Mario Conde investigates a murder in the Barrio Chino, the rundown Chinatown of Havana. Not his usual beat, but when Conde was asked to take the case by his colleague, the sultry, perfectly proportioned Lieutenant Patricia Chion, a frequent object of his nightly fantasies, he could n't resist. The case proves to be unusual. Pedro Cuang, a lonely old man, is found hanging naked from a beam in the ceiling of his dingy room. One of his fingers has been amputated and a drawing of two arrows was engraved with a knife on his chest. Was this a ritual Santería killing or a just a sordid settling of accounts in a world of drug trafficking that began to infiltrate Cuban society in the 1980s? Soon Conde discovers unexpected connections, secret businesses and a history of misfortune, uprooting and loneliness that affected many immigrant families from China. As ever with Padura, the story is soaked in atmosphere: the drinking of rum in deliciously smoke-filled bars, the friendships, the food and beautiful women.
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
May 1, 2019 -
Formats
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781912242184
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781912242184
- File size: 1528 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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May 1, 2019
Padura has a global reputation as a serious writer and the author of literary detective fiction, but don't be put off. His series featuring Havana Police Inspector Mario Conde is so free of pretension, his characters so interesting, and his prose so bouncy one can even forget there's murder going on. This one begins when alluring fellow-officer Patricia Chion tempts Mario into taking on a death investigation. The corpse has a finger missing and a crossed circle on his chest?clues, of course, but more enticing is the woman who goes to bed early because television is awful and "she prefers to dream." Here's one of Mario's dreams: a bar where they would serve him his favorite tipple automatically. The other involves Patricia, and it comes true in a seduction scene that manages to be at once hilarious and wonderfully steamy. How nice it is to watch a high-powered talent at work on a form that too often relies on flat-footed prose.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)
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