Martin Davies: Havana Sleeping, Hodder, 9780340980477, paperback 2015

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I seem to be in the mood for historical thrillers, the perfect combination of capturing entertainment and historical education thrown in for free , this is my second book set in Cuba I read this summer both with very different historical dates.  

Martin Davies: Havana Sleeping, Hodder, 9780340980477, paperback 2015 does just that.  I have always felt very attracted to Cuba as long as I can remember no idea why really, but for me the image of exotic, sensual and vibrant energy was always associated with the island combined with beautiful countryside set in the Caribbean. That was enough to intrigue me for many years.  Hemingway and many others felt similarly & when I visited Cuba some 12 years ago, I fell in love with the people and the island.  The music of Buena Vista Social Club did the rest to cement the feeling. No wonder „Havana Sleeping “stirred my interest when I stumbled across it.

The novel is based on historical facts and takes place between 1853-1855 when the Americans, Spanish and British interests on the island clashed heavily.  Plantation owners relied entirely on slaves for their sugar cane business; the Brits had pressured Spain against the abolition of the slave trade having abolished slave trade themselves in the West Indies.  The American interest in retaining slave trading was obvious and private armies were formed in the US planning to invade Cuba.  England had established a mixed commission which was to control illegal slave trading but proved to be a completely ineffective tool.  Enter George Backhouse, the new judge of the Mixed Commission who is seen as an easy puppet by the officials back in London and Cuba who all have their hands in the tinderbox that is Havana. He and his young wife Grace come ill prepared for the steaming political climate in Cuba. Several other colorful characters complete this tightly woven story:  Leonora, an enigmatic beautiful courtesan, the American Jepson, one of the first spymasters of the US, Thomas Staveley and John Jerusalem both pulling strings behind the scenes from London, fabricating a true spider web and Joseph Crawford the corrupt British Consul in Havana.  James Dalrymple who is supposed to support Backhouse in his duties but with an agenda of his own and Lavender also play a vital role in “Havana Sleeping”  which opens  with the murder of an elderly night watchman and a theft at the British Consulate in Havana. I will leave you to discover the rest as anything more will be spoiling the fun of reading  Havana Sleeping – this is a complex, atmospheric and tightly knit story with many surprises as the story unfolds, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.