PT boat on the way to Havana

In Tango for A Torturer, Daniel Chavarria has created a virtuous vengeance novel, a justice story if you will. Aldo Bianchi was the victim of horrendous torture at the hands of a Argentine torturer and now in Cuba he has the chance to bring his tormentor to justice. He rejects the Death Wish approach for something more akin to the International Court of Justice. The book has a humorous tone which makes the torture, much of it from the Dirty War, all the more shocking when it comes.

Chavarria nicely tweaks genre conventions in this book, with twists and turns that confound the normal progression. His characters are also out of the ordinary. He has a stated interest in prostitutes (as well as Classical literature) and one of his principal characters in the book in a prostitute and not the quite the hooker with a heart of gold stereotype found in most noir books.

Set in Cuba, the book is very pro-Cuba and pro-Castro. While this is all well and good, if only because we don't see much output from Cuba in this country, it can get a bit out of hand. For example, prison is presented as being so awesome in Cuba that I am surprised people aren't breaking into jail. Also, Chavarria mocks Western views about "human rights" as really being about consumption, but that is a bit much coming from one of the more authoritarian regimes on Earth. These qualms aside it is a good read.