Havana Hangover

An American tourist in Cuba gets swept up in a violent criminal underworld in the stirring latest from Richardson (Lost in the Ivy). Tanner Ford and Jackson Swift were inseparable at Georgetown Law School, but grew apart after Jackson married Tanner’s former girlfriend. Tanner attended the couple’s 2011 wedding, but he hasn’t been in touch with Jackson for five years when he receives an invitation to join his former classmate on a trip to Havana after President Obama lifts the embargo on U.S. travel to Cuba. Tanner, a Hemingway admirer, has long dreamt of visiting the writer’s favorite city, and when Jackson offers an itinerary that includes a visit to Hemingway’s home, Tanner forgoes old resentments and agrees to the trip. The dream excursion turns grisly when Jackson disappears after sending a series of alarming late-night texts that concludes with “HELP ME!” The next day, Tanner is told by their tour guide that Jackson has been found dead on the street with his wallet and shoes missing. But all is not as it seems: soon, Tanner himself is abducted and pulled into a bloody conflict that Jackson may have been setting him up for all along. Richardson keeps the surprises coming at a steady clip as he pulls readers into Tanner’s nerve-wracking plight. This is one nightmare vacation worth taking. (Self-published)