Canadian police detective Mike Ellis has brought his wife to Havana, Cuba, in an attempt to heal his marriage and to heal from the lingering aftereffects of being wounded in a situation in which his partner was killed. Feeling compassion for one of the little boys begging for money along the shore, he gives the youngster a few pesos. When the boy's body is pulled from the sea the next day, witnesses remember Ellis, and he finds himself charged with murder and thrown in jail.
It is up to Inspector Ricardo Ramirez to investigate the murder and find the proof that will put Ellis in front of the firing squad. According to Cuban law, he has only 72 hours to secure the indictment that will prevent a vicious killer from leaving the country. However, Ramirez has other things on his mind-- like the fact that he's dying from the same incurable dementia that killed his grandmother. As Ramirez races against the clock, he is haunted by the ghosts of the victims of his unsolved cases... ghosts that only he can see.
I found this book to be fascinating for its look at present-day Cuba and of Old Havana, a city that used to be one of the world's hubs of prurient delight. Blair incorporates Cuban life under decades of Fidel Castro's rule into her story: the laws, the multitudes of highly educated people who are forced to work menial jobs because there's nothing else available, and-- most of all-- the humor with which so many Cubans leaven their daily lives. For this look at Cuba alone, The Beggar's Opera is a very worthwhile read.
The mystery is also an absorbing one. Although I deduced one of the plot twists, Blair blindsided me with another, and for a mystery reader that's always a happy moment. However, I had a major problem with the book's main character. Inspector Ricardo Ramirez did not set well with me at all. If not for a Canadian lawyer sent down to help Ellis (and who wound up doing most of Ramirez's work for him), Ramirez would've been content to hand in his circumstantial evidence, get his indictment, and send Ellis to the tender ministrations of the firing squad. Did I just give away a major plot point? For crime fiction aficionados, not really. As I said, there are some surprising twists and turns in this plot. What intrigues me is how much of Ramirez's attitude can be attributed to his dementia, and since I really do want to know, I'll be looking forward to the next book in this series. I wouldn't mind a return trip to Havana.
The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair
ISBN: 9780143186427
Pintail © 2013
Paperback, 352 pages
Police Procedural, #1 Inspector Ricardo Ramirez mystery
Rating: B-
Source: Amazon Vine
Cathy - The setting in this one intrigues me. I know what you mean about Ramirez' character; I've read characters that didn't sit well with me too. But I might give this one a go.
ReplyDeleteIt's got so very much going for it that my dislike of Ramirez had no real effect, and I kept on reading till the last page. :-)
DeleteYikes, he was in quite a pickle for being kind. The peek into Cuba sounds fascinating.
ReplyDeleteIt is, Kathy.
DeleteSounds good. I'd like to know more about Cuba than its association with Hemingway and the night clubs of the old days.
ReplyDeleteBlair does bring up a bit of that, but it's much more to do with present-day Cuba.
DeleteI don't know what's in this book about Cuba, but I will say that a lot of the reality doesn't come through here in the press.
ReplyDeleteRelatives of mine just went there on a tour and they loved it! Literally, they found people singing in the streets in Old Havana, with great spirit. They met very enthusiastic people, and had fun, a great time.
There was such terrible poverty under the prior regime that people starved in the streets of Havana and women were forced to do horrendous things to survive.
Women have made great progress, including in political representation, judgeships, the medical field, etc.
Now there is free health care and education. And Cuba has the lowest infant mortality rate in all of Latin America. This right from the pages of the New York Times.
It's important to read different sources and talk to people who've been there.
There certainly is a lot of disparity between what most Americans know about Cuba and what the rest of the world knows. It has a lot to do with the sanctions... embargoes... whatever they're called... the US government has had in place against the country for decades. That's one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading this book so much.
ReplyDeleteYes. You are right. It does have a lot to do with the sanctions, the U.S. blockade in place for decades.
ReplyDeleteIn Michael Moore's excellent movie about the U.S. health care system, he has much about the Cuban system, as he brings a group of people there to be treated who can't get care here. It's quite a wonderful segment. And there's a clip in the features interviewing a Cuban doctor.
If you haven't seen Sicko, it is well worth seeing. Not only does it enlighten us about the medical system here, but it shows what's being done elsewhere, Canada, Cuba, etc.
Thanks so much for the recommendation, Kathy!
Delete