cover image Escape to Havana

Escape to Havana

Nick Wilkshire. Dundurn (IPS, U.S. dist.; UTP, Canadian dist.), $15.99 trade paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-4597-3448-7

The first in a new series from Wilkshire (Thin Ice) is a highly entertaining, fast-paced mystery featuring middle-aged diplomat and amateur sleuth Charlie Hillier. Charlie has spent 15 years pushing paper in the Ottawa headquarters of the Canadian Foreign Affairs department, but when a humiliating scandal disrupts his quiet life, he’s desperate for an overseas assignment—anywhere as long as it’s far from Ottawa and his ex-wife. Despite his rudimentary Spanish and his lack of experience in foreign climes, he is posted to Havana. Coming to grips with the food, the manners, and the nightlife is enough of a challenge for Charlie, but soon after his arrival, odd things start happening: attractive women turn up at the door of his government-assigned house looking to party, he finds a package of drugs hidden under his bedroom floor, and his house is burglarized. Before long, the intrigue escalates to kidnapping, bribery, and murder. Alongside the action, readers will enjoy seeing Charlie reinvent himself, finding resources and a sense of adventure that he had forgotten. Wilkshire makes good use of Cuba’s vivid local color, and readers can look forward to a promised next posting for Charlie in Moscow. [em](Dec.) [/em]