Is this Sam Spade in Havana?

Havana Highwire (A Cuban Noir Novel #1) by John Keyse-Walker 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Laconic, self deprecating ex-army intelligence officer, had “expected to finance [his]permanent vacation in [Havana] the land of sun, balmy breezes, rum, gambling, and compliant señoritas”, doing soft Private Investigator work. You know, like chasing down husbands for hard evidence in divorce cases. 

We all know that nothing is going to be that simple. Still it’s the 1950’s and a guy needs dreams. The reality leads Henry Gore way beyond the dream into darkness and confusion.

Then there’s his street wise, old before his years, side kick Benny. Maybe eight years old, Benny sort of adopts Gore, even after attempting to rob him. A likeable, eager to please youngster who provides  a lively counterpoint to the by now jaded Henry.

When Henry takes on a job offer from a Cuban Senator to look for trouble makers, described to him as “a minuscule element, of the population who seeks to disrupt and overthrow the legitimate government of President Batista…nothing more than bandits, really, common criminals, and their efforts have had little effect in Cuba,”  an alert reader has some inkling of the political mayhem Henry is about to step into.

However our hero has no historical perspective. Although being asked “to formulate espionage and counterespionage strategies to combat the bandits who plague [the] country,” should have rung alarm bells.

Still Henry is broke, having been warned away from the “bread and butter” work he’d hoped for by mobsters, and he was being offered a large amount of cash.

Havana in the 50’s! A corrupt government and the American mobsters working hand in hand. 

A liberation movement—a revolution just beginning. And let’s not forget that Senator’s girlfriend. A poignant moment of the meeting of two souls. 

I started out feeling hopeful that this would be a well rounded historical political thriller but you know it’s not good when you start skimming some of the pages. As we go into the nitty gritty of the liberationists struggle for arms, the corruption of the Batista government forces, there were moments of explicit violence that I didn’t need. But then this novel is touted as being on the noir side of the equation.

I did not expect events to slide into the seemingly hopelessness they did. We either have the making of a man who might go onto a more noble future or we have a numbed man trapped by his own cynicism, who has an Ah! Hah!moment, only to be checkmated at every turn. I was left wondering what the “more to come” might look like?

A Severn House ARC via NetGalley. Many thanks to the author and publisher.

Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change