Description:
A spellbinding saga that spans three generations of the same powerful Mafia family in Cuba.
Brief description: Libby Fischer Hellmann left a career in broadcast news in Washington, DC and moved to Chicago a long time ago, where she, naturally, began to write gritty crime fiction. She soon began writing historical fiction as well. Eighteen novels and twenty-five short stories later, she claims they'll take her out of the Windy City feet first. She has been nominated for many awards in the mystery and crime writing community and has even won a few. She has been a finalist twice for the Anthony and the Shamus; and four times for Foreword Magazine's Book of the Year. She has also been nominated for the Agatha, the Daphne, and she won the Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year in 2021. She has won the IPPY, Foreword Magazine's Indie Awards, and the Readers Choice Award multiple times. Her latest novel is Max's War: The Story of a Ritchie Boy, a novel about the little known group of German Jewish immigrants to the US who escaped Hitler and joined the Army to fight Nazis.
Review Quotes:
"A sprawling tale.... the story of the Cuban revolution, as well as the Cuban military efforts in Angola, is fascinating..." Publishers Weekly
"Ambitious, sprawling... Hellmann keeps a complicated plot moving... her sections on Cuba are surprisingly and satisfyingly vivid." Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune
"A cautionary tale... great historical detail... interesting story, ambitious, enjoyable!" Romantic Times Book Review
"Hellmann's writing has matured considerably since her early novels. Her plotting has become more solid and assured, her characters more realistic, her settings wonderfully described. This is a fine... extremely well-told novel." Deadly Pleasures Magazine
"Masterfully crafted...Hellmann has a superb gift for the colorful depiction of her characters. I can't imagine any noir aficionado not enjoying Havana Lost." aliteraryree