Last Seen in Havana

by Teresa Dovalpage

A Cuban American woman searches for her long-lost mother and fights to restore a beautiful but crumbling Art Deco home in the heart of Havana in this moving, immersive new mystery, perfect for fans of Of Women and Salt.

Newly widowed baker Mercedes Spivey flies from Miami to her native Cuba in 2019 to care for her ailing paternal grandmother. Mercedes’s life has been shaped by loss, beginning with the mysterious unsolved disappearance of her mother when Mercedes was a little girl. Returning to Cuba revives Mercedes’s hopes of finding her mother as she attempts to piece together the few  scraps of information she has. Could her mother still be alive?

Thirty-three years earlier, in 1986, an American college student with endless political optimism falls deliriously in love with a handsome Cuban soldier while on a spontaneous visit to the island. She decides to stay permanently, but soon discovers that nothing is as it seems in Havana.

The two women’s stories proceed in parallel as Mercedes gets closer to the truth about her mother, uncovering shocking family secrets in the process . . .

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Adult Fiction, Audiobook

340 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 6, 2024

About the author

Teresa Dovalpage is a Cuban writer. She was born in Havana but left in 1996 for the United States where she has been living ever since. She obtained her doctorate in Latin American literature from the University of New Mexico. She has published eight novels till date. Her third novel Muerte de un murciano en La Habana (Death of a Murcian in Havana, Anagrama, 2006) was runner-up for the Premio Herralde. Her next novel El difunto Fidel (The Late Fidel) won the Rincon de la Victoria Award in Spain in 2009. She has also published several plays and short story collections.

Dovalpage lives in Taos, New Mexico and teaches at UNM Taos.

Reviews

[Katherine Hayward Pérez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of anything related to the Spanish-speaking world, and speak Spanish fluently. I loved all the Spanish words peppered here and there, as well as the explanations of why some words were used. (for example, the ending -ita Joaquín uses when referring to Sarah as Sarita. As much as she didn't like it too much as it means "little," it's really meant as a. term of affection and endearment). That to me is romantic.

Mercedes has just married and flies to Cuba to care for her grandmother. There's a mystery surrounding her mother: is she alive or dead?

1986: Sarah is an American college student who falls in love with Joaquín when she travels to Cuba. I loved her excitement at being somewhere new, and this really came across well. It was contagious. I wanted to discover more and more about Cuba.

I adored this dual timeline novel. The attention to detail and atmosphere creation are outstanding. I felt Mercedes' emotions and feelings just as vividly as I felt Sarah's. Joaquín was accommodating, welcoming and romantic.

It was a pleasure to be witness to Cuban life, loss and mystery.

Last Seen in Havana is a lot of things: it's mysterious, realistic, full of intrigue and romace. It's a love letter to Cuba and new experiences, as well as to love itself.

Thanks to Teresa Dovalpage, Soho Books and Rachel's Random Resources for my eARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 This book was very odd for me. The relationships between the characters were very awkward and the characters seemed very odd or not well fleshed out. It almost seemed like a book that was translated from another language and things were not coming across properly. The mother oddly kept saying “dude” and some odd descriptions like hearing “the rustling rain.” I’ve never heard rustling rain. Many parts were very repetitive. I did want to keep reading to figure out what was going on with so many odd things, the writer puts a few strange mysteries in the pile. I also appreciated the take off I took to the internet to learn about this period of time in Cuba.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cool read after visiting Havana. Mentioned a lot of places that I went to and even the hotel I stayed at!

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading through a window of time into 1980s Cuba was by far the best part of this book. Experiencing first hand and learning through the characters what it was like to live in a communist country led by Fidel Castro really put things into perspective, and I imagine this depiction to be accurate. Total government control and living in a society riddled with crippling paranoia and a potent fear of speaking out sounds like hell on earth - and the author paints this picture very well.

That being said, the plot of this story seemed mild and quite linear. I wouldn't even categorize this as a mystery, more so a young girl trying to squeeze a conversation out of her family who have been keeping secrets from her. It's 350+ pages of a drawn out conversation between the protagonist and her stubborn grandmother. It desperately needed another twist at the end, or maybe I've been reading too much Agatha Christie. Maybe the whole point of this is that living in a starving communist society is not about exciting stories with twists and turns, but more so depressing history burdened with lies and violence.

There are no happy characters here, and the book seldom contains good news of any kind. If a happy ending is what you're after, I suggest giving this book a miss.

[Jody Reads Smut · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

This book is a captivating story of mystery, romance, and history. It tells the tales of two women and their love for Cuba, each with a different story from another time. The author skillfully weaves these stories, revealing a family's hidden secrets. The characters are well-developed, and the plot is thrilling. The book provides vivid descriptions of Cuba, making the reader feel like they are a part of the story.

Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources, NetGalley, and the author for allowing me to read and review this book.

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richly layered, Dovalpage expertly weaves a tale of family secrets, idealism, motherhood, and patria. This story is part mystery, part epistolary, and part tropical gothic.

[Allison Caudill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great description of setting. Love the alternating between daughter and missing mother. Middle of story is about 100 pages too long - takes too much time to get to more of the mystery. Resolution of mystery and climax point is a little underwhelming. Not a big fan but enjoyed the setting in Havana.

[Michael Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the perfect embodiment of “old people will do everything except solve basic problems.”

A thriller wrapped up in seven layers of mystery, mostly caused by an old woman who simply cannot tell the truth to save her life, Last Seen in Havana follows two timelines following mother and daughter as they navigate love, family drama, and complicated societal issues in Cuba. The mother storyline was very plot driven - things just kinda happened to her - while the daughter storyline was almost entirely character driven - she was the driving force in discovering the dark truths of her past, representing the societal differences between both 1980’s and 2010’s Cuba and America. A far more nuanced take on Cuba and communism than we usually get, this author took care to not paint with a broad brush, having both women’s narratives explore the good and the bad, with seemingly both women never abandoning their leftist ideals while still critiquing and condemning the specific policies of the Cuban government in the 1980’s and 1990’s.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

In true mystery style, LAST SEEN IN HAVANA is the story of Sarah, a woman who had disappeared from Cuba decades prior to the present time. Sarah’s daughter, Mercedes, returns to Cuba to help the grandmother who raised her and decides to investigate something that has bothered her all her life: the disappearance of her mother. Author Teresa Dovalpage provides us with two narratives: Mercedes' present-day account and Sarah’s story. Each chapter from the latter’s point of view begins with part of a letter she had written to her best friend, Rob.

All her life, Mercedes has wondered why her mother left her in Cuba. Where did she go and why? But her grandmother has always been extremely reticent, refusing to talk about it. Her father had been killed in Angola during the war, so there was no one to ask about her mother. Mercedes had married a visiting professor from Miami and moved there with him. But he was killed during a trip to Cuba, and now she has been called back to assist her grandmother.

Dovalpage offers us much information about Cuba as we see through the eyes and words of Sarah how people lived. All these events occurred during difficult times for communist countries, just before the fall of the Berlin Wall and after the Mariel boatlift. Citizens in Cuba were literally starving, and the stores were empty. Sarah shares the ridiculousness of the coupon system there, and while she was a fervent communist when she traveled to Cuba, seeing that kind of communism from afar is quite different than living it.

We see stores where only foreigners can shop and how intentionally making people stand in lines for hours for basic necessities keeps them busy and therefore not involved in protesting the political situation. And there are the eyes --- people always watching their neighbors and ready to turn them in for subversive behavior, or even just complaining about the daily difficulties of life.

As we hear about the hardships of surviving in communist Cuba, we also learn about Sarah's life with her husband, Joaquín. When Mercedes is born, Sarah realizes the impossibility of getting what she needs for the baby. There isn't enough fresh fruit to make into baby food. And forget disposable diapers or even regular ones; no stores carry them. While we are reading about that, we also see present-day Mercedes, who travels to Cuba with her best friend Candela, investigating what happened to her mother. Her grandmother isn't very forthcoming, but bit by bit, Mercedes uncovers some information. The search is made more difficult because Sarah wasn't allowed to keep her American name in Cuba, so Mercedes doesn't even know her first name or maiden name.

Another important element in the story is the house where Mercedes grew up. It's a mansion with a beautiful Art Deco style, and it's filled with expensive furniture and bad vibes. The portraits are of people Mercedes never knew, and her grandmother refuses to sell anything, saying that they don't belong to her. It is rumored that a witch lived there, and the house is filled with leaks since her grandmother also stubbornly has refused to fix anything.

When something catastrophic occurs, Mercedes is finally able to learn what happened to her mother. The mystery is solved, and the ending is touching and beautiful. But this novel is also a cautionary tale about living under the iron fist of an authoritarian regime where the people have no rights, and neighbors spy on neighbors. No one knows whom they can trust, and even leaving the country is fraught with danger. When everyone in Cuba is hungry, the people will do almost anything for money, especially American dollars.

However, there are so many people who are kind, generous and compassionate, and who demonstrate the beauty of human dignity and decency. In Mercedes' own family, there are those who understand and reflect those positive qualities, as well as some who literally would take a locket off your neck for a morsel of food. But kindness is, in fact, universal and can be found everywhere, even in the worst imaginable conditions. Dovalpage provides an ending that is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. This is a lovely piece of historical fiction that would engender some very thoughtful book club discussions.

Reviewed by Pamela Kramer

[Mischke Meyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Newly widowed baker Mercedes Spivey flies from Miami to her native Cuba in 2019 to care for her ailing paternal grandmother. Mercedes’s life has been shaped by loss, beginning with the mysterious unsolved disappearance of her mother when Mercedes was a little girl. Returning to Cuba revives Mercedes’s hopes of finding her mother as she attempts to piece together the few scraps of information she has. Could her mother still be alive?

Thirty-three years earlier, in 1986, an American college student with endless political optimism falls deliriously in love with a handsome Cuban soldier while on a spontaneous visit to the island. She decides to stay permanently, but soon discovers that nothing is as it seems in Havana.

The two women’s stories proceed in parallel as Mercedes gets closer to the truth about her mother, uncovering shocking family secrets in the process . . .

"Last Seen in Havana" is a captivating mystery thriller that intertwines real-time historical events with a gripping narrative. The novel's dual points of view and seamless transitions between the past and present create a compelling and immersive experience that is easy to follow. Set against the vibrant and tumultuous backdrop of Havana, the story is rich in historical detail, bringing the city's history to life. The author's meticulous research shines through, providing readers with an authentic sense of place and time.

One of the novel's strengths is its ability to maintain suspense without becoming overwhelmingly intense, making for a comfortable yet intriguing read. The unexpected truths revealed about the characters add depth to the story, making the revelations even more impactful. However, the pacing of the book could have been better managed, as the first half felt excessively long and somewhat dragged out.

Additionally, the ending, while shocking and emotionally resonant, felt abrupt, and a few more pages to wrap up the story would have provided a more satisfying conclusion. Despite these minor flaws, "Last Seen in Havana" does a good job in creating a suspenseful atmosphere and delivering a story that resonates on multiple levels. For those who enjoy mystery thrillers rooted in historical events, this book is a noteworthy addition to their reading list.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

#LastSeeninHavana #NetGalley

[Tripfiction · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel set mainly in CUBA



“A must-read for mystery fans who love great locations paired with even better characters” says author Alex Segura. What an accolade!

This is the story of two women separated by time and circumstance. Mercedes has recently lost her husband and she is off to Cuba to look after her paternal grandmother, who lives there. The death of her husband brings into sharp relief the loss she suffered as a young girl, when her mother disappeared – the authorities were involved in trying to trace her but the closed was closed in 1991, leaving her with little hope of ever finding her mother. Her mother (whose name she didn’t even know) fell in love with a Cuban soldier in the 1980s during a whirlwind trip to Havana, at a time when political fervour was ubiquitous and idealism persisted, despite many restrictions and hardships simply obtaining the basic necessities. The 1980s story guides the reader around Cuba as it was then, with revolutionary slogans – Patria o muerte – intrinsic even to collective wedding ceremonies taking place at El Palacio de Los Matrimonios (where perhaps the romance and wedding shine were slightly tarnished because the ashes of revolutionary Julio Antonio Mella were also interred there – you could never escape from the revolution, even in intimate moments).

Mercedes’ search leads the reader through Havana’s bustling streets and crumbling Art Deco mansions, as she unravels family mysteries and discovers buried history. The author uses Spanish words judiciously throughout the narrative, which adds a nice level of authenticity.

This is a mystery, which sometimes almost feels like a memoir, exploring family bonds, identity and the lasting power of love. And as Mercedes makes her discoveries, she also finds her own firmer footing in the world. Cuba is a great backdrop for this engaging story.

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, but I’m not sure I would call it a “Mystery” as it was labeled in the library. As soon as the rose bush entered the story, I was sure I knew how it would end, and I was right. Most of the story is just leading up to everything that happens in the last 25%, and I think the last 25% felt rushed even though it contained the most important parts of the story. Everything in the last quarter of the book could’ve been much longer and replaced a lot of the filler in the middle. That being said, I enjoyed the filler. It was really interesting to hop between the story of mother and daughter. It was addicting to read on about the story of the naive, blindly hopeful mother learning about the new world she lived in and experiencing how it was changing, and how it changed her— contrasting with the daughter who would do anything to learn a bit about that story, wanting to be hopeful as she found bits and pieces of it, but dealing with the harsh reality of the situations she was in. There are a lot of parallels between the mother and daughters stories, who never really knew each other but shared similar experiences in different ways. But at the same time the realist worldview Mercedes has is so opposite to her mothers’ optimism and refusal to view the negative parts of her situation in a realistic light. As the book comes to an end, though, and the mother begins to see things for how they were, she becomes more and more similar to her daughter in the modern day and age. It’s like they’re growing together, even though their stories exist in different times.

[Beth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a combination of a thriller, romance, and story of hardships with a good feeling ending. The story starts out as a love story between two people who are fighting for a common goal in the Fidel Castro years in Cuba. A woman from the US, Sarah and Joaquin who is in the Cuban military. The book goes through the trials and hardships that many of the Cuban people had to fight for food and healthcare during the invasion. It also portrayed the Russian influence as well during this time. Sarah or Tania as she was known in Cuba fell in love with Joaquin and stayed in Cuba. They married and eventually had Mercedes. Mercedes is trying throughout the book to find her mother. But through hidden secrets and lies "to protect her" she finds out the real fate of her mother and father. Mamina is her grandmother and refuses to give up the old ways until it lands her in the hospital. Mercedes finally learns the truth by talking with many of her family that she had only met once. She confronts Mamina and through trying to fix up her homeplace and horrible storms, more questions arise than answers. Eventually after some soul searching and persistence, she finds the truth and a family that she finally can call her own.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mercy Spivey returns to her native Cuba to help her ill grandmother. She is also hoping to learn more about her mother who died when she was very young. The story that takes place in the past, in the 1980s, is quite intriguing. Apparently, Mercy's mother was a young American girl who travels to Havana, Cuba, on a lark and falls in love with a handsome Cuban, Joaquin. She is estranged from her parents but maintains a strong friendship with a gay male friend from her college years. At first the mother is enthralled with the political zeal and fervor of the Cuban revolution, but as she gets pregnant and has a child she longs for home. With the help of a Russian friend, she manages a few visits to the U.S. and brings much needed supplies to Cuba.

Spoiler alert: With the collapse of the Soviet Union and withdrawal of its financial help, Cubans are struggling with severe shortages. Sometimes they travel to the countryside to her mother's family home where things are a bit better on the farm. Eventually she plans to leave her husband and Cuba, but is killed by her husband when he discovers her plot. He then commits suicide. This is not the happy ending but it does solve a long buried mystery and gives Mercy some closure.

[Amy Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

📖BOOK REVIEW📖

Last seen in Havana by Teresa Dovelpage
🌟🌟🌟🌟

@teresadovelpage
@rachelsrandomresources

Review
Thanks to Rachel @rachelsrandomresources for organising this blog tour and providing me with a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

I love how this book was written with a dual timeline and follows Mercedes, in the 'present' who decides to start searching and investigating into her mother's whereabouts after she disappeared when she was young, which comes about when she flied to Cuba to see her paternal grandmother who is suffering with sickness. The book also tells Sarah's story, set in 1986, who fell for a handsome Cuban man, Joaquin, and decided to move to Havana. The story entwines the two sides and is beautifully written and really immerses the reader into Cuban life.

I loved the world building and although told from two POVs it flowed really well and the pages really flowed with emotion as the story unfolds. I also loved picking up on different Spanish words thst were scattered throughout the book which also added to the Cuban vibe.

A really enjoyable read!

[Camille · Rating 3 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK
Sarah Lee is a revolutionary American communist in Cuba. During her time in Cuba, she falls in love with Joaquin Montero. They get married and have a daughter, Mercedes. Sarah Lee lives with her family in a changing Cuba where everything is scarce. She can't find proper food, clothing, toys, household items in Cuba. Then one day she disappears and is never heard from again. Mercedes grows up and marries an American. She moves to Florida and her husband dies.

Her grandmother, Mamina, who raised her is sick. Mercedes returns to Cuba to care for Mamina and find her mother. The story of Sarah Lee and her daughter Mercedes is told in alternating chapters until the story converges with the discovery of Sarah Lee's skeleton and Joaquin's guilt ridden suicide over killing Sarah Lee.

I enjoyed listening to this book. I thought Joaquin was a fool for killing Sarah Lee who loved him and wanted the best for their daughter. Of course, Joaquin killed his wife, but until the end I still hoped he wasn't such a fool. Alas, he was a fool and a coward who deprived his daughter of a mother and a father. I loved reading about Cuba and the Fidel Castro era.

[Tricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Last Seen in Havana by Teresa Dovalpage. I've heard how beautiful Havana is while there is so much suffering for the people who live in Cuba. This story is one of love, family, and secrets. Mercedes was raised by her grandmother in Cuba but moved to Miami with her husband. After his death, she returns to visit her grandmother, check on her health, and see about making sure her home is safe to live in. During her visit, Mercedes is to determined to find out what happened to her mother, who disappeared when Mercedes was a toddler. The story is told through two timelines, one of her mother, an American expat who visits Cuba, falls in love with Mercedes father and stays. The other of Mercedes herself as she tries to find out what her grandmother and some of the neighbors really know about what happened to her mother. Did she leave, as Mercedes has always thought? Was she a spy? Did something nefarious happen? I didn't expect the story to end the way it did thought the story came full circle in the end.

[Country Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this read y'all! I was pleasantly surprised about how much the author put in things that were happening in Cuba in the 1980s and the 2000s. She did a great job incorporating the Cuban control that Fidel Castro had over the country in the 1980's.
The story is also intriguing. It is the story of Mercedes trying to find out what happened to her American mom back in the 1980s when she disappeared one day while headed out to get a chicken, because Mercedes was sick. She never was seen again.
The author does a superb job in weaving a story that even a US born person like myself can understand and like as a reader. The character of Mercedes was very relatable and so was her mom moving to another country for love. The story is a engaging whirlwind trying to find out what happened to Mercedes mom the whole time and I was highly engaged, and also surprised at the ending and how things turned out.
I would highly recommend this read to mystery and thriller readers!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mercedes Spivey, a Cuban born resident of Miami. is traveling back to Cuba to take care of her grandmother and hopes to get some answers about the disappearance of her mother and death of her father when she was just a young child.

While this book truly highlights the oppression and scarcity with which the Cuban People lived with under the revolutionaries rule and the Embargo, I found the story line underwhelming. The main characters at times appeared clueless and despite all the scarcity, had a ready supply of money. There were a lot of plot holes that were never resolved or the timing between the dual timelines was off. The primary plot mystery used a lack of communication as a mechanism to keep the mystery alive until the end, which was frustrating. Despite all of that, I did love the insight into the Cuban culture during this time period, but I am still looking for the historical fiction novel set in or about Cuba that I truly knocks my socks off.

[Shannan Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. That was what came to mind by the time I got to the end of the book. It definitely was a shocker by the time I got to that point. This goes to show why I'm a firm believer of people not keeping secrets from their children/grandchildren. I felt so sorry for Mercedes as I was going through the story. My favorite part of the story was the dual timeline aspect. It fit in right where it needed to be. I would advise that you read book 3 in the series first, as it gives a little more to Mercedes background (The other two i believe do not contain her character, so they're not integral to this particular story.) Although I do wish there was a little more with the ending, I do plan to go back and checkout the author's backlist.

I received a copy of the book via TBR and Beyond Tours and am voluntarily leaving an honest review of my own thoughts and opinions

[Anne Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very captivating. The last quarter of the book was very shocking and sad. I had honestly hoped for a happier ending. The book reminds us that there’s a very thin line between obsession and love. It provides insight into the lives of the people who experienced the political turmoil and historical events taking place in 1980’s Cuba. Also, demonstrates how poverty and hardship can damage relationships. The relationship between a mother and daughter is explored across decades, but Dovalpage ties the pair together with shared phrases, beliefs, and scenery. It was interesting to compare the experience of the mother, living in communist Cuba in the 80’s, to her daughter’s return in the 21st century. I learned a lot about what living through the upheaval felt like. It reminded me a little bit of Ayn Rand’s novels about the communist revolution in the Soviet Union.

[Ana Schein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amé esta novela. No quería que terminara, me sentía cómoda recorriendo las calles de la Habana, espiando dentro de las casas de los protagonistas. Si bien es cierto que quería saber cómo se iba a resolver el misterio, me había encariñado tanto con los personajes que me angustiaba dejarlos escapar.
Más allá de disfrutar de los paseos, saborear las comidas típicas cubanas, quisiera hacer hincapié en el entorno sociopolítico, la muestra de una sociedad en decadencia y de las miserias que deben padecer personajes maravillosos, que sufren por no poder acceder a los derechos básicos mínimos, por ejemplo: la comida, una simple gallina para hacer un caldo para un hijo enfermo, elegir qué ropa usan, qué música escuchan o a qué dios desean adorar. Nada de eso es posible, simplemente por haber nacido al otro lado del océano.
No dejen de leer “Last seen in Havana”, de Teresa Dovalpage.

[Nancy Reynolds · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first book by this author. I did not even realize it was part of a series - which did not cause me any problems in reading this story. I really enjoyed the dual time line - going back to when Mercedes mother came to Cuba and fell in love and had a child and then disappeared; and the present day with her daughter all grown up and trying to find some answers to whatever happened to her mother - and who her mother actually was. So many secrets! So much to learn about Cuba. It was very interesting. I felt it started out slow, but definitely grabbed me and kept me turning the pages to see what would be told next. I will definitely read more by this author. I was lucky enough to win ARC of this book from Goodreads.

[Carlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for an honest review.

So the setting was great, Havana through the 80s. The plot was intriguing and I kept reading because I wanted to know what had happened.
However, was not a fan of the writing style, as it felt a bit weak and repetitive. There was a lot of “dude” calling. It also felt like it was either translated, or written by someone whose first language is not english, some of the sentences were weak or didn’t make sense. The characters didnt have much depth to them, although I liked Yoel and Canario most (which I think says a lot because they are barely in the book).

The ending was good, though. It surprised me in a way and kind of made up for the slow pace of the book.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won an ARC this book on a Goodreads first reads giveaway.

Wow, this was a beautiful but bittersweet read.

I absolutely loved the atmosphere and the breath taking descriptions of Cuba were so vivid and breath taking, it really brought you to the island.

Shockingly, as much as I usually dislike frequent POV changes, this chapter by chapter story telling switching between "Tania" and Mercedes worked really well. Both of their stories were being told in parallel and it was handled so beautifully and cleanly that I really enjoyed the switches from start to finish and couldn't wait to jump back to the other when the chapters ended.

Very much worth the read.

[Rogue Book Reviews]

I truly loved reading this book. At first I wasn't sure if I would like it but kept reading and I was happy I did. The book switches between the past and present between the chapters. I like that the book really had two main characters, the mom and the daughter. Once I got into the book I couldn't put it down because I wanted to keep reading to figure out what happened. I kept routing for Mercedes to figure out what happened to her mom as she was young when her mom was last seen. I enjoyed the detail the author used to describe the scenery around the characters. I also loved reading about what the mother and daughter saw in the same places during different time frames.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing, but not exactly what I was expecting. I read this bit from my library's website, "A Cuban American woman searches for her long-lost mother and fights to restore a beautiful but crumbling Art Deco home in the heart of Havana," and I thought, 'Oh, a house renovation! Maybe like Frances Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun!' It was definitely not that! Not much about a house reno at all, except that the house falls down! Still, I enjoyed it - the mystery of it, the history of Cuba in it. It seemed to end abruptly but I suppose by that point the mystery was solved so not too much to continue with.

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a stunning book to read, the authors writing flows effortlessly, I loved the dual timelines and found myself being drawn to Tania’s section more.

The setting of the book intrigued me aswell, especially finding out about the history (I.e only being able to buy certain items at certain times) and I want to read more regarding Havanas past.

The mystery around Tanya and her disappearance was just as interesting and I really felt for Mercedes.

This is a must read for historical fiction fans and I’m looking forward to reading the previous books by the author.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last Seen In Havana is the story of a woman searching for her mother's story. What is the mystery? What happened to her mother? Why did her mother stay in Cuba and then why did she leave?
I really enjoyed reading about the lifestyle and restrictions of Cubans. Having visited Cuba a few years back, it was easy for me to relate to it. It was very accurate. It will give you a good sense of life in Cuba, even as it is today.

[shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a real slow burn, but it gripped me. What a story. It closes with a bittersweet end chapter and seemed very realistic. 3 1/2 stars for me. ✨️

I did think the mothers' letters seemed niéve and it took me many chapters to discern just how old her charcter actually was supposed be during the time...and the relation to her correspondent... the characters could've been a bit more rounded out, but i overall enjoyed the read.