May 8, 2017 - Maisie Dobbs

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear (2003)

Setting: England and France
Time:
Spring 1929
Spring 1910 - Spring 1917
Summer 1929

Characters:
Maisie Dobbs - M. Dobbs, Trade and Personal Investigations - M. Hobbs, Psychologist and Investigator
Bloomsbury
Mr. Sharp - Billy Beale (William Dobbs)
Christopher Davenham - Celia -
Vincent (Weathershaw) - George - Malcolm
Nether Green Cemetery -  Tom Smith - Donald Holden
Frankie, Persephone
Volunteer Aid Detachment - Fourteenth Casualty Clearing Station, Bailleul
Captain Simon Lynch - Iris Rigson

Girton College
Priscilla Rvernden, FANY
Lady Rowan Compton - Lord Julian - James - Carter - Cook Crawford - Enid - Dowager Lady Compton
Belgravia
Dr. Maurice Blanche
Dr, Basil Khan

The Retreat
Major Jenkins (Adam)
Archie
Armstrong Jenkins
Detective Inspector Stratton

Good Havana/Cuba Books

Leonardo Padura
Mario Conde Mystery
1. Havana Red (2005)
2. Havana Black (2006)
3. Havana Blue (2007)
4. Havana Gold (2008)
5. Havana Fever (2009) 
Novels
The Man Who Loved Dogs (2014)
Heretics (2017)

Blair, Peggy - The Poisoned Pawn (2014)
Greene, Graham - Our Man in Havana (1958)
Kerr, Philip - If The Dead Rise Not: Bernie Gunther #6 (2009)
McKinty, Adrian - Fifty Grand (2009)
Smith, Martin Cruz - Havana Bay: Arkady Renko #4 (2000)
Standiford, Les - Havana Run (2003)
Wilkshire, Nick - Escape to Havana (2016)

Kurlansky, Mark - Havana: A Subtropical Delirium (2017)
A city of tropical heat, sweat, ramshackle beauty, and its very own cadence--a city that always surprises--Havana is brought to pulsing life by New York Times bestselling author Mark Kurlansky.
Award-winning author Mark Kurlansky presents an insider's view of Havana: the elegant, tattered city he has come to know over more than thirty years. Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes, historic engravings, photographs, and Kurlansky's own pen-and-ink drawings throughout, Havana celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball, and food; its five centuries of outstanding, neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.

Like all great cities, Havana has a rich history that informs the vibrant place it is today--from the native Taino to Columbus's landing, from Cuba's status as a U.S. protectorate to Batista's dictatorship and Castro's revolution, from Soviet presence to the welcoming of capitalist tourism. Havana is a place of extremes: a beautifully restored colonial city whose cobblestone streets pass through areas that have not been painted or repaired since long before the revolution.

Kurlansky shows Havana through the eyes of Cuban writers, such as Alejo Carpentier and José Martí, and foreigners, including Graham Greene and Hemingway. He introduces us to Cuban baseball and its highly opinionated fans; the city's music scene, alive with the rhythm of Son; its culinary legacy. Through Mark Kurlansky's multilayered and electrifying portrait, the long-elusive city of Havana comes stirringly to life.

Monday April 10

12:00 Nelson Main

Havana Gold (Mario Conde #2) by Leonardo Padura, Peter Bush (Translation)

Twenty-four-year old Lissette Delgado has been beaten, raped, and then strangled with a towel. Marijuana is found in her apartment and her wardrobe is suspiciously beyond the means of a high-school teacher. When Lieutenant Conde is pressured by 'the highest authority' to conclude his investigation quickly, chance leads him into the arms of a beautiful redhead, a saxophone player who shares his love for jazz and Japanese fighting fish." This is a Havana of crumbling, grand buildings, secrets hidden behind faded doors and corruption. Yet it is also a eulogy to Cuba: its life of music, sex and the great friendships of those who chose to stay and fight for survival.

2:00 - Laxalt

The Secret in Their Eyes (2010)

The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), an Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, is part cold-case mystery, part long-lost love story, and part thriller set both in the present and in 1970s Argentina, under the tight control of its infamous military dictatorship. Director Juan José Campanella manages to tread easily across these genres with a story that's gripping, a little outlandish, and compelling--if full of a growing sense of dread. The Secret in Their Eyes stars Ricardo Darín as Benjamin, a policeman who gets pulled into investigating a decades-old crime, and becomes drawn in, almost against his will, as layers of information about the missing (murdered?) girl slowly come to light. As Benjamin investigates, he runs into a woman for whom he has long carried a torch, Irene (Soledad Villamil), an ambitious judge who had also at one point been involved in adjudicating the old crime. The chemistry between Benjamin and Irene is part of the "secret in their eyes," as the pull between the old colleagues becomes palpable. But also palpable is the hold that this unsolved crime has over Benjamin--a creepy borderline obsession that is reminiscent of the American film noir classic Laura. Fancy cinematography and well-crafted flashbacks to the era of the crime--set against the backdrop of the military dictatorship--add extra depth to what is a truly original story, told in layers with great intelligence. Fans of great mysteries and dramas--and of lost love that may again be found--will not want to miss The Secret in Their Eyes.