The Beggar's Opera by Peggy Blair from Penguin Canada 2012
I was completely drawn into this book, a phenomenal piece of Canadian fiction. Mrs Blair does a fantastic job of developing the setting both in Havana Cuba and the secondary location of Ottawa. As you read the description you can visualize all aspects of Old Havana and almost taste the Christmas dinner at Inspector Ramirez home.
Mrs. Blair doesn't stop with the setting, but develops all of her characters whether major or minor. I was able to picture Celia Jones and Michael Ellis. It was easy to keep the characters straight, feel the pain of the characters, understand how Detective Rodriguez turned into the person he became, and even relate to the uniqueness of Maria.
The Beggar's Opera was a book I didn't want to put down but I didn't rush through either as I was afraid of missing a key piece of the story. Definitely worth your time to read and I am looking forward to more books from this author.
Thanks for the review; so glad you enjoyed it! Peggy
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