The
Lady from Buenos Aires
A Willie Cuesta
Mystery
John Lantigua
Arte Publico Press (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-55885-496-7 (1558854967)
ISBN-13: 978-1-55885-496-3 (9781558854963)
Publication Date: March 2007
List Price: $24.95
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Willie Cuesta wears tropical shirts, cool linen slacks,
and Mexican sandals to ward off the Florida heat. Formerly a Miami
Police Department detective, he now works as chief of security at his
brother’s salsa club while he waits for new clients at his
detective agency in Little Havana.
After meeting Fiona Bonaventura, Willie quickly realizes that her
predicament isn’t a straight forward missing-persons case.
The
elegant Argentinean is convinced that she has found her dead
sister’s daughter. Her sister Sonia disappeared during
Argentina’s “dirty war” more than twenty
years ago,
but her pregnant body was never found. Fiona has never stopped
searching for her sister’s child, and several times has been
steps away from finding the girl she is convinced is her niece. This
time she has tracked the girl to Miami, and Fiona is determined not to
lose her again.
As Willie delves into the case, a host of shady characters surface with
ties to the Argentinean military dictatorship responsible for the death
and disappearance of thousands of citizens: Sarah Ingram, who teaches
tango in a dance studio in a quiet, suburban neighborhood; her
polo-playing husband who makes it clear he won’t tolerate
questions about his intelligence work in Argentina years ago; a
terrified man who survived torture and imprisonment during the
“dirty war” and may be able to identify some of his
torturers if he can set his fear aside; and even an Argentine diplomat.
When people associated with the case start turning up dead and Willie
finds himself held captive in the back of an SUV, he knows for sure
that death squads from another time and place have arrived in Miami. As
the vehicle careens through the pre-dawn streets of Miami, Willie
Cuesta must hang on desperately as his latest case spirals out of
control.
Review:
After an absense of almost six years, Cuban-American private
investigator Willie Cuesta returns in The Lady from Buenos Aires,
the third mystery in this series by John Lantigua.
This is the heart-felt story of Fiona Bonaventura’s twenty
year
search for the child of her younger sister, Sonia, who was killed in
Argentina’s “dirty war." Sonia was captured as a
rebel to
the cause while she was still pregnant. She was put in a special area
and allowed to give birth, but then she was sent to her death. The baby
was given to Manuel Navarro, a member of the military, and his wife,
Felicia. When the war ended Manuel left the country. He did not want to
be tried as a war criminal. Now, Fiona finds out he and his family is
somewhere in Miami. She hires private investigator Willie Cuesta of
Little Havana to find them. All Fiona gives Cuesta to go on is a
picture of Sonia when she was twenty years old, the age of
Sonia’s daughter now and the name of Manuel Navarro. He gets
information from his computer, asks for help from a friend, a detective
on the Miami Police Force, and a lawyer who deals with immigration
issues. He finds people who knew people in Argentina during those
horrible days. When he thinks he’s getting close, some of
those
to whom he has spoken to are killed or else mysteriously disappear. He,
too, is shot, beaten up, shoved in the back of an SUV and stomped on.
The men and women now he talks to either lie to him, or are afraid to
talk to him, or they send him on wild goose chases. Notable among these
is a priest who was a chaplain in Argentina during the war, now a real
estate dealer in Miami, and the vice council at the Argentine consulate
in Miami.
The Lady from
Buenos Aires
is an extraordinary story that compels interest throughout. The
historical background adds credibility to the plot which itself is
relentless. It is an exciting, frequently scary, ride that Lantigua
takes the reader on as Cuesta pursues his investigation. Reading this
excellent mystery is time well spent.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Lady from Buenos Aires and to Arte Publico Press for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2007 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved.
Mysteries in this series ...
Player's Vendetta
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), August 1999
ISBN-10: 0-451-19846-8 (0451198468)
The Ultimate Havana
Signet (Mass Market Paperback), April 2001
ISBN-10: 0-451-200278-3 (0451202783)
Omnimystery keywords for The Lady from Buenos Aires
...
Location(s) referenced: Miami.
