October 6, 2008
After two light comedies with spiritual overtones, American Savior
(2008) and Breakfast with Buddha
(2007), Merullo mines far darker material to construct a powerful tale of modern-day, devastated Cuba and its all but indestructible dictator, Fidel Castro. Ex-CIA agent Carolina Anzar Perez, niece of Roberto Anzar, one of Miami's Cuban-born, anti-Castro expatriates, works for the White Orchid, a secret organization that has masterminded a complex assassination plot aimed at the ever-canny Fidel. In Cuba, Carlos Gutierrez, the minister of health, disaffected from his government, has become a major conspirator in the upcoming attempt. Guarding Fidel is the evil Col. Felix Olochon Marlos (aka the Dentist), head of the dreaded D-7 secret police. The suspense is as thick as an authentic café cubano
, and the labyrinthine plot appears to point to a successful conclusion, until Merullo jams the knife in one last time and gives this timely thriller a final, chilling twist.
December 15, 2008
Merullo turns from novels of spiritual awakening (Breakfast with Buddha, 2007, and American Savior, 2008) to a noirish thriller about a plot to assassinate Fidel Castro. Set in contemporary Cuba, the story captures the anxiety of a nation on the verge of regime change. A highly secret group of anti-Castro fanatics centered in Miami hopes to speed up the transition with a daring plan to poison the dictator. Former CIA agent Carolina Perez is the key player in the scheme: she will transport the poison to Cuba, where Carlos Guiterrez, the disaffected minister of health, will administer it to Castro. Of course, the level of intrigue goes far deeper than either Perez or Guiterrez realize. Merullo not only constructs a highly suspenseful, believable thriller; he also captures the mood of a country living in the rubble of ruined promises. The typical landscape of Cuban noirsplashes of color set against images of decayis captured vividly, but Merullo goes further, taking the reader into the minds of ordinary Cubans and revealing an uneasy mix of fear and determination. Pair this with Jose Latours Comrades in Miami (2005).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)