Too often, the tension in a mystery flows from the same source as in a horror movie: As the character walks alone toward the empty, sinister house at night (of course), the audience collectively wrings its hands and groans, "Don't go in there." One can't help but wish that she or he were endowed with a little more common sense. Carry a flashlight, call for backup--something, for God's sake.

Fortunately, Havana Twist offers an antidote to that cliche in Willa Jansson, a no-nonsense Santa Cruz lawyer whose good judgement is matched only by her wry sense of humor--though sometimes neither is enough to keep her out of trouble. And this time, it's her own mother who has put her there.

When Jansson's political-activist mom doesn't return from Cuba with her group of "Jewish mothers of politics, ready to chicken-soup the whole third world," Willa must travel to the Communist island in search of her "Superlefty" mother. Jansson keeps a low profile as she searches Havana's dilapidated neighborhoods, trusting few with the fact of her mother's disappearance--and with good reason. The city's ubiquitous hotel room bugs, vanishing informants, and tight-lipped locals create a shifty atmosphere in which the unspoken can be as revealing as the spoken.

While smartly pursuing her mother's whereabouts and trying to stay out of jail, Willa manages to find a little time for a romance of sorts, although she's not unaware of the irony in her attraction to the police detective who was once almost fired because of her mother's police protest.

Matera adeptly adds unforeseen twists and turns to the plot, though she leaves it up to the reader to ponder which clues are bona fide and which are dead-ends. Matera has a knack for characterization and dialogue, and her contrast between Cuba's bleak economy, Mexico City's gaudy commercialism, and the U.S.'s comparative wealth adds a little sociopolitical weight to the story. Smart, sensible Willa Jansson is a pleasure to accompany on her search for that grey-haired brigadista she calls Mom. --Kris Law

From Publishers Weekly
Willa Jansson, Matera's plucky sleuthing lawyer (Star Witness, 1997), deserves a Daughter of the Year award for the latest adventure. This time, her mother, an unrepentant social activist, goes international, failing to return with her gray-haired group of brigadistas after their goodwill tour of Havana. Doubting that her mom, even with her "dances with revolutionaries" fervor, would abandon her family without a word, Willa goes to Havana, where she falls in with two suspiciously helpful journalists who offer to help but lead Willa to some unexpected stops along the way. These include visits to Lidia Gomez, an internationally acclaimed poet placed under house arrest for "leafletting," and an American woman, Myra Wilson, being held in prison for drug smuggling. With Havana's bubbling mix of journalists, possible CIA agents and heroes of the revolution, it's no wonder Willa comes to feel that nothing is as it seems in the nightmarishly deteriorating place. Matera uses the complexities of the Cuban revolution and modern skullduggery to build her tale, which is slightly hobbled by a few contrived plot turns and staple characters. But the appealing Willa is fun to watch as she reacts with healthy doses of common sense, fear, humble confusion and wit to her various troubles. Her mother did a good job of raising her?but readers may be less willing than the well-grounded Willa to forgive her mother this madcap escapade. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Willa Janson's political activist mother goes missing during a trip to Havana, so Janson tries to find her. During her first Cuban sojourn, she visits an imprisoned American writer and a Cuban poet under house arrest?both with some possible connection to each other and to her mother. Back in California, murder stalks Janson and a Mexican friend as they follow up on "stolen" passports, mistaken identities, and possible CIA involvement. A riveting plot, realistic Havana settings, reawakened romance, and flavorful characters declare this latest from Matera (Star Witness, LJ 6/1/97) a winner.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
In Lia Matera's latest mystery, attorney Willa Jansson embarks on a political adventure as she searches for her mother in communist Havana. Susan Anspach offers listeners a quirky vocal range as the energetic Jansson. Sultry sometimes and nearly squeaky other times, she provides a naturalness and depth to Jansson's character. Also unobtrusive is the introductory music. It lends an appropriate feel to the writing, underscoring most of the first chapter without being in the way. Havana Twist seems like perfect beach listening or a welcome distraction from the onslaught of winter! R.A.P. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Kirkus Reviews
When only 14 of the 15 right-minded, blue-haired brigadistas of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) return from Fidel Castro's workers' paradise to California, and when the missing do-gooder is her own mother June, attorney Willa Jansson (Star Witness, 1997, etc.) swings into action. Within 48 hours she's asking questions on the streets of Havana, and within six months. . . . Well, that long span of timeduring which Willa, thrown out of Cuba, rings key doorbells in Mexico City and also back home in Santa Cruz, tracing June's links to the CIA, to an imprisoned drug smuggler, and to half a dozen suspicious characters whose identities seem to change with the tidethat long span indicates the odd combination of urgency and weightlessness that over and over and over marks the proceedings as (in Willa's terms) ``My worst nightmare had come true.'' As well-meaning as the WILPF, but this time not much more effective. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
Booklist (starred review) Willa Jansson does another star turn in Matera's latest installment in this excellent series....Matera weaves a compelling and scary story....

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Attorney Willa Jansson's mother has never balked at breaking the law, especially not for a good cause. So when Willa learns her mother has flouted federal regulations and gone off to Cuba, she figures it's just a harmless pilgrimage to lefty Graceland. But when her mother doesn't return with the rest of her peacenik tour group, Willa fears the feds might consider the trip "trading with the enemy" - with a penalty of ten years in prison and a $100,000 fine. In Lia Matera's Havana Twist, Willa risks her career and passport by rushing to Cuba to retrace her mother's steps. But she finds that nothing there is quite as it seems. Following clues to neighborhoods tourists never see, through secret tunnels beneath the street, and into the finest luxury hotels, Willa is manipulated, misled, and nearly arrested. And in the meantime, newfound reporter friends - or are they CIA agents? - disappear as suddenly and inexplicably as her mother did. Soon the U.S. State Department, the Cuban Interior Ministry, and Willa's old flame, San Francisco Homicide Lieutenant Don Surgelato, get into the act. But politics and police work are a poor substitute for those things only a daughter would know. So, in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Willa follows her mother's trail from Havana to Mexico City, from California back to Havana...all the while keeping barely one step ahead of two angry governments and at least one ruthless killer.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Willa Jansson, Matera's plucky sleuthing lawyer (Star Witness, 1997), deserves a Daughter of the Year award for the latest adventure. This time, her mother, an unrepentant social activist, goes international, failing to return with her gray-haired group of brigadistas after their goodwill tour of Havana. Doubting that her mom, even with her "dances with revolutionaries" fervor, would abandon her family without a word, Willa goes to Havana, where she falls in with two suspiciously helpful journalists who offer to help but lead Willa to some unexpected stops along the way. These include visits to Lidia Gomez, an internationally acclaimed poet placed under house arrest for "leafletting," and an American woman, Myra Wilson, being held in prison for drug smuggling. With Havana's bubbling mix of journalists, possible CIA agents and heroes of the revolution, it's no wonder Willa comes to feel that nothing is as it seems in the nightmarishly deteriorating place. Matera uses the complexities of the Cuban revolution and modern skullduggery to build her tale, which is slightly hobbled by a few contrived plot turns and staple characters. But the appealing Willa is fun to watch as she reacts with healthy doses of common sense, fear, humble confusion and wit to her various troubles. Her mother did a good job of raising herbut readers may be less willing than the well-grounded Willa to forgive her mother this madcap escapade. (May)

Library Journal

Willa Janson's political activist mother goes missing during a trip to Havana, so Janson tries to find her. During her first Cuban sojourn, she visits an imprisoned American writer and a Cuban poet under house arrestboth with some possible connection to each other and to her mother. Back in California, murder stalks Janson and a Mexican friend as they follow up on "stolen" passports, mistaken identities, and possible CIA involvement. A riveting plot, realistic Havana settings, reawakened romance, and flavorful characters declare this latest from Matera (Star Witness, LJ 6/1/97) a winner.

AudioFile - Rachel Astarte Piccione

In Lia Matera's latest mystery, attorney Willa Jansson embarks on a political adventure as she searches for her mother in communist Havana. Susan Anspach offers listeners a quirky vocal range as the energetic Jansson. Sultry sometimes and nearly squeaky other times, she provides a naturalness and depth to Jansson's character. Also unobtrusive is the introductory music. It lends an appropriate feel to the writing, underscoring most of the first chapter without being in the way. Havana Twist seems like perfect beach listening or a welcome distraction from the onslaught of winter! R.A.P. cAudioFile, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

When only 14 of the 15 right-minded, blue-haired brigadistas of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) return from Fidel Castro's workers' paradise to California, and when the missing do-gooder is her own mother June, attorney Willa Jansson (Star Witness, 1997, etc.) swings into action. Within 48 hours she's asking questions on the streets of Havana, and within six months. Well, that long span of timeþduring which Willa, thrown out of Cuba, rings key doorbells in Mexico City and also back home in Santa Cruz, tracing June's links to the CIA, to an imprisoned drug smuggler, and to half a dozen suspicious characters whose identities seem to change with the tideþthat long span indicates the odd combination of urgency and weightlessness that over and over and over marks the proceedings as (in Willa's terms) "My worst nightmare had come true." As well-meaning as the WILPF, but this time not much more effective.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

A clever mystery in an exotic setting. The unusual plot kept me turning pages and had me guessing until the end. — Phillip Margolin