The fourth book in the gripping Inspector Ramirez series by bestselling author Peggy Blair.

When Mama Loa, a witch doctor, tells Inspector Ramirez that people in the sky are going to die, he thinks she’s crazy. After all, there hasn’t been a violent death in Havana in months.

But things quickly change when a Russian is murdered, execution-style, on the Malecón and three flight crew members die in suspicious circumstances. When Russian intelligence officer Slava Kadun arrives in Havana warning that a CIA hitman has plans to assassinate Raúl Castro, Ramirez starts to wonder if the deaths are connected. With the political future of Cuba at stake, he has only hours to stop a cold-blooded killer.

Peggy Blair was a lawyer for more than thirty years. She is the author of the award-winning and critically acclaimed Inspector Ramirez mysteries The Beggar’s Opera, The Poisoned Pawn, and Hungry Ghosts. She lives in Ottawa.

Peggy Blair's profile page

“Hungry Ghosts is an irresistibly page-turning addition to a series that combines tension, mystery, and unexpected humour in the form of the clever Inspector Ramirez.”

Open Book Toronto

"Intelligent and well researched, with a terrific sense of atmosphere and pace. Reminds me of Qiu Xiaolong's Inspector Chen, one of my favourite series. Recommended."

Sam Wiebe, author of Last of the Independents

“Blair goes more assured with each novel.”

Toronto Star

“Hungry Ghosts is one of the best mysteries to come out of Ottawa this or any year.”

Ottawa Citizen

“Part of the genius of this novel is Blair’s ongoing exploration of cultures with which the average Canadian reader is not necessarily familiar … Suffice to say, this is a book worth reading.”

Ottawa Citizen

“Terrific cop characters Ricardo Ramirez and Charlie Pike—intrepid, quietly anti-authoritarian investigators relentlessly sleuthing in their isolated corners of the world—and locations in non-touristy Cuba and the impoverished Canadian Shield make for a cracking good read.”

Winnipeg Free Press

“An affecting series. Even if impoverished and politically oppressed Havana presents unique burdens, Ramirez is not without a sense of humour as he goes about his clever sleuthing.”

Toronto Star

“Peggy Blair writes like an author possessed, with story-telling skills that make her a must-read writer beyond the mystery genre.”

Hamilton Spectator

“…heavy on atmosphere and style, the two places Blair shines”

The Globe and Mail

“As a longtime lawyer who spent a large portion of her career in Aboriginal law, Blair is well aware of what she’s doing here, and handles the circumstances deftly. […] The seriousness of the crimes and Blair’s critical eye for the failings of the legal institutions of two very different countries add a somber tone to this exciting procedural.”

National Post

“Blair’s prose is evocative, nary a word amiss.”

The Vancouver Sun