Ex-con Gus Corral is at peace with his new life as a private investigator. He’s good at his job, even if he’s mostly a delivery man or a “go-for” guy trying to expose—or protect—someone else’s secrets.
An unexpected visit by Joaquín “Kino” Machaco, the Colorado Rockies’ all-star center fielder who defected from Cuba as a teen, disrupts his routine. The famous ballplayer needs help: His brother has a gambling problem and owes a lot of money to a Cuban criminal who’s threatening their family. He needs Gus to travel to the island with his brother to hand over half a million dollars in cash. Not only will Gus need to keep the money safe from the inveterate gambler, he’ll have to convince the “entrepreneur” to leave Machaco’s family alone after the payoff.
Gus’ visions of relaxing on warm, beautiful beaches accompanied by Latin jazz and rum concoctions are immediately dashed. A hail of bullets—violence virtually unheard of in the autocratic nation—leaves one dead and several wounded and leads to unforeseen ramifications that will come to a shocking, bloody conclusion in Denver. Narrated by Gus Corral in his sardonic voice, The Golden Havana Night reveals a complicated, secretive island where nothing is really secret.
“The Cuba sequences are gripping, and it’s hard to resist [this] hero ….”—Kirkus Reviews
“Ramos spins a dark tale of confused loyalties and shocking betrayals…”—Publishers Weekly
“The Golden Havana Night cries out for a sequel.”—The Denver Post
“Ramos’ metaphoric reflections on who and how we see one another, through language, through health communication, through aging, make interesting divagations from the crime and travel literature mission of the novel, but add immeasurably to the storytelling essential to the detective novel. The Golden Havana Night has everything a reader looks for.”—La Bloga
“This is Gus Corral’s world and it can get messy. The Golden Havana Night carries a deliciously organic flavor. The writing is rich. The pages fly. At the end, of course, we all want Gus Corral back as soon as possible to show us the city of Denver, or anywhere else in the world, through his jaded, homie eyes.”—Don’t Need a Diagram
“Gus finds himself running for his life, just hoping to get off the island in one piece in this fast-paced and electrifying noir adventure.”—Mysterious Book Report
“A deftly crafted and refreshingly original mystery by an author with a genuine flair for memorable characters and a riveting narrative storytelling, The Golden Havana Night is especially recommended for community library Mystery/Suspense collections and the personal reading lists of dedicated mystery buffs.”—Midwest Book Review
Praise for the work of Manuel Ramos:
“One thing is almost as certain as death and corruption: Manuel Ramos’ Chicano angst. You’ll find plenty of all three in his jazzy, fast-paced and delirious whodunits, which stand as an unparalleled achievement in American crime literature.” —Ilan Stavans
“A thickly atmospheric first novel—with just enough mystery to hold together a powerfully elegiac memoir of the heady early days of Chicano activism.”—Kirkus Reviews on The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz
“A very impressive debut.”—Los Angeles Times on The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz
“Manuel Ramos is one of my all-time favorite authors and in My Bad he delivers everything I look for in a noir tale. Gus Corral is the guy I want on my side if I’m in trouble and Ramos proves once again he is the master of creating great characters. Clear your schedule and be prepared to read this blitz attack of noir in one sitting.” —Jon Jordan, Crimespree Magazine on My Bad
“Ramos explores issues of the border, identity, violence and slights from outside the community, as well as within. They are thought-provoking and unpredictable. Many linger long after they end; and often they contain depth charges that explode in the reader’s mind after the story has ended. His novels belong on your bookshelves.” —Los Angeles Review of Books on The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories
“Ramos puts Latinos back in the picture. He is known as a crime writer, but that doesn’t quite capture what he does. His books are love stories, political dramas, mordant cautionary tales. Characters who are Latino, black and white, artists, professionals and laborers, are described in staccato chapters, like a catchy corrido.”—Los Angeles Times on The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories
“The Godfather of Chicano noir hits us hard with this collection. Great range, dark visions and lots of mojo—much of it bad to the bone. A fine book!” —Luis Alberto Urrea, author of Into the Beautiful North, on The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories
“As invigorating as a dip in a Rocky Mountain stream.” —Mystery Scene on Desperado: A Mile High Noir
“A dark mix of North Denver gangsters and Catholicism, but it’s [the] setting that really grips readers. Nostalgia is combined with reality…Ramos gets it right.” —Denver Post on Desperado: A Mile High Noir
MANUEL RAMOS is the recipient of several literary awards and the author of numerous books, including My Bad: A Mile High Noir (Arte Público Press, 2016), Desperado: A Mile High Noir (Arte Público Press, 2013), The Skull of Pancho Villa and Other Stories (Arte Público Press, 2015), Brown-on-Brown: A Luis Montez Mystery (University of New Mexico Press, 2003) and The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz (St. Martin’s Press, 1993; Northwestern University Press, 2004), an Edgar Award finalist. He lives and works in Denver, Colorado.
