On the eve of the Cuban Revolution, headstrong 18-year-old Francesca Pacelli flees from her ruthless Mafia-boss father in Havana to the arms of her lover, a rebel fighting with Fidel Castro. Her father, desperate to send her to safety in the US, resorts to torture and blackmail as he searches the island for her.
So begins the first part of a spellbinding saga that spans three generations of the same family. Decades later, the family is lured back to Cuba by the promise of untold riches. But pursuing those riches brings danger as well as opportunity, and ultimately, Francesca's family must confront the lethal consequences of their choices. From the troubled streets of Havana to the mean streets of Chicago, HAVANA LOST reveals the true cost of chasing power instead of love.
HAVANA LOST is award-winning author Libby Fischer Hellmann's tenth novel and third thriller that explores how strife and revolution affect the human spirit. The novel is a testament to Hellmann's gift for authentic historical detail as well as her talent for writing compulsively readable thrillers.
— Finalist in Foreword Review Magazine's Thriller of the Year contest 2013
— "Notable Page-Turner" in Shelf Unbound Magazine's Book of the year — 2014
— Honorable Mention in Chicago Writers Association Best Fiction Book 2013
