What Happens in Cuba.

In Havana Nocturne Irish American author T.J. English tells the riveting tale of the Mob in Cuba. It features a heady brew of organized crime lords, political corruption, world famous nightlife and international conflict. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to the author about the nation and his new book.

BY the mid 1950s the Havana Mob comprised some of the most notorious American underworld figures of their day. Legendary gangsters like Charles "Lucky" Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Santo Trafficante, and others had come to Havana in the late 1940's and early 50's seeking criminal opportunities.

These were men who had honed their craft or amassed their wealth in the "glory days" of Prohibition in the U.S., and who had always dreamed of controlling their own country. A fascination with Cuba and the criminal underworld might seem like an odd fit for Tom English, 50, the son of a large Irish Catholic family of 10 brothers and sisters from Tacoma, Washington. But early in his writing career, English worked as a freelance journalist in New York City (for the Irish Voice and Irish America magazine) during the day and drove a taxi at night.

He now refers to cab driving as a metaphor for what he does as a writer - "interviewing strangers, exploring the unknown, reporting on what he sees and hears from his sojourns in and around the underworld."

In the 1990's while working as a reporter for the Irish Voice covering the Westies, the-last-of-their-kind New York based Irish American criminal gang, he became known as a crime author. His book The Westies was a bestseller and a movie, State of Grace, starring Sean Penn followed, as did a stint as a writer on NYPD Blue. Then came a book on Vietnam gangs in New York.

In all his books English has always had a poet's ear for nuance and irony, which serves him well again in Havana Nocturne, an almost surreal tale of wildly competing interests.

​
Nster.com