{"product_id":"the-novel-detective-a-detective-novel","title":"The Novel Detective: A Detective Novel","description":"\n\u003ctable align=\"center\" border=\"0\" cellpadding=\"2\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd class=\"productDetailSmallElements\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBiographical Note\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWriter, translator and college professor \n\u003cb\u003eTeresa Dovalpage\u003c\/b\u003e is a Cuban transplant firmly rooted in New Mexico. She is the author of three short story collections, four plays and fourteen novels--including the Havana Mystery series. She lives with her husband, one dog and too many barn cats.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Quotes\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003ePraise for \u003ci\u003eThe Novel Detective\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Junior Library Guild Selection\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"With lovable characters, a gripping core mystery, and a vividly rendered setting, this bolsters Dovalpage's reputation as a reliable purveyor of quality crime fiction. Readers will be entertained.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e--Publishers Weekly \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A fascinating look at life in Cuba cleverly intertwined with a series of puzzles.\" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Kirkus Reviews \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"As a devoted fan of Poirot, Miss Marple, and Sherlock Holmes, I greedily savored every page of Teresa Dovalpage's \n\u003ci\u003eThe Novel Detective\u003c\/i\u003e. What could be a greater treat than this literary love letter to the golden age of mystery that is also a stunning portrait of one of the world's most mesmerizingly tragic capital cities?\" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Anjanette Delgado, Emmy Award winning author of \u003ci\u003eThe Heartbreak Pill\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Blending past and present, fact and fiction, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Novel Detective\u003c\/i\u003e is a clever, twisty metafictional mystery where the author becomes her own detective, the characters refuse to stay on the page, and the truth is buried as deep as the secrets of a changing Cuba. Smart, stylish, and delightfully original, \n\u003ci\u003eThe Novel Detective \u003c\/i\u003esurprises as much as it entertains.\" \n\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Gustavo Pérez Firmat, Columbia University \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"This slow-burn literary mystery is more Elena Ferrante than Anthony Horowitz . . . The amusing odd-couple amateur detective antics of Teresa and Estrella and Havana-born Dovalpage's depiction of the city's evolving personality make it stand apart.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePraise for Teresa Dovalpage\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Sharply plotted, highly readable, evocative, and timely . . . An author at the top of her game, and a must-read for mystery fans who love great locations paired with even better characters. I couldn't put this book down.\" \n\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e--Alex Segura, acclaimed author of the Pete Fernandez Miami Mystery series\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Dovalpage wields her considerable authorial skill in this intricately plotted tale of jealousy, revenge, and the dark side of love.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--Isabella Maldonado, award-winning author of the Veranda Cruz mysteries\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"[A] refreshing and elusive Cuban crime novel.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eToronto Star\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A highly entertaining mystery set in Havana, there's an ominous tone, a hint of something repressed beneath the main character's narration.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eMilwaukee Journal Sentinel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"A lesser-known Cuba, with the kind of details that make it a home rather than a holiday.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e--\u003c\/i\u003eChicago Review of Books \u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\"Amusing, observant . . . [A] devastating depiction of prejudice in 1980s Cuba.\" \n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003e--\u003ci\u003eMiami Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher Marketing\u003c\/strong\u003e:\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA twisty, genre-bending metafictional mystery set in Cuba past and present about a writer returning to her long-lost hometown to seek the buried truth about two suspicious deaths at her Havana high school, perfect for fans of Chanel Cleeton and Jean Hanff Korelitz\u003c\/b\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e2020: Teresa, a Cuban-born mystery writer now living in America, gets an unexpected call from her childhood best friend, Estrella, inviting her to Havana. Estrella is determined to get answers about a case that has haunted them both for decades: the purported dual suicides of a teacher and student at their high school. Though Teresa doesn't quite understand why Estrella is taking the story so personally, she's along for the ride--as she always wanted to write a novel about this case. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e1980: Fourteen-year-old Teresita, bespectacled, awkward and mystery novel-obsessed, is \"nosy, but not a tattletale.\" She knows who's been skimming off the top of the amphetamine stash in her mother's pharmacy, which teacher keeps cyanide in his cabinet at school and that their classmate Yoyi is sleeping with their English teacher. Over the course of one fateful day, Teresita gets closer than ever to learning the \"Truth of Life\"--her catchall term for the intricacies of adult existence--even if it means coming face to face with death. \n\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDrawing upon the tradition of Latin American magical realism and directly inspired by the author's own childhood in Cuba and adult life in the United States, this resonant tale is at once personal and universal, full of nostalgia, candor and danger.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations:\u003c\/strong\u003e\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/01\/2026 pg. 100 (EAN 9781641298285, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/span\u003e 05\/04\/2026 (EAN 9781641298285, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"italic\"\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/span\u003e 07\/01\/2026 (EAN 9781641298285, Hardcover)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n","brand":"Soho Crime","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51496181924118,"sku":"9781641298285","price":34.74,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0857\/9910\/8886\/files\/9781641298285.jpg?v=1783056866","url":"https:\/\/lusper.myshopify.com\/products\/the-novel-detective-a-detective-novel","provider":"Lusperbooks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}