Robin

Havana Nocturne tells the fascinating story of Mafia involvement in Havana in the years before Castro. From the glittering world of casinos and five star hotels to a gritty description of the live sex acts, Nocturne lays it all out...including the complicity of Batista, the experiences of US visitors (including JFK) and the rise, out there in the mountains, of one Fidel Castro. How it all came crashing down, leaving Cuba with a leftwing, as opposed to a rightwing, dictatorship, while besting the Mafia, is an incredible story. Havana Nocturne will have you reading at 3:00 in the morning....Good for history buffs, Mafia buffs, social history buffs and just those who like a ripping good read....

In Harm's Way, the latest Sheriff Walt Fleming offering from Ridley Pearson, does not disappoint, whether you have followed the previous books or are new to the series. Sheriff Fleming again is on the trail of bad people in Sun Valley while he tries to balance being the single father of twin girls with an emerging love life. A few details may stretch the reader's credulity a bit (we are to believe that the heroine, trained in the use of handguns, ventures out into the night after leaving her handgun in her cottage? I would have had it duct-taped to my wrist....) but the story moves along swimmingly. Especially good is the description of the relationship between Fleming and his wonder dog Beatrice, who proves her worth over and over again. An added bonus is the appearance in Sun Valley of Pearson's longtime detective hero, Seattle-based Lou Boldt. The interplay between the big city Boldt and the small town Fleming, whose father routinely chides him for all those calls about bears, is worth the price of admission alone.

Inspired by the recently released Travolta/Washington film, I redid Pelham after three decades. The work still holds your attention, riveting, compelling. The few anachronisms (no cellphones, no computers, references to Cuban hijackings and Vietnam) do NOT detract from the compact, precise, edge-of-your-seat story. Take Pelham; it's worth it.

I decided to revisit this book after reading it decades ago and loving it then. I hoped it had held up over the years. It is STILL a fascinating, sweep-you-along, joyous, heartbreaking tale of the liberation of Paris. Better even the second time, when I could bring maturity to the book