Havana Libre, Robert Arellano
Havana Libre, Robert Arellano
1 Rating(s)
List: $16.95 | Sale: $11.87
Club: $8.47

Havana Libre

Author: Robert Arellano

Narrator: Jonathan Davis

Unabridged: 6 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/15/2019

Synopsis

In this explosive follow-up to Havana Lunar, Dr. Mano Rodriguez takes an undercover assignment to the most dangerous city in Latin America: Miami.During the summer of 1997, a series of bombings terrorize Havana hotels. The targets are tourists, and the terrorists are exiles seeking to cripple Cuban tourism and kill the revolution. After Mano finds himself helpless to save one of the victims, his nemesis Colonel Emilio Pérez of the National Revolutionary Police recruits him into Havana’s top-secret Wasp Network of spies for a job that only he can perform—but for reasons he never would have believed or expected.

About Robert Arellano

Robert Arellano is the award-winning author of several books, including Curse the Names; Fast Eddie, King of the Bees; and Don Dimaio of La Plata. His Havana Lunar was a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original.

About Jonathan Davis

Jonathan Davis has received widespread critical acclaim for his narration in a variety of genres. He has won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2009, 2011, and 2012, as well as being a finalist for an Audie in 2007, 2013, and three times in 2014. He has also garnered accolades from Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and AudioFile magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jim on October 01, 2024

It's interesting to see a mystery/spy novel in which the Communists are the good guys, similar to the Yalta Boulevard novels by Olen Steinhauer. In this case, the good guys are Castro's Cubans; and the bad guys are the gusanos or Cuban counter-revolutionaries whom have escaped to Florida and made go......more

Goodreads review by Allen Pasternak on November 03, 2017

Havana Libre is the first of Arellano's books I've read, but based on this new one, I need to go back and read his back-list and keep up with his future books. Extremely well written, invoking the atmosphere of Cuba and Little Havana in Miami, but Arellano's strongest talent is character development......more

Goodreads review by Tonstant on December 05, 2017

Havana Libre opens with a tourist going through customs in Havana, a tourist soon revealed to be a terrorist smuggling bomb-making materials into the country, before taking up the story of the main character, Dr. Mano Rodriguez. Mano is a dedicated doctor, though frustrated by the privations and ine......more

Goodreads review by Larry on January 27, 2022

Rarely do I read books consecutively by the same author, however Havana Lunar so captivating me and being hooked on Havana, I preceded directly onto Robert Arellano’s Havana Libre. Time has passed in the life of our hero Dr. Manolo Rodriguez, five years, but sense of time and place, remains stuck, ma......more

Goodreads review by JP on November 26, 2017

What's most engaging about this book is its authenticity in contrasting life in Cuba and the United States just before the turn of the millennium. Arellano tells it primarily from the perspective of a doctor loyal to Castro's government, even while he struggles with the effects on himself and his fe......more

Quotes

“[An] exquisitely made thriller…A remarkably powerful narrative. The interrogation scene repulses while it grips…but readers are advised to stay with it for a rich reading experience.” Booklist (starred review)

“This potent noir sheds light on Cuban life in the post-Soviet era…Building to an explosive ending, this atmospheric mix of proletarian literature and Graham Greene–style espionage informs as it entertains.” Publishers Weekly

“This novel is rich in atmosphere and political critique.” Kirkus Reviews

“Amidst the action, the quiet star…[is] Arellano’s rich landscapes of daily life in Cuba during the special period.” Miami New Times

“Highly recommended…A memorable portrait of Havana at its most colourful and a gallery of wonderful characters moving through a rainbow of human emotions and experiences at all levels of Cuban and Miami society. [Predecessor] Havana Lunar was nominated for the Edgar; its follow-up deserves a similar fate.” Crime Time (UK)

“There’s a fine tradition of crime writing in Cuba and Havana Libre is a great new addition to the pantheon. A mix of spy story and political thriller, the characters and places are very grounded in the real world, but the story has a slightly surreal touch… Havana Libre, cleverly, doesn’t draw cheap political conclusions but like all the best crime fiction the plot is bolstered by a deep understanding of the political, economic, and social situation in the country.” Nudge

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List