Havana Gold - Leonardo Padura (trans. Peter Bush)
Giles Morgan

Things had seemed to be going well for Lieutenant Mario Conde.

Following a memorable meal of Madrid-style stew made by the mother of his friend Skinny Carlos and a chance encounter with a beautiful female redhead

saxophone player, the lieutenant was in high spirits. But when Conde is called to head quarters and assigned a case involving the murder of twenty-four year old Lisette Delgado such light hearted pleasures are quickly put to the back of his mind. It soon emerges that Delgado has a wardrobe full of clothes that would normally be beyond the reach of a Havana high school teacher and links to shadowy figures dealing drugs in the school where she worked.

Under pressure from 'the highest authority' Conde must find her killer whilst also trying to unravel the mysterious identity of his new love interest.

Havana Gold is the fourth novel in the Havana quartet by Leonardo Padura and once again creates a rich and fascinating portrayal of a crumbling yet vibrant city. Lusty, macho, foul-mouthed and poetic in roughly equal amounts Lieutenant Conde becomes our guide to the faded grandeur of Cuba's stylish yet poverty-stricken capital as he reflects on the changing conditions in the city that he grew up in. Vital and rough-edged, Havana Gold is perhaps best enjoyed with a glass of rum and a cigar.

Giles Morgan

Havana Gold

Leonardo Padura

Bitter Lemon Press, £8.99, 9781904738282

Posted at 12:04PM Sunday 25 May 2008