Havana Lost: A Multi-Generational Mafia Family Saga in Cuba

Libby Fischer Hellmann

Aug 2013 · The Revolution Sagas Book 3 · Red Herrings Press · Narrated by Diane Piron Gelman and James Lewis

About this audiobook

On the eve of the Cuban Revolution, headstrong 18-year-old Francesca Pacelli flees from her ruthless Mafia-boss father in Havana to the arms of her lover, a rebel fighting with Fidel Castro. Her father, desperate to send her to safety in the US, resorts to torture and blackmail as he searches the island for her.

So begins the first part of a spellbinding saga that spans three generations of the same family. Decades later, the family is lured back to Cuba by the promise of untold riches. But pursuing those riches brings danger as well as opportunity, and ultimately, Francesca’s family must confront the lethal consequences of their choices. From the troubled streets of Havana to the mean streets of Chicago, HAVANA LOST reveals the true cost of chasing power instead of love.

HAVANA LOST is award-winning author Libby Fischer Hellmann’s tenth novel and third thriller that explores how strife and revolution affect the human spirit. The novel is a testament to Hellmann’s gift for authentic historical detail as well as her talent for writing compulsively readable thrillers.

Awards and Nominations:

• Foreword Magazine Finalist for Best Thriller of the Year — 2013
• “Notable Page-Turner,” Shelf Unbound Magazine Fiction Competition — 2014
• Honorable Mention, 2014 Book of the Year, Chicago Writers Association

About the author

Libby Fischer Hellmann is a critically acclaimed crime writer loved by readers the world over for her compulsively readable thrillers and strong female characters. Her fast-paced crime fiction spans 10 novels and 20 short stories, and she has also edited a popular crime fiction anthology called Chicago Blues. With critics describing her work as "masterful" and "meticulously researched," it's not hard to see why Libby's thrilling and richly varied crime novels have won numerous awards. In addition Libby was the National President of Sisters in Crime, a 3,400+ member organization dedicated to strengthening the voice of female mystery writers. Libby started out in broadcast news as an assistant film editor for NBC News in New York before moving to DC to work with Robin McNeil and Jim Lehrer at N-PACT, the public affairs production arm of PBS. Retrained as an assistant director when Watergate broke, Libby helped produce PBS's night-time broadcast of the hearings. She went on to work for public relations firm Burson-Marsteller in Chicago in 1978, where she stayed until she left to found Fischer Hellmann Communications in 1985. Originally from Washington, D.C.--where, she says, "When you're sitting around the dinner table gossiping about the neighbors, you're talking politics"--Libby earned a Masters Degree in Film Production from New York University and a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to writing, Libby writes and produces videos, and conducts speaker training programs in platform speaking, presentation skills, media training and crisis communications. Libby's best-selling novels have won widespread acclaim, with her first novel, An Eye for Murder, nominated for several awards and described by Publisher's Weekly as "a masterful blend of politics, history, and suspense". Eye introduced Ellie Foreman, a video producer and single mother who was featured in a series described by Libby as "a cross between Desperate Housewives and 24." Libby's second series (Easy Innocence, Doubleback, and Toxicity) follows the Chicago PI Georgia Davis. Libby has also written three standalone thrillers (Set the Night on Fire, A Bitter Veil, and Havana Lost).