ISBN: 0-7887-3572-1 Order from: Recorded Books
Nicely solid and appealing protagonist, along with romance and Cuban exile politics engage the reader interest in this entertaining and slightly melodramatic mystery.
Reviewed by David on April 17, 2003
Genre: Mystery (Florida, Amateur Sleuth)
Synopsis: This is an unabridged recording of Suspicion of Deceit.
Attorney Gail Connor normally specializes in property cases in Miami. It is her long-time boyfriend, and hopefully fiance, Anthony Quintana, who's more familiar with criminal practice. However, when Gail's normally routine and genteel duties as the General Council for Miami Opera bring her into confrontations full of violence and passion, politics and the Cuban exiles.
It will require all of Gail's intelligence, perseverence and courage to get to the bottom of a puzzle that involves the opera, her Cuban-born boyfriend family history, and the dangers of political intrigue.
Full Review: Gail is a likable protagonist, stubborn, intelligent, decent and a bit naive in the painfully violent field of Exile politics. Her curiousity, duty and relationship with her relatives paint a nicely three-dimensional character, strong but imperfect. Her fiery relationship with Anthony, and Anthony's with his family are intense but believable.
The plot is well-paced, with new evidence generating more speculation. Only the ending was weak, overly melodramatic even for this tense plot.
The narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, is superb in this book, reproducing opera singing with aplomb and exceeding even her usually high standards of characterization.
This is a satisfying, ocasionally breathtaking book with a strong depiction of Miami and the passions of Cuban politics, while maintaining an intellectual challenge for the reader.
Overall: 6; Plot: 5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 6; Originality: 5;
Copyright date 1998, Recorded Books, 1999, Audio cassette, 9 cassettes
ISBN: 0-7887-3572-1 Order from: Recorded Books