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Summary: Cruz Gets Some Serious Religious Matters Wrong
Review: I was looking forward to reading HAVANA BAY because Havana, the musics and the many religions of Cuba matter a great deal to me and my friends.I was shocked and disappointed that not only once, but several times, it is announced in HAVANA BAY that the Abakua religion is from the Congo region of Africa, when even the most elementary book on African Diaspora religions will inform you correctly that the Abakua come from the Calabar region of what we now know as Cameroon, close to present-day Nigeria. Cruz also wrote about the religions as if they were some sort of cheap Hollywood horror venture; nor, despite putting so much of this in the novel did it actually bear upon the plot. This is not the best book that Cruz has written. It reads too much as though the author was plugging in his research to fit his plot template, rather than having the plot emerge from something he knew well, and respected, if not loved.
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Summary: good story, wonderful style
Review: What I really like about Smith is his style of writing; languid, somewhat indirect, his hero who almost unwillingly, and certainly unwittingly becomes involved. Some details (medical/forensic) don't ring quite true, but his Havana looks pretty good to an unknowing eye. I'll read it again.
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Summary: Terrific read! I was very glad to have Arkady Renko back.
Review: Havana Bay is just chock full of irresistable characters, complex plottings, hidden dangers and wonderful descriptions of a very exotic setting, today's Cuba, that most of us have never seen. You can see, taste, smell and feel all of it with Mr.Cruz's narrative of the goings on in modern day Havana. I enjoyed the book very much and would highly recommend it. It's as good as "Gorky Park", maybe better!
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Summary: Arkady Renko finds the rhythm of post-Russian Cuba.
Review: M.C. Smith is gifted writer who, through the eyes of Arkady Renko, an ill-fated Russian investigator, has shown us sable smuggling in the old Soviet Union (Gorky Park) and the floating Gulag aboard a Russian trawler (Polar Star). Renko introduced us to the Russian Mafia that filled the vacuum left by Soviet collapse (Red Square). Now Renko's back, revealing the dark rhythms of Cuban drums and the fetid aroma of socialist decay, Caribbean-style. In Havana Bay, Smith's careful crafting of the prose and his sharp insight into the Soviet world are several cuts above the magnetism of the plot, but you'll love the way he tells it.
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Summary: I HATE MYSTERIES, BUT I STAYED UP late reading this book!
Review: What a story teller Martin Cruz Smith! I read mystery books reluctantly, only because friends recommend them repeatedly, but this is one I stayed up late reading. From the first page, questions dance along, dragging mysteries along in the answers. Who is the corpse found floating in a pneumatic tube in Havana Bay? (In a what? Why?) Is it Pribluda, Arkady's friend and former nemisis? (And if so, why doesn't Arkady identify the body?) Why was this person killed? Why is a police sargent trying to kill Arkady ? (Who is after all leaving on the first plane out... in a week) Where is the cell phone that will help explain why the translater tried to kill Arkady? The answers are woven into complex, focused and fascinating plot. Wonderful characters. I enjoyed the contrast of the affable menace of two aging former sixties radical ex-patriots and the violent police sargent who dogs the protagonists with physical attacks and threats. I guess I fell in love with Arkady, bundled in a black cashmere coat, the last gift of his recently deceased wife, hiding from the heat of Cuba, whether it emanates from tropical sun or the tough and sexy Cuban detective who in a touching scene ends up wearing... The culture and political issues in Cuba today pulse the story and provide many provocative undercurrents for the murder mystery. Santeria, is a dark empowering religion, its tenets a comfort not just to the bad and the bewildered, but to the heroic and the ordinary Cubans in the book. The liberal among us tend to see our country as economic colonizers, slipping our culture in the form of movies, music and television down the throats of those who need food, trade and promises of a better life. It certainly is a giggle to see Russia cast in the role of colonizer, as the characters in the book do in their contemptuous and funny comments. There is humor and emotional power in this murder mystery. The dregs of Cuba's heyday as a tourist destination, the feckless behavior of jinterias, - young prostitutes, all give the reader a subtle interesting mirror between the life draining depression of Arkady, brought about by the final straw of his wife's death and Cuba's resigned plodding to manage a life that can be made manageable, but never truly better. On the edge of desperation, some folks just become more and more resourceful, and there is not a line of dialogue or strand of story that does not bring the reader to admire what some folks do when the going gets tough. The ending is a surprise. It is a surprise in the usual sense - that the ending seems inevitable only after one reads it. It is also a surprise because the book is so engrossing, the reader could hardly hope for an unpredicted turn of events at the very end. Gorky Park, also written by Martin Cruz Smith, was one of the few other mystery books I've read, and it was the best, I thought, until I read Havana Bay. I think, next time, I will read one of his books without any help from my friends.
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Summary: Outstanding and well-researched
Review: This is a fabulous book that is well-worth your money. Mr. Cruz Smith takes his Russian protagonist to a new, diverting and thoroughly researched venue -- modern-day Cuba in its "Special Period." It's a delight to read this intelligent, well-written book. Congratulations!
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Summary: Not his best, but good fare
Review: I absolutely adored ROSE so I wouldn't have complained should he have kept writing in that vein. That said, I'm not about to complain about another Renko. Cruz Smith is up to his usual tricks, with smooth, engaging writing and a strong plot. Several details that made GORKY PARK and POLAR STAR so absorbing are missing a bit here, though, such as secondary and supporting characters as interesting and mysterious as Renko. Still and all, Havana's a lush, dramatic setting for this and I do think if you're a fan of his work there isn't too much to be disappointed about here. And if you're divided about whether to buy this or the new LeCarre, pick this one up.
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Summary: Great Arkady Renko Tale
Review: The fourth in Smith's intelligent series about Moscow detective Arkady Renko is set in Cuba. Renko's ennui brings him to Havana to look into the death of an old friend. As usual, he gets knocked around a bit, unravels complicated conspiracies, bumps into interesting women, and utters some precious self-deprecating one liners. Readers will also learn more about the fate of his truest love, Irina. A great addition to the Renko series.
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Summary: Great Plot, even better descriptions of Havana
Review: Martin Cruz Smith writes his fourth installment of Arkaday Renko, the character introduced in his first novel, Gorky Park. While it is not necessary to have read any of Cruz Smith's former books, those who have will be familiar with Renko. While perhaps not as gripping and fresh as Gorky Park, Havana Bay is a captivating read, both in that the murder/plot unfolds with each new scene/chapter and also for the peeling back of further layers for the reader about information about Cuba, Havana and the history of each. Cruz Smith's descriptions of events and landmarks in Havana are enticingly vivid and his descriptions of Cuban people instill images of what these individuals would actually be like in your head. I had always been interested in Cuba, but even if you hadn't been in the past, you will be now. Havana Bay is a quick, exciting read with enough of an unfolding plot and rich, lush descriptive scenery that readers should finish it wanting more.
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Summary: Still a Good Book
Review: I really think this series is this authors best story line and set of characters. When I read some of this other books, I just do not get into the story as much as I do with Arkady. He again creates this dark, brooding lead character that you believe in, even though it seems to be the central casting type for these type of parts. I was concerned that this book took this character, that I know so well, out of Russia - would the author be able to create that overall sense of foreboding that he does so well in Russia? I think so, at least he made the parts of Cuba that may resemble Russia stand out. Overall the story is a good one, with the normal relationship sub plots for Arkady. The mystery holds up to the end and the book has a decent pace. I do think it is not as good as the other three, he is trying to move the story along and that is the difficult part - - we all love aspects of the original Gorky Park and the further the author gets away from that book, the more he has to change to keep the stories somewhat fresh. I think this 4th book was the biggest step, the first three were very close to each other, almost additional chapters to the original work. It is a difficult balance and I think we will really not be able to tell if it is working until the 5th one of the series.
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