Grab a Snake by the Tail

In this solid spin-off from Cuban author Pedro’s Havana Quartet, police detective Mario Conde investigates the 1989 murder of 73-year-old Pedro Cuang, a dry cleaner, in Havana’s Chinatown. Cuang was found hanging naked from a rope in the small room where he lived, with two arrow symbols “etched into his chest with the blade of a knife” and a finger severed. Was he killed in connection with a cocaine shipment? A Santeria ritual? Or does it go back to the influx of Asian migrants into Cuba decades before? Conde only agrees to work the case because of his desire for Lt. Patricia Chion, who begs him to solve the crime. Conde’s lust evokes early 1950s Mickey Spillane, while Patricia’s father, Juan, speaks in heavy dialect (Juan says of his daughter, “Is c’lazy, Conde, talk to her. Has got this vel’y young man... Gets back ve’ly late eve’ly night”). The sexism and racial stereotyping may be true to period, but they will also likely make some readers uneasy. Fans of the Havana Quartet will welcome Conde’s return. (June)