Havana Twist (Willa Jansson Mystery)

Plot

Never before have the stakes been so high, or so personal, for "one of the most articulate and surely the wittiest of women sleuths at large in the genre" "(The New York Times Book Review)." As she investigates the mysterious disappearance of her own peacenik mother, Willa finds herself doing the "Havana Twist." Attorney Willa Jansson has finally managed to unload some of her sixties baggage, but her rebellious mother can't seem to mellow out. When Mom heads to Cuba with a band of graying "brigadistas" Willa figures it's just a pilgrimage to lefty Graceland. But then the rest of the group returns without her mother, and Willa fears the worst. Risking disbarment for "trading with the enemy" she rushes to the rescue -- and discovers that her mother may have finally gotten herself into more trouble then she can get herself out of. In a deadly game of cat and mouse, Willa follows her mother's path from Havana to Mexico City, from California back to Havana, getting manipulated, misled, and nearly arrested along the way. Soon she finds two angry governments, at least one ruthless killer, and her old flame, homicide Lieutenant Surgelato, are hot on her trail. Racing against time, Willa realizes that, much more than politics and police work, it is intuition that will help her find her mother -- and those things that only a daughter knows.