Murder in Havana

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Summary: Margaret Truman's Latest Connects Havana to the Beltway
Review: Having read every one of Margaret Truman's Capital Crimes Series, I was surprised with the title of her latest novel. But while the story focuses mostly on Castro's Cuba, there is plenty of inside the Beltway intrigue to satisfy her loyal readers. In typical Truman fashion, she weaves a tale of murder, espionage, diplomacy, politics and suspense that forces the reader to turn the pages in rapid succession. Ex-CIA agent Max Pauling finds himself embroiled in a plot in today's Cuba involving anticancer research, pharmaceutical giants, the USA embargo, the White House and anti-Castro supporters. Truman manages to introduce once more her favorite husband and wife team, Georgetown art gallery owner Annabelle Smith and George Washington University law professor MacKensie Smith, to move the story along. This latest Truman novel has plenty of action and suspense. It features locations in Cuba, DC, London and Germany. It does not disappoint. You won't put it down until you're finished.

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Summary: From the Minneapolis Star Tribune 6/10/01
Review: Here's a beach book that'll have you turning pages so fast you'll relish the light breeze. In the 18th installment of her Capital Crimes series, Truman brings Max Pauling back from a restless retirement. The fast-paced chase around Castro's island centers on a U.S. pharmaceutical company that might be using a German firm to get around the U.S. embargo. Pauling, an ex-CIA and ex-State Department hand, is almost "ex-ed out" as clues lead to a surprising Cuban drug research project.

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Summary: Huge fan, but not this one...
Review: I guess I'm the only one who thought this was the worst in her Capitol crime series. Perhaps it was the subject matter, but the entire plot seemed contrived to me. I finished it, but I had trouble. I wish it had been a page burner for me, because I have loved and always look forward to each new book in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Huge fan, but not this one...
Review: I guess I'm the only one who thought this was the worst in her Capitol crime series. Perhaps it was the subject matter, but the entire plot seemed contrived to me. I finished it, but I had trouble. I wish it had been a page burner for me, because I have loved and always look forward to each new book in this series.

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Summary: Intrigue in Havana
Review: I like Margaret Truman's mysteries. They're a relief from serial killers, blood and gore, and spooky things. In Murder in Havana, we are quite a distance into the story before we have a murder, and you will quickly put your finger on the likely murderer, but that's fine. The fun of this book is in the hazardous trip that ex-CIA agent Max Pauling takes to Havana. His assignment is to find whether an American pharmaceutical company is secretly trying to circumvent American law to make a deal with Fidel Castro for a cancer treatment. Max knows that you can't trust anyone, and he certainly can't in this story. He is soon in great peril and has to run for his life. The tale is more of an adventure than a mystery, but it has a nice feel of life in Castro's Cuba, and it will keep you turning the pages.

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Summary: Simply The Best
Review: I'm a great fan of Margaret Truman. She never disappoints. This novel was both exciting and the plot was great. Ex-agent Pauling was an excellent progatonist. This was a book I simply couldn't put down. Celia Sardina and others brought the story to life. I highly recommend this book

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Summary: Another Excellent Story
Review: I've read all of Miss Truman's "Murder" books. She never disappoints. Ex CIA agent Max Pauling is up to his ears in trouble again. Very fast and exciting read. Celia Sardina was a wonderful foil and she really gave him a run for his money.

Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Story
Review: I've read all of Miss Truman's "Murder" books. She never disappoints. Ex CIA agent Max Pauling is up to his ears in trouble again. Very fast and exciting read. Celia Sardina was a wonderful foil and she really gave him a run for his money.

Rating:
Summary: She knows Washington, but not Havana
Review: The main problem with this book is its lack of "Cubanosity" in the way that the Cuban characters act and talk and behave - they are depicted as the way Truman imagines Cubans would act, and as a result, while the book delivers an adequate thriller plot, her placement of the action in Cuba, without much knowledge of Cuban culture and mannerisms, and social issues (such as racism) gives this book some pretty big holes. For example - Cubans refer to themselves as white or black or mulatto, etc. not as "Hispanics" and Truman consistently misuses this term as a racial delimiter (a very common American mistake) rather than a cultural amplifier. The book failed to make me believe that the story was actually set in Havana.

Rating:
Summary: She knows Washington, but not Havana
Review: The main problem with this book is its lack of "Cubanosity" in the way that the Cuban characters act and talk and behave - they are depicted as the way Truman imagines Cubans would act, and as a result, while the book delivers an adequate thriller plot, her placement of the action in Cuba, without much knowledge of Cuban culture and mannerisms, and social issues (such as racism) gives this book some pretty big holes. For example - Cubans refer to themselves as white or black or mulatto, etc. not as "Hispanics" and Truman consistently misuses this term as a racial delimiter (a very common American mistake) rather than a cultural amplifier. The book failed to make me believe that the story was actually set in Havana.