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Lupe Solano #1
Bloody Waters
Young private investigator Lupe Solano struggles to find the birth mother of an illegally adopted baby who needs a transplant, but when the search gives way to murder, Lupe must uncover the truth before it is too late. Reprint.
292 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
25 people are currently reading
1250 people want to read
About the author
Carolina Garcia-Aguilera
16 books49 followersCarolina Garcia-Aguilera (born 1949) is a Cuban-born American writer. She has written a series of mystery stories, and two novels.
She was born in Havana, Cuba in July 1949. In 1960, she emigrated to the United States, living in Palm Beach, Florida, and then New York City. She graduated from college, with degrees in history and political science, a master's in language and linguistics, and an MBA in finance. She is currently working on a PhD in Latin American affairs.
She lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and is married (twice) with 3 daughters. In order to get realistic information for her mystery books, she became a licensed private investigator in Florida, and started a successful business in the field.
She has written a series of mystery books, featuring a female Cuban-American private investigator in Miami named Lupe (Guadalupe) Solano. The series is celebrated for its rich and detailed coverage of the Cuban American, Catholic, exile community in Florida, their history, and the differences and conflicts between the generations regarding Cuba and Fidel Castro. Her most recent books were two novels. She has not published any books since 2003.
Series:
* Lupe Solano Mystery
She was born in Havana, Cuba in July 1949. In 1960, she emigrated to the United States, living in Palm Beach, Florida, and then New York City. She graduated from college, with degrees in history and political science, a master's in language and linguistics, and an MBA in finance. She is currently working on a PhD in Latin American affairs.
She lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and is married (twice) with 3 daughters. In order to get realistic information for her mystery books, she became a licensed private investigator in Florida, and started a successful business in the field.
She has written a series of mystery books, featuring a female Cuban-American private investigator in Miami named Lupe (Guadalupe) Solano. The series is celebrated for its rich and detailed coverage of the Cuban American, Catholic, exile community in Florida, their history, and the differences and conflicts between the generations regarding Cuba and Fidel Castro. Her most recent books were two novels. She has not published any books since 2003.
Series:
* Lupe Solano Mystery
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
February 28, 2020
Read this one for Read or Dead: https://bookriot.com/listen/judge-the...
January 16, 2021
Solid 4-star mystery. Written by a Cuban-American author who is herself a private investigator, this first book in the Lupe Solano series introduces a feisty, independent PI who lives life on her own terms against the backdrop of two generations of Cuban-Americans seeking a new life in Miami.
January 16, 2021
Olipas kivaa lukea tällaista kevyempää dekkaria, joka oli oikein viihdyttävä ja mukanaan vievä, vaikka tyyliltään olikin pikkuisen vanhahtava.
December 10, 2020
Wow, what a terrific debut novel! Lupe Solano, a self-described petite "Cuban-American princess," grew up in Miami the daughter of a wealthy builder, but unlike her two sisters -- one a nun, the other a divorced mother of two -- she's chosen to go into the private eye business. The fact that her creator, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera, is herself a licensed PI helps create a rermarkable sense of reality in this book that takes lots of amazing twists and turns. The surveillance scenes, in particular, reek of a lived-in experience, and contain some nice surprises of their own.
Solano has been hired by a rich Miami couple to find the mother of the girl they illegally adopted, because she desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life. At first the case seems straightforward enough -- locate the doctor who delivered the child and signed the birth certificate, then locate the mom -- but it keeps getting stranger and stranger, until Lupe finds herself hiding out in another country and tying someone up with her own bra.
I don't want to give anything away here, because the plot kept me guessing -- and guessing wrong -- up until the fairly satisfying end. Lupe is a great creation, a sexy but tough woman who is also wracked with self doubt and still grieving the death of her mom. She has a very distinctive voice among all the PI novels out there. And she's surrounded by a plethora of other memorable characters, including a pregnant woman named Barbara who is both terrifying and funny.
I docked this book a star because there's a big loose end left dangling at the end, but otherwise I loved this book and sped through it. I have already reserved the second one at the library and can't wait to read the whole series.
Solano has been hired by a rich Miami couple to find the mother of the girl they illegally adopted, because she desperately needs a bone marrow transplant to save her life. At first the case seems straightforward enough -- locate the doctor who delivered the child and signed the birth certificate, then locate the mom -- but it keeps getting stranger and stranger, until Lupe finds herself hiding out in another country and tying someone up with her own bra.
I don't want to give anything away here, because the plot kept me guessing -- and guessing wrong -- up until the fairly satisfying end. Lupe is a great creation, a sexy but tough woman who is also wracked with self doubt and still grieving the death of her mom. She has a very distinctive voice among all the PI novels out there. And she's surrounded by a plethora of other memorable characters, including a pregnant woman named Barbara who is both terrifying and funny.
I docked this book a star because there's a big loose end left dangling at the end, but otherwise I loved this book and sped through it. I have already reserved the second one at the library and can't wait to read the whole series.
November 3, 2012
n this first mystery of the series, the Morenos, a Cuban couple, have asked Lupe Solano to find the birth mother of their adopted daughter who needs a bone marrow transplant - and time is running out quickly. I don't want to give anything away, except to say it is quite an adventure including a sail to Cuba.
Ms. Garcia-Aguilera is herself a P.I. in Miami which is the key to this book. But it is not just technical details that makes it a good mystery - it's the personality and the philosophy of the main character. In this case, Lupe Solano is hot, smart and sexy. She's a self-proclaimed Cuban-American Princess (CAP) from a wealthy Coconut Grove family but has found her calling as a Private Investigator -- even if it does take her to some of the seedier parts of Miami. Through Lupe, we get a cultural glimpse into the infrastructure and family life of the Cuban-American community. Lupe is a good daughter, a good sister and the best Catholic that she can be given the circumstances of her profession. Her family ties are strong, but her ties to Cuba are even stronger. Lupe says it is normal for American born Cubans to think of Cuba as their home land and she and everyone else she knows is waiting for Castro to fall.
After reading Bloody Waters, all I can say is -- I'll be right back... I need to run out and buy every book in this series!
Ms. Garcia-Aguilera is herself a P.I. in Miami which is the key to this book. But it is not just technical details that makes it a good mystery - it's the personality and the philosophy of the main character. In this case, Lupe Solano is hot, smart and sexy. She's a self-proclaimed Cuban-American Princess (CAP) from a wealthy Coconut Grove family but has found her calling as a Private Investigator -- even if it does take her to some of the seedier parts of Miami. Through Lupe, we get a cultural glimpse into the infrastructure and family life of the Cuban-American community. Lupe is a good daughter, a good sister and the best Catholic that she can be given the circumstances of her profession. Her family ties are strong, but her ties to Cuba are even stronger. Lupe says it is normal for American born Cubans to think of Cuba as their home land and she and everyone else she knows is waiting for Castro to fall.
After reading Bloody Waters, all I can say is -- I'll be right back... I need to run out and buy every book in this series!
July 29, 2008
I like this book, but it took me a long time to get through it. Reasons: #1 - I do most of my "reading" on audiobooks. Love audiobooks! #2 - I'm a slow reader, always have been. Took the speed reading workshops, always got lost within the first half hour. Just don't have the fast reading genes. #3 - If I do settle down to actually read an actual book, it's late, late at night and after I've read my scriptures, so the attention span may succumb to sleepiness.
Nevertheless, I likke this one! It's a Miami, Florida mystery/adventure. Lots of Miami, Florida mystery/adventures. This one gives us Lupe Solano, a Cuban-American private detective. She's smart, sassy and sexy. You won't believe what she did to solve her client's problem!
Be advised: some swear words and also some sex.
Nevertheless, I likke this one! It's a Miami, Florida mystery/adventure. Lots of Miami, Florida mystery/adventures. This one gives us Lupe Solano, a Cuban-American private detective. She's smart, sassy and sexy. You won't believe what she did to solve her client's problem!
Be advised: some swear words and also some sex.
October 8, 2013
In the first book of this series, you meet Lupe Solano. She is a Catholic girl and the daughter of a prominent Cuban residing in Miami. This book introduces one of Lupe's sisters, who is a Catholic nun.
Her family was shocked at her choice of professions when she decides to become a private investigator. She has a passion for the work and applies herself fully to her case, to the point of risking her own life.
In this case is another Cuban couple desperately seeking the birth mother of their adopted daughter for medical reasons, which will affect the child's survival. Lupe meets many strange characters in seedy places. The birth mother is reportedly Cuban and Lupe deduces that the mother may very well be in Cuba after all. The reader learns many cultural lessons.
Her family was shocked at her choice of professions when she decides to become a private investigator. She has a passion for the work and applies herself fully to her case, to the point of risking her own life.
In this case is another Cuban couple desperately seeking the birth mother of their adopted daughter for medical reasons, which will affect the child's survival. Lupe meets many strange characters in seedy places. The birth mother is reportedly Cuban and Lupe deduces that the mother may very well be in Cuba after all. The reader learns many cultural lessons.
November 17, 2020
Loved it! Great story. Great adventure!
December 21, 2008
Summer mystery candy. Heard the author on NPR, sounded interesting, decided to give her books a read. I love the main character Lupe Solano and the spicy goodness of the books being set in the Cubano world of Miami. These are great books!!! Too bad our library does not have all the copies!
February 13, 2023
This book was an absolute delight! Lupe Solano is a wonderful detective, I loved her go-getter personality and cleverness. The whole cast is fun and interesting, whether it's her musclehead assistant who's running a gym out of their office, or a rugged boatwoman, or one of her multiple boyfriends who she can squeeze for favors and information, I found they bounced off the page.
The overall premise is that an adopted baby has a rare disease and needs a donation from the biological mother to be saved, but the adoption was done very illegally. So Lupe has to go on a twisting chase for each step of the information, who was doing the adoptions, how, where the mother might be, and WHO the mother is. Along the way she gets into all sorts of scrapes, the people doing these illegal adoptions do NOT want a detective in their business, so stakes are high from both having to avoid getting attacked for digging too deep, and from the overarching time limit that the baby will not survive for too long without the bio-mom's donation.
Again, I think the characters are where it really shines for me. There's all sorts of lovely social plays as well on Lupe's part, she has a wide network of folks she knows and each one she meets hints at larger relationships. There are also a lot of cultural details; personally I know very little about Cuba and the Cuban-American population in Florida, but it was fascinating to read about a character who was entrenched in that, both in her family history and in the mystery she unravels. So if you're into that or history in general then DEFINITELY read this book, it's fairly central throughout, and if you know nothing about it like me you'll certainly still enjoy it!
The overall premise is that an adopted baby has a rare disease and needs a donation from the biological mother to be saved, but the adoption was done very illegally. So Lupe has to go on a twisting chase for each step of the information, who was doing the adoptions, how, where the mother might be, and WHO the mother is. Along the way she gets into all sorts of scrapes, the people doing these illegal adoptions do NOT want a detective in their business, so stakes are high from both having to avoid getting attacked for digging too deep, and from the overarching time limit that the baby will not survive for too long without the bio-mom's donation.
Again, I think the characters are where it really shines for me. There's all sorts of lovely social plays as well on Lupe's part, she has a wide network of folks she knows and each one she meets hints at larger relationships. There are also a lot of cultural details; personally I know very little about Cuba and the Cuban-American population in Florida, but it was fascinating to read about a character who was entrenched in that, both in her family history and in the mystery she unravels. So if you're into that or history in general then DEFINITELY read this book, it's fairly central throughout, and if you know nothing about it like me you'll certainly still enjoy it!
July 22, 2021
The story and writing are not terrible for a first novel. Garcia-Aguilera is focused on recreating the reality of solving a case as a PI, including the employment of contract investigators, which cheats the reader out of action. But what impressed me about the novel and Garcia-Aguilera was her ability to recreate the white, upper-class Cuban-American mindset. Everything is understood as something uniquely Cuban: male stoicism? That's a Cuban behavior. Concerns about virginity? That's a Cuban thing. But concepts or cultural practices outside of Lupe Solano's, and possibly Garcia-Aguilera's Cuban-American universe are alien and not really Cuban. Her description of Santeria as a religion practiced by "African-Americans in Miami" is both inaccurate and racist (even if she chooses a 'politically-correct' term to misidentified the practitioners). She looks down on a character for mentioning an orisha (a Santeria god) with no justification. Anyway, if you want to understand how a voting bloc can be so privileged yet sound so aggrieved, then read this book.
February 7, 2025
🍷
A good fun mystery. Is it over the top? Slightly outré? Oh yeah it is! But it is a fun read. This first entry introduces us to Miami Cuban refugee and young PI Guadalupe (Lupe) Solano, a smart, sassy, hip sort who just happens to love being a detective.
Here Lupe takes a case for a couple who, due to medical necessity, must locate the birth mother of their adopted daughter; unfortunately, the adoption was an illegal one, and as expected nobody wants to be connected to it. As you may expect, the sorts who facilitate illegal adoptions are not exactly the sorts who want private investigators finding them, and it isn’t long before Lupe’s efforts take her to some bad places…and then there’s murder.
A tad bit of suspension of disbelief will reward the reader well, as the book is a sure page-turner and comes with a very satisfying finish. Enjoy!
A good fun mystery. Is it over the top? Slightly outré? Oh yeah it is! But it is a fun read. This first entry introduces us to Miami Cuban refugee and young PI Guadalupe (Lupe) Solano, a smart, sassy, hip sort who just happens to love being a detective.
Here Lupe takes a case for a couple who, due to medical necessity, must locate the birth mother of their adopted daughter; unfortunately, the adoption was an illegal one, and as expected nobody wants to be connected to it. As you may expect, the sorts who facilitate illegal adoptions are not exactly the sorts who want private investigators finding them, and it isn’t long before Lupe’s efforts take her to some bad places…and then there’s murder.
A tad bit of suspension of disbelief will reward the reader well, as the book is a sure page-turner and comes with a very satisfying finish. Enjoy!
June 21, 2021
A young private investigator, Lupe Solano, is hired to find the mother of a child adopted by her clients. If she doesn't find the biological mother, the child may die from a rare disease without a bone marrow transplant. But, her investigation may put her life in danger when she uncovers an illegal adoption operation.
April 25, 2020
My first encounter with this author - totally enjoyable. Good character, setting, story, context. (It was recommended 20 years ago by a bookseller in Wellington, FL.) I'll return to Miami with Lupe Solano during these stay-home days of the coronavirus.
Want to read
October 24, 2018Synopsis: Lupe Solano is a Cuban-American PI in Miami. She's been asked to find the birth parents of a young child but a murder occurs.
January 13, 2019
Engaging primary character - concept pretty far-fetched.
July 19, 2019
I could not put this one down!!
August 3, 2020
(Cuba)
This was so enjoyable! Lupe Solano is a bit like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone if Kinsey came from a rich, Cuban family. Would recommend if you want a mystery with a satisfying conclusion.
This was so enjoyable! Lupe Solano is a bit like Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone if Kinsey came from a rich, Cuban family. Would recommend if you want a mystery with a satisfying conclusion.
September 16, 2020
Completely unbelievable story. Poorly written.
January 30, 2021
Súper súper fun! A new obsession with an old classic!
May 23, 2021
I had never read a Carolina Garcia-Aguilera novel but definitely will in the future.
November 12, 2021
I love this fun series!
December 21, 2021
Really good first novel - mystery. Funny and interesting.
June 3, 2022
Extremely improbable, don't know if I like the narrator or not, weird politically but I stayed up late finishing it because it was fun 🤷♀️
March 22, 2023
Main character is racist and homophobic.
September 1, 2023
An excellent read that keeps you waiting for more as the story develops.
July 16, 2025
Picked up at a little free library looking for easy summer reading to give to my students.
December 20, 2022
I did not want to read this book because it was so old and my mom gave it to me. I had not heard anything about it but it surprised me and I loved it.
January 18, 2020
A mystery about a Cuban-American PI living in Miami—the detective is trying to track down the birth mother of a baby adopted on the black market, and meets all sorts of unsavory types while doing it. I enjoyed it—especially the very different setting (for me) and the interest in Cuban-American issues. Some of the very best armchair-traveling is done by mysteries.
December 16, 2009
Friend from work said that if I liked the Stephanie Plum series, I would like this series, so I gave it a try.
Not a funny series but decent mystery about a cuban-american PI set around Miami.
Book 1 in the series and the first I've read.
Not a funny series but decent mystery about a cuban-american PI set around Miami.
Book 1 in the series and the first I've read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews