The Cuban Heiress
In 1934 the luxurious ocean liner, the Morro Castle, begins a voyage from New York to Havana and back again. American heiress Catherine Donan is on board with her fiancé, widower Raymond Warner, to celebrate their engagement. Finding herself in danger, Catherine seeks help from a handsome stranger, later realizing he is a jewel thief. Cuban-born Elena Palacio is also on board, in a less posh cabin. In a chance meeting, Elena befriends Julio, a good-hearted Cuban smuggler. Over the course of the voyage, the paths of Catherine and Elena intersect in unexpected ways as they seek vengeance for past events.
The Morro Castle sets sail against the backdrop of the Great Depression, with its international ripple effects, and political unrest in Cuba after Fulgencio Batista takes power. Many readers will be familiar with the history of the period and the story of the ship, which caught fire, ran aground in a nor’easter, and never reached New York. Over 100 passengers and crew died. Those details will not take away from the suspense Cleeton builds. Readers do not learn which characters, if any, survive the disaster until the end of the novel, and they do not learn the full backstories of the two women, backstories that explain motivations, until close to the end.
Although the plot occasionally pushes the limits of credulity, and the rationale for Cleeton’s use of both first and third person remains unclear, readers will focus instead on the riveting action on board, somewhere between a cat-and-mouse game and what we expect from a locked room mystery. Cleeton excels at building tension and slowly revealing secrets. The Cuban Heiress is a great read for fans of 20th-century historical fiction.
