggest issue in Mario's mind is not those looking at his every step in the investigation, but that the prime suspect is Tamara, who he still wants.

The third colorful Havana police procedural (see HAVANA BLACK and HAVANA RED) is a terrific whodunit starring a likable dedicated cop trying to investigate a maybe crime in a totalitarian society where he can easily follow a clue across a forbidden zone. Mario's investigation is top rate as he struggles with his feelings for the prime suspect and has even more trouble dealing with officialdom as the potential victim is a highly ranked bureaucrat. Readers will appreciate Leonardo Padura's tense Cuban mystery starring a great detective in a superior tale.

Harriet Klausner

I read Havana Fever this summer and was dazzled by it. As a reviewer noted, this is the first book in the series. I will read all of them but wonder if I would if I'd read this first - it lacks the vivid descriptions and suspense of Fever. But the Count is the Count and he is irrestible..it's hard not to love a book that has a character named Juan Wong in it...