A Canadian police officer from Ottawa, meanwhile, is arrested for the rape and murder of a young boy while vacationing in Havana. From this captivating beginning, Peggy Blair opens her debut novel The Beggar’s Opera, which tells the story of arguably Cuba’s greatest fictional police inspector.
The idea for the books stem from a trip that Blair took to Havana in December 2006 with her daughter. Having just left a 30-year legal career, which included working in the heart wrenching residential school process, she was in a period of transition. After her daughter encouraged her to do something active she started to write.
Moved by her daughter’s words, as well as her trip to Old Havana in Christmas of 2006, Blair came up with the idea of writing a mystery set in Cuba. The result is a wonderful literary efforts with unforgettable characters. There is Inspector Ramirez, a first-class detective who sees the ghosts of murdered people. In addition to solving crimes, he has to deal with the shortages facing Cuba, such as the lack of fuel for police vehicles.
Then there is Hector Apiro, a brilliant pathologist and one of Cuba’s top plastic surgeons who suffers from dwarfism. His small physical stature hides his genius mind and deep compassion. All in all this is wonderful mystery novel that is well worth the read.
4 out of 5 stars
