By Martin Cruz Smith, Robert B. Parker, James Lee Burke

Martin Cruz Smith's Havana Bay

Smith's investigator, Arkady Renko, comes to Cuba to investigate the death of a Russian, to Havana where all things Russian are despised.

Smith is a writer of tight effective style:

"In Moscow, in January, the sun would have crept like a dim lamp behind rice paper. Here it was a rushing torch that turned air and bay into mirrors, first of nickel and then to vibrant, undulating pink."

"During a public works frenzy in the thirties, Cuba had built police stations in the style of Sahara forts. The one on the west end of the Malecon was particularly sun-blasted, white paint peeling off battlements, a radio mast on the roof, a guard sheltering in the shade of the door. Air-conditioning had never been introduced and the interior stifled, with historic scents of piss and blood."

The series runs through the changes to the Soviet Union and Russia. Renko is a fascinating character. Smith's series of Renko stories include:Gorky Park, Polar Star, and Red Square.

The best way to proceed is to go find Gorky Park and read the series in order. Second hand book stores should provide. Gorky Park was also made into a movie with William Hurt and Lee Marvin.

Robert B. Parker's Hugger Mugger

Spenser is a hard muscled detective with a ready wit and this in the latest of a long series of stories is as good as the best of Parker's writing. In this story, someone is taking shots at race horses and Spenser tries to find out who and to stop them. Before he can someone is dead and the rich horse set family changes dramatically.

Describing a fight where somebody's wife eggs him onto trying Spenser on for size:

"Pud, I've been doing this for a living since before you started pickling your liver. It's not a good match for you."

He stared at me. Some part of him got it. Some part of him knew he'd gotten in where he didn't belong. But he was too drunk to back down. He looked at SueSue. The unpleasant glint was still in her eyes. She smiled an unpleasant smile.

"Don't let him push you around, Pud Potter," she said.

He frowned as if he was trying to concentrate, and put his drink on a table next to him. It came the way I knew it would, a long slow looping right punch that I could have slipped while writing my memoirs. I blocked it on my left forearm. He threw a left of the same directness and velocity. I slipped the left, put my hand behind his shoulder, and used the slow force of the punch to continue him around. When he was turned, I put my foot against his butt and shoved. He stumbled forward and fell on the lawn, and got up with deep grass stains on the knees of his white slacks."

If you can, start with the first Spenser, The Godwulf Manuscript. It is simply a great series. I came to Parker after Hammet, Chandler, Ross Macdonald....

James Lee Burke's Purple Cane Road

Detective Dave Robicheaux understands New Orleans and the bayou country. Burke begins this latest in his series this way: "Years ago, in State documents, Vachel Carmouche was always referred to as the electrician, never as the executioner."

One of the titles in the series is one of my favourite titles: In the Electric Mist with Confederate Dead.